Conquering each state’s high point could take a lifetime and, unfortunately, I didn’t start peak bagging soon enough to expect to claim all fifty. But I’ve acquired a small handful – that of my home state of Oklahoma (Black Mesa, 4,973 feet of elevation) and neighboring states Arkansas (Mount Magazine, 2,753 feet) and New Mexico (Wheeler Peak, 13,167 feet). Being right next door, Texas was a logical next step.

Texas being Texas, however, it’s a very long drive from central Oklahoma to Guadalupe Peak (8,751 feet), in the far southwest corner of the Lone Star State. Six hundred miles in fact. I needed some additional incentive to make the trip.

That came along when I was pondering training locations for a Grand Canyon backpacking trip. It turns out that Texas’ high point provides 3,000 feet of ascent over 4.2 miles, an incline that adequately mimics the elevation I would be doing in the Big Ditch, in reverse.

Guadalupe Peak rises from the southern end of the Guadalupe Mountains, surrounded by the Chihuahuan Desert. Access is regulated by Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which protects the 86,000-acre hiker’s playground just south of the New Mexico state line. My trip was planned for late February, a popular time for recreation in South Texas, with mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine.

The small campground near the Pine Springs trailhead for Guadalupe Peak had very limited availability by the time I inquired on behalf of my group of hiking friends, so we decided to find lodging in Carlsbad, New Mexico, 45 minutes away. Some members of my team were also training for the Grand Canyon, and others were there to summit Guadalupe just for fun.

“Fun” is definitely a subjective term. The more prepared you are for such an undertaking, the more likely it is to be an enjoyable experience. The opposite is also true. I certainly saw examples of both. The National Park Service (NPS) states the 8.4-mile round trip hike to Guadalupe’s summit takes from six to eight hours. It’s a number hard to fathom if you’re a flatlander accustomed to a steady 2 mph hiking pace and haven’t experienced a similarly steep ascent. In this case, six to eight hours is a reasonable estimate.

Hiking Guadalupe Peak

We arrived at the Guadalupe Peak Trailhead, 48 miles southwest of our hotel on the southern edge of Carlsbad, at 9 a.m. on a sunny, 50-degree day in late February. The parking lot was full, so we backtracked and parked at the visitor center, about half a mile away. Note to self: arrive earlier the next day. We planned to tackle two other trails the following day, but conquering Guadalupe was our first priority. Just four weeks out from my Grand Canyon trip, I was eager to get on the trail and test my mettle with my loaded backpack. Guadalupe is definitely a more challenging trail than anything in Oklahoma, although my home state’s Ouachita Mountains have some steep inclines…they’re just shorter.

The Guadalupe Peak trail’s elevation profile looks like a fairly constant grade, but the first mile is rumored to be the steepest and it did indeed feel that way. Once beyond that distance, the remainder of the ascent felt fairly moderate. The lower part of the trail lacks shade which, with cool temperatures, was not a problem. I could, however, imagine, how grueling it would be in the summer heat and what relief one would feel when the trail turns a sharp corner after about a mile and a half and enters a pine forest on the north slope of the mountain. But why would you hike this trail in the summer? (Being a cool weather hiker I often ask myself this question.)

Three miles from the trailhead, the terrain flattens out a bit to an area with high grass and a spur to a backpacker campground. A temporary community of hikers had formed along the trail, leapfrogging each other as one group would stop for a rest and be passed by another, only to pass that group just up the trail. Carrying my big backpack, I was often asked if I were camping up there. “No,” I would say, “I’m training for a backpacking trip.” Where to? “The Grand Canyon.” This often evolved into a friendly conversation, which helped to pass the time.

Beyond the campground spur, as we approached the summit, the trail became narrower and more exposed. We crossed a wooden foot bridge built on the edge of a cliff over a deep fissure. Soon, I was looking up at the summit, thinking, “We still have that far to go?”

As we approached the top, the trail became more and more rocky and the backside of the El Capitan formation came into view. The south-facing limestone cliff is one thousand feet high, and a striking sight when approaching the park on Highway 180.

Reaching the summit involved a bit of scrambling, and crossing one or two areas which felt quite exposed but were not difficult to negotiate. We joined a small crowd at the top, taking time for lunch and a rest, and I donned my down jacket as, not surprisingly, it was cooler up there. It wasn’t terribly windy, although winds at the summit are reported to reach 80 mph at times.

And, while I expected a summit marker, I was surprised to see a metal obelisk, placed there in 1958 by American Airlines to honor the centennial of the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoaches, which passed through the Guadalupe Mountains in the late 1850s on their way from St. Louis to San Francisco.

After enjoying the panoramic view of the salt flats to the west, the Chihuahuan Desert to the south and east, and the forested top of El Capitan, it was a quick and easy hike down.

Pinery Station

Near the Pine Springs Visitor Center is the ruin of Pinery Station, one of about 200 relay stations along the 2,800-mile Butterfield Overland Mail Route. All that remains are stone walls now propped up by timbers. Named for nearby pine forests, Pinery Station was the highest station on the Butterfield Route, at 5,534 feet of elevation, and one of the most isolated. There’s a 3/4-mile trail from the visitor center to the ruins. It can also be accessed from a parking lot along Highway 180, just outside the park entrance.

