In the late 1970s, a group of university students in West Texas, wanting a place to study with a view, hauled a desk to the top of Hancock Hill (elevation: 4,900 feet), in the town of Alpine. Today, the desk is a pilgrimage for hikers seeking a meditative place, who leave behind messages in the desk's notebook.

Hancock Hill

A desk perched atop Hancock Hill near Alpine, Texas, has become an unlikely landmark and a destination for those seeking solitude and inspiration. The desk, first carried up by Sul Ross State University students in the late 1970s, provides a panoramic view of the desert and serves as a meditative spot for visitors.

Accompanying the desk are notebooks and pens, where visitors have recorded their thoughts for decades. These notebooks are periodically collected and archived, preserving a unique record of personal reflections and experiences. The site continues to draw locals and travelers alike, offering both a physical and emotional journey.

A desk with the greatest view

Correspondent Janet Shamlian is taking a hike to a remote and most uncommon workspace. In the high desert of West Texas, there's a trail dodging cactus. This is the easy way up. No signs or guideposts here, just the crunch of gravel underfoot and above, a wide open sky. But for those in the know, like Matt Walter. How long does it take? Uh, you know, 40 minutes. Okay. This is the journey to a local legend. This is the last little hurdle. Last little hurdle, and of course you can see the desk. Look at this vista. It's become known as the desk on Hancock Hill. Locals call it simply the desk, an unlikely landmark in the city of Alpine that's been holding court for more than 45 years. The first time that I came up was January 1986, and it was cold, there was snow on the ground. Matt Walter has been making the trek to see it almost as long, an amateur photographer documenting the changes. I didn't know about the desk then, that was before the signage. And I just kind of like, oh my gosh, this is so cool. Have you ever been up here alone and just sort of had a moment where, kind of more introspective? I've had a couple of moments like that where you just reflect on the views, the distance, looking out onto this vastness and wondering about the amazement of Mother Nature. The desk isn't much to look at. It could have come from any classroom, weathered by weather and covered in graffiti. But when seated at it and looking out over the desert, you feel changed. It's very therapeutic. You can clear your mind and really just get some stuff out if you need to. What may be more remarkable than the feeling it inspires is how it came to be. So it was your uncle that initially dragged it up there. Is he just that kind of guy? He is that kind of guy. He's a wild, wild man, and he's got a lot of energy. Tony Curry is the nephew of Jim Kitchen, who in the late 1970s was a student at nearby Sul Ross State University. He wanted a place to study with a view. So with a couple of classmates, they hauled it up, planting it at the top, like a flag on a new frontier. This desk size is probably a little bit bigger than the one my uncle took up originally. Curry showed us one of the earlier desks. They're now swapped out every decade or so as the elements and visitors take a toll. Oh, there's several. There's several notebooks. Kitchen left more than the desk up here, a notebook and pen, because with vast views come big thoughts. Have you ever written in the book? Absolutely. Many, many times. Really? Yes. It's kind of like a meditative place, you know, where you go and you can just think about things and kind of sort out your problems. Dozens of filled notebooks dating back decades are cataloged at the library and meticulously preserved by the school's archivist. How many years have you been going up and rotating out the notebooks? At least 30. You might call Paula Kitchen Curry, Jim's sister, the unofficial archivist. I copied them one time and sent them to my brother just so he could see what has happened. What she comes back with is something akin to a confession booth wrapped in a time capsule, the entries often heartbreaking. It does get better. Change can be good. The world is bigger than you think it is. What do you think when you read some of this? Sometimes it breaks my heart. Sometimes it makes me laugh. Sometimes it makes me want to be a better writer. What do you think the notebooks and the solitude provide to people? There are times when you find yourself looking for a way to get something out of your head and going up to the desk gives you time to think about it. And then the notebook gives you a place to put it down. And then the journey back down gives you a place to kind of leave it behind.

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