EISPIRATEN

Over Christmas, my family took an oblication (an obligation disguised as a vacation) to visit family in Arkansas. We flew out, then decided to make a real vacation out of it by driving back and visiting Carlsbad Caverns and other attractions in New Mexico. Guadalupe Peak (8749') is the high point in the state of Texas and only an hour drive from Carlsbad, NM. I could not miss the opportunity to bag it. Because of the logistics of our plans that day, I was forced to start in the dark and summit at sunrise. There is a well maintained trail the whole way so I didn't think it would be a problem.

My wife dropped me off at Pine Springs campground and I started up with my head lamp. I felt the weight of mountains around me blocking out the stars but couldn't see anything beyond the end of my light beam. About a mile up the trial, I spotted a pair of glowing green eyes looking at me from between two boulders. My light showed a small head and feline type ears. I've read that green or green-gold eyeshine is typical of cats, so my guess is it was a baby bobcat or mountain lion. It might have been a fox, too. I searched the area on the way down and didn't find any signs of a den or anything. Since I got to the top at sunrise, I ordered the photos from the top down.

The summit was spectacular. It was capped with a stainless steel pyramid placed by American Airlines in 1958 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail, a stagecoach route that passed south of the mountain. There was an incredible view of El Capitan, the prominent cliffed peak below.






This was the most recent book, placed October, 2017 and already full!



After taking summit photos, I started slow jogging down the flat parts of the trail. There were two sections of the trail that traversed cliffs, but both were 5' wide and were not exposed. The top cliff section has a wooden bridge over part of it. As I descended, I passed dozens of parties that got later starts. The views on the way down were just as great as from the summit. It was a beautiful desert landscape. Just before I got to the bottom, a huge buck hopped across the trail in front of me and started eating leaves from a small tree. It was a perfect way to end a memorable hike. 8.4 miles, 3048' gain, 4 hours 10 minutes, $5 self pay day use fee (national park fee).






One of the cliff sections, but the trail was wide and completely safe

Thanks for sharing! I always thought the highest peak in Texas would be on the Chisos Mountains in the Big Bend area of West Texas. Emory peak is in the Chisos and reaches 7,825 feet.

Nice report! As an ex-New-Mexican, I always thought this area was in the wrong state by mistake.

dima wrote: Nice report! As an ex-New-Mexican, I always thought this area was in the wrong state by mistake.

What contrasts in New Mexico, from the totally desolate moonscapes around White Sands to the alpine valleys around Cloudcroft. We used to camp at Lake Bonita when we lived in Texas.

dima wrote: Nice report! As an ex-New-Mexican, I always thought this area was in the wrong state by mistake.

It is in a thin arm below New Mexico and doesn't look at all like most of the state. Texas doesn't have a lot of mountains, but inherited these from some quirk of historical border agreement. It even has a different time zone than the direct northern section of New Mexico.

Whoa. First photo. Is that the shadow of the peak you're standing on?

dima wrote: Whoa. First photo. Is that the shadow of the peak you're standing on?

Yes, that is the shadow of Guadalupe.

Gene wrote: Thanks for sharing! I always thought the highest peak in Texas would be on the Chisos Mountains in the Big Bend area of West Texas. Emory peak is in the Chisos and reaches 7,825 feet.

I would have guessed the mountains there were higher, too.

Wow, the sunrise photos are outstanding! I like the red/orange glow on everything.

That's a great hike, I did it in 2009 over a long weekend from SoCal, also visiting Carlsbad. The campground was full, so we backtracked about 10 miles and slept on BLM area just off the highway. That bridge up near the top was an unexpected part of the trail! It was rather crowded in late May, plus I remember about 10 million ladybugs near the summit. Took the last photo below while hanging out the window of the Ranger.

JeffH wrote: Wow, the sunrise photos are outstanding! I like the red/orange glow on everything.

That's a great hike, I did it in 2009 over a long weekend from SoCal, also visiting Carlsbad. The campground was full, so we backtracked about 10 miles and slept on BLM area just off the highway. That bridge up near the top was an unexpected part of the trail! It was rather crowded in late May, plus I remember about 10 million ladybugs near the summit. Took the last photo below while hanging out the window of the Ranger.

09-05-24_10.22.015628.jpg
09-05-24_11.07.3410625.jpg
09-05-24_14.50.575722.jpg

Nice, Jeff. Your last shot shows a great view of Guadalupe and El Capitan below. I never got that perspective. I took a couple of photos from the Carlsbad visitor center, but it was too far away to give a good view of the relief. I think there is a trail to El Capitan and even if there isn't, it didn't look too hard from the Guadalupe trail. I just didn't have the time to head over to it.

When I was there it looked like a trail ran across the mesa of El Cap - I guess the access is via the saddle between them.

Awesome report! Beaitiful pics and Impressive monument!

tekewin wrote:

dima wrote: Whoa. First photo. Is that the shadow of the peak you're standing on?

Yes, that is the shadow of Guadalupe.

The perspective makes it look like the shadow of the summit monument. Very cool pic.

Uncle Rico wrote: The perspective makes it look like the shadow of the summit monument. Very cool pic.

It sort of does, but that was unintentional. The pyramid is only about 6' tall. It's hard to take a bad picture at sunrise. I love that golden hour.

Thanks for the report. That's one of the stranger summit markers.