I have personally done alot of backpacking in the southern desert states and I love the scenery views they provide. One thing to remember about backpacking in these states is that there are very good and very bad times to go. I have gone during spring break time to arizona and the weather has been beautiful. This would probably be a good time for you to head to Texas if you were interested in hiking the Big Bend National Park. I have never been to the Big Bend but I have been looking through literature on their website and it seems like a great place to go backpacking. One of the most popular areas to go backcountry within Big Bend is the Chisos Mountains.
The trails in the Chisos Mountain area are not too long. It seems to me like this area may be great for a weekend trip or a short half-week trip. There are 42 campsites designated for backpackers with varying levels of difficulty required to reach each one. Each campsite provides a bear box to place all food and scented items in. This picture shows the campsite marker and the bear box in the background:
Some sites have water accessible, but the park service stress that you should not plan on water being available. They emphasize that it is a desert, and if there's no rain in the desert, it means there's no water available to pump for drinking. For this park you MUST obtain a permit before entering, and they are available only for the specific days in the specific campsites you will be staying in. There are seasonal closures for a few trails in this park and they can be found on the park website. This looks like a great place to go backpacking if you are interested in a unique location in the middle of a desert.
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