Wilderness Wandering

2/11/24

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is one of the least visited National Parks. The Guadalupe Mountains are a rugged mountain mass of uplifted marine fossil reef in the huge Chihuahuan Desert. It is less than 1 hour southwest of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The park was established in 1972. It is 135 square miles.   

We drove 4 hours north from Big Bend NP. When I travel, I enjoy checking out local libraries. We passed a really adorable one in what assisted to be basically a ghost town.

There was a winter storm warning, so we wondered what we were getting into. As we got closer to Guadalupe Mountains, we could see the storm clouds covering the peaks of the mountains ahead of us.

Lucky for us, snow was not falling on the highway and we arrived 10 minutes before the Visitor Center closed and got our picture and our passport stamp.

We asked the ranger about hikes. Guadalupe Peak is what they are known for. It’s the highest peak (8071 feet) in TX. The ranger said that the trail was closed as it was snow covered and slippery and you can’t see the trail. So that hike was out for us. 

We drove to the campground. It was a parking lot. It did have nice views of the mountains though. There wasn’t any snow on the pavement, but there was a dusting of snow on the ground. It was weird seeing cacti with snow around their roots.  

We watched a beautiful sunset, ate dinner and prepared for a chilly night. The forecast was a low of 25 degrees.

It happened to be Super Bowl Sunday. Although we weren’t able to watch the game, we were able to follow along on the ESPN app. Quite a game!! I was sorry to miss the commercials. 

2/12/24

We woke up and turned on Mr Buddy, our propane heater, to take the chill off. We made some nice warm oatmeal for breakfast. While Tim took care of a few things, I hiked about a mile of the 4 mile round trip Devil’s Hall Trail, which started from the parking lot. It was a moderate hike and a good start to the day.

Then we set out for McKittrick Canyon in a different part of the park that is lower elevation, so we would not have to deal with the ice and snow. The McKittrick Canyon Trail is often called the best hike in TX. It is 7 miles round trip and a beautiful moderate to easy hike. Some of the hike was through a dry river bed, and we crossed an active river twice before arriving to The Grotto – a perfect limestone cave.

The trail changed from dry desert to a surprising forest with oaks, maples, and Pinon pines. There was a picnic area there, so we enjoyed the sun shine for a bit.

Once back at the car, we drove to Frijole Ranch, a well preserved example of early ranches in the area. There was a little red building that had been used as a school house, meeting house, etc. by the early settlers. Outside the house, there was a basketball rim on a tree in the yard. We learned that the rim wasn’t there for the ranch kids to play with, but was where the lady of the ranch would hang the fresh cheese she made to drain. Being from Wisconsin, you gotta love a little cheese lore. 😉

The Schoolhouse

2/13

Today we are heading to Carlsbad Caverns, but before we left we wanted to experience a little bit of the Guadalupe Peak Trail, even though we couldn’t summit. We set out with sun and blue skies and temps in the low 40s. We went straight up 800 feet in a mile. It is a strenuous hike. The entire hike is 8.5 miles and we only did 2 miles. 

Along the trail, we met a young couple from Freeport, IL who currently live in Janesville, WI. They were hoping to make it to the top of the mountain.  They didn’t even have micro spikes. As we returned to the van, we overheard a Ranger telling other people that the National Park Service strongly urged people not to attempt the peak because of the snow cover, for fear that they will lose the trail and endanger themselves. The Janesville couple was likely disappointed in their attempt to reach the peak.  

Guadalupe Park National Park is a great combination of desert, mountains, forest and beauty.