Tag Archives: Guadalupe Peak

Trip Reports

TR-Guadalupe Mountains April, 1985

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McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Peak, Sitting Bull Falls, Carlsbad Caverns

  • 4/18/85-4/21/85 Big Bend NP (separate post)
  • 4/21-4/24 Guadalupe Mountains NP
    • 4/22-McKittrick Canyon
    • 4/23 -Guadalupe Peak, Sitting Bull Falls NM
    • 4/24-Carlsbad Caverns National Park

Gear, Lessons learned

Trip Report

It’s been quite a while since my first climb up Texas’ highest point, Guadalupe Peak (8,751′ now, was listed at 8,749′ then). I have basically no notes from that trip; just fuzzy memories and some fuzzier photos from an old point & shoot Nikon I used to borrow from my dad. I have just enough to piece together the itinerary.

Planning

I was twenty-six years old, still in the middle of my offshore oilfield career. I had read the old “Trails of the Guadalupes” guide, published by the Carlsbad Caverns Natural History Association, backwards and forwards while working on out in the Gulf of Mexico and had decided I needed to go see Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GUMO) and climb the highest mountain in Texas.

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Trip Reports

TR-Guadalupe Peak February 2000

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This is mostly a stub, holding a spot for a more complete trip report later. I don’t have all the photos from that trip digitized yet but am in the process of doing so.

After two previous hikes up to the summit of Texas’ highest point, I realized that the spectacular vista from the top of Texas was not that spectacular under the midday sun. So I resolved to make a summit trip that was a backpack, including a night at the backcountry site “near” (a mile away from) the summmit and spend the dawn hour photographing the views.

Trip Reports

TR-Guadalupe Peak 1997

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A very brief trip report.
I climbed Mt Wheeler, highpoint of New Mexico, in summer 1997. Along the way, to get some altitude and conditioning in, I summited Guadalupe Peak again.

I’d started out from Austin and stopped in Davis Mountains State Park. I got up early in the morning and drove to GUMO. I have some notes from this trip:

On to Guad Park–(Note: Dawn (light) not until ~7:00 a.m. CDT here.)

Arrived GMNP ~9:00 CDT. Wx excellent ~50s, -60; light breeze, clear sky. Park almost deserted. Asked young woman behind counter about old Pine Spring Cafe-she didn’t know-was before my time.)

Began ascent ~ 9:50 a.m. CDT-one break past (that place*) (at 1:08 of hike.) in the first extensive forest. Felt good-last 1/4 mile was hell, through several false summits. Summit at 12:45 CDT (2:57 hatse??less 18 minutes in breaks is 2:39 hike. Dead calm at summit. [at summit 35:07; 1:48 for descent-5:20 less 18 less 35:07 = 4:55 total hike – sign at trailhead suggests 6-8 hours.]

“That place” mentioned above, I now remember, is the spot after you finish the first part of the climb. You hike up a steep limestone wall, basically, with some of the trail literally blasted out of the side of solid stone; depending on the wind that day, you may be buffeted by 40-50 mph winds. I was, the first time I’d done that hike in the 80s. But you come around a bend, and almost magically the wind goes to nothing and you’re in a forest. And not far ahead are convenient boulders to sit on and rest a spell.