In the high desert of West Texas, there's a trail dodging cactus. 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, this is the journey to a local legend.

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.

Matt Walter has been making the trek to it almost as long: "The first time I came up was like January 1986," he said. "It was cold. There was snow on the ground. I didn't know about the desk then; that was before the signage. And I was just kind of like, Oh my gosh, this is so cool! "

A desk parked on top of a hill in the high desert of West Texas offers hikers a contempla

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