New Heights: Hiking the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

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...

In Issue 53, contributor @Susan Dragoo details this hiking trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. Take a look at the full article at the link below:

New Heights: The Guadalupe Mountains of Texas

Issue 53 Page 1