8/28-30/2009: Guadalupe Mountains NP, TX

Despite numerous trips to the Guadalupes (primarily the New Mexico portion) I had never climbed Guadalupe Peak, the Texas state high point. Colter, my four year old, was also interested in an attempt on the peak. Despite his age, he is probably our best hiker.

The two of us left town a little after 7:00 Friday night and rolled into Gualalupe Mountains NP after midnight. We tossed our sleeping bags out on the ground and went to sleep. Despite some biting gnats we slept well.

Saturday morning brought clear skies and moderate temperatures. We awoke, cooked pancakes for breakfast and packed up. We made it to the visitor center at opening to get our permit to camp at the Guadalupe Peak backcountry site.

We picked up our permit and headed out to the trailhead. The day was rapidly warming as we began our climb. While we ceratainly didn't set any land speed records, we did make steady progress as we climbed. We had frequent rest/water/snack breaks. At one point our pace was reduced to stopping to catch a grasshopper, having it jump five feet up the trail, standing up and walking to the insect and then repeating the process. We sang, counted switchbacks and talked. Finally, around 1:30 we arrived at the backcountry site, 3.1 miles and 2200 ft. of elevationm change.

We spent the afternoon reading, napping and enjoying the rustling of the ponderosa in the breeze. The high only reached 68 at the campsite and the day was beautiful. We cooked bean burritos for dinner and as the afternoon grew late we began the trek up to the peak to watch the sunset.

Colter had plenty of energy after his nap and dinner. We comparitively flew up the last mile to the summit. He made a camera, tripod and cable release from some sticks and an agave blade and stopped to take photographs on the climb.

We were treated to spectacular views in the waning afternoon light.

Around 6:00 we scrambled up to the summit. The winds were calm and the views we staggering. We signed the summit register and spent about 45 minutes at the top before heading back down.

We scrambled back down to our campsite and climbed into our sleeping bags. We turned in to a temperature of 60 degrees and calm winds.

Sunday dawned to cloudy skies and a light, intermittent drizzle. I was concerned that the rain wouldn't let up as we didn't bring a tent, but within a few minutes it abated and the skies began to clear.

We fixed another breakfast of pancakes, packed out gear and headed down the mountain. The walk down occurred in a fraction of the time as our ascent. We passed several groups of impressed folks as Colter descended from his 8.4 mile walk with a 3,000 ft. elevation gain. The big motivator as we came down was a planned trip to Carlsbad Caverns on our way back home.

I arrived a the caverns with pretty low expectations. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy caves, but always wild caves in the past. I was utterly amazed. The caves were spectacular. Colter repeated, "This is awesome, this is awesome". We walked the Big Room Trail before heading back home. We had a great trip, travelling from the top of Texas to the bottom of an ancient sea.