Waterman L. Ormsby, the only through passenger on the first westbound Butterfield stage, wrote of this location, “In the bright moonlight, we could see the Guadalupe Mountains, sixty miles distant on the other side of the river, standing out in bold relief against the clear sky, like the walls of some ancient fortress covered with towers and embattlements.”

At Pinery Station he wrote, “it seems as if nature had saved all her ruggedness to pile it up in this form of the Guadalupe Peak.”

Devil’s Hall Trail

Our second day of hiking began with the trail to Devil’s Hall, which leaves from the same trailhead as the path up Guadalupe Peak. Having learned our lesson, we arrived earlier and were able to capture parking spots at the trailhead. We were again blessed with good weather, although the day started off a bit overcast. The trail is 3.8 miles round trip and starts out unremarkably on a gradually increasing slope, flat compared to the previous day but still about 650 feet of elevation change. The Devil’s Hall trail is rated as strenuous because after the first mile it enters a wash filled with huge boulders and loose rock, requiring cautious footing and careful attention. Unless, that is, you are a small child, several of whom we saw blithely clambering through this section without a thought, provoking great anxiety in their parents.

At the end of the trail, we approached a “hallway” of high stone walls, but to reach it first had to climb up a steep, stair-like rock formation called “The Hiker’s Staircase” and edge around a water-filled tinaja. The effort was unquestionably worthwhile. Devil’s Hall is a spectacular 200-foot long narrows with walls 100 feet high and only fifteen feet apart. Very slotcanyon-esque. As we headed back, we were startled to see a small child tumble, really almost slide, down the “staircase,” out of the reach of anyone who could stop him. He emerged unhurt, thank God. Not surprisingly, he was one of the children we saw provoking parental anxiety earlier in the hike.

This hike took about three hours and was really the highlight of the trip for me, a slot canyon fan. We ate lunch at the picnic tables outside the visitor center, then prepared for our afternoon hike into McKittrick Canyon.

McKittrick Canyon

The McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center and trailhead is about 4 1/2 miles northeast of the Pine Springs Visitor Center on Highway 180 and another 4 1/2 miles back northwest on McKittrick Road. As we left the highway, we noticed a sign saying the gate at the exit would close at 4:30 p.m. We would have to be very conscious of our time on this 6.8-mile hike to the Grotto and Hunter Cabin to ensure we didn’t get locked in.

Fortunately, this is a flat and easy trail, much of it graveled and on an old roadbed. Although it involves about 800 feet of elevation change, the grade is so gradual as to be barely noticeable. The trail crosses dry washes a couple of times and one wash which had clear water flowing over stark white rock, reflecting the mountains aglow in the lowering sun on our late afternoon return. A prime attraction along the trail is the Pratt Cabin, built by Wallace Pratt. A petroleum geologist, Pratt bought land in McKittrick Canyon in the 1920s and later donated it to the NPS. His land and that of others eventually purchased by the park service were combined to form Guadalupe Mountains National Park in 1972.

The stone cabin was built in 1931-1932 of limestone blocks quarried nearby. It is currently used as an interpretive site and is not open to the public but, looking through the windows to the interior, it’s tempting to think of it as an interesting place to overnight. For us, it was a very brief stop but pleasant nonetheless. And here one begins to really appreciate the beauty of the canyon. Even in winter, the Texas madrone trees with their distinctive red bark and berries, and the faded leaves of maples, added color to the landscape. I kept thinking, “In the fall, this must be spectacular.” Indeed, it’s rumored to be quite a sight when the foliage colors reach their peak.

Beyond the cabin, the trail narrows and follows a stream, dry when we were there. Our turnaround point was marked by a small cave and rock tables in a shaded alcove near a spring. This is the Grotto. A short distance farther is Hunter Cabin, a structure once used as a hunting retreat and part of a 1920s ranching operation. The trail continues steeply up to a backcountry campsite and eventually connects with other trails, but this was the end of the line for us. Because of its length the NPS ranks the trail to the Grotto and Hunter Cabin as “moderate” but it was for us otherwise easy. We completed it in three hours’ time and escaped before 4:30.

The Guadalupe Mountains turned out to be much more than just another place to check off a state high point. Two days of hiking barely scratched the surface of all this remote and beautiful region has to offer.

Need to Know

Information

Guadalupe Mountains National Park offers a substantial network of trails and backcountry camping. It is also adjacent to the Lincoln National Forest and near Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Ample lodging and dining are available in Carlsbad, New Mexico. For authentic Mexican food, I recommend El Jimador, 509 S. Canal Street in Carlsbad.

Best Time to Go

Mild winter days offer comfortable hiking and you can expect temperate weather in spring and fall. Colorful foliage also makes autumn a good time to go. The heat makes summer less desirable for hiking.

Getting There

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in far west Texas, 110 miles east of El Paso, Texas and 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico or 62 miles north of Van Horn, Texas on Highway 54. The closest large commercial airline service is El Paso, Texas.

Books and Maps

Available guidebooks include Best Easy Day Hikes Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks by Stewart M. Green, and Hiking Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountain National Parks by Bill Schneider. For a map see National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map 203, Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 53 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.