Up and on the road at 6 for our last 50-mile drive to Guadalupe Mountain National Park. We are staying in Carlsbad NM but the park is just over the line in Texas.
Yesterday we took the trail to the right to Devil's Hall. Today we headed left to access Guadalupe Peak. The trail is listed as a strenous 8.4 mile round trip hike to the summit at 8751 ft. We started at 5751ft for a climb of 3000 ft.
The stony path seemed very doable until the big rocks showed up.
Still, we were optimistic that we could do it.
We turtled along at our usual 1 mph pace, being passed by people who started one or two hours later than we did (like those guys below).
Yesterday we hiked along trail below which joined that wash further down the trail.
Duane does not like heights, but does well if the trail is level and wide enough. This sign put him on the alert
with good reason.
After a couple of hours we entered the tree line--the altitude which was cool and wet enough for trees to grow.
At this point we were very near the top of the mountain, when we realized that we still had a way to go. We slogged up the switchbacks ahead, rounded the the peak on the right,
and started around the other side. While we rested and snacked on this bridge, we looked up
and discovered that the hardest part of the trip--less than a mile--lay ahead of us! The guys from the trail behind us (7 pix above) caught up to us at this point and started up the trail (those little dark spots). Later we were told that the trail went through the trees, then up steeply again before gaining the summit. After discussing the situation for a couple of minutes we gave up and started back. We still had a 2 hour hike down the mountain and had already used up a lot of energy to get this far.
As we turtled back down, most of the people who passed us going up passed us going down also. One of these was Kimmy, a traveling nurse who decided to enjoy the mountain today. We enjoyed a short pleasant chat with her on the way up and on the way down. We told her about other good national parks to hike. Here she's noting our blog site on her phone.
By the time we reached the bottom again, Duane's knees were talking rather loudly to him. I was fighting low blood sugar, over heating, and sore feet. Nothing like a long hike up steep stony grades to teach us our physical limitations! All those steps left us with well-exercised backsides, and rubber legs.
We were more than happy to be back in New Mexico and home.
Our next hike is a .7 mile to Sitting Bull Falls, maybe tomorrow.
Louise and Duane
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