Guadalupe Mountains National Park
*This is a special guest blog post from our friend Anna. She recently hiked to the top of Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. Read her story below about her journey to the top!
The last stop on my week-long solo road trip through New Mexico was Guadalupe Mountains National Park, specifically the Guadalupe Peak Trail. I had spent the past day exploring the caves in Carlsbad Caverns National Park and used the 750 foot ascent out of the cavern as my final (and only) training hike to prepare me for the near 3000 foot climb I had ahead of me on Friday.
I arrived at GMNP around 8am on Friday morning and stopped in at the main visitors center to pick up a map of the park and the peak trail. It was looking like I would have a beautiful day ahead of me with blue skies, if not slightly chilly at the start. After a very short drive from the visitors center to the trailhead I was ready to start the climb at 8:20 AM. The trailhead for the peak trail also serves as the beginning of most of the other trails in the park including the El Capitan trail, but the peak was my only set goal for the visit.
The first mile was a humbling start to the ascent. The trail quickly becomes a seemingly endless staircase of uneven, steep and rocky stairs that made me start huffing and puffing early, despite being at the lowest altitude I'd experienced in the last week. I came upon two hikers and we started friendly conversation about our respective trips to the park and they invited me to hike with them while continuing our chat. I tend to push ahead too fast and quickly wear myself out, so on this steep stair section of the trail, having a conversation and people to match pace with encouraged me to save some energy which definitely came in handy for the rest of the journey. Eventually we parted ways and I sped up to more of my usual pace continuing my climb alone.
If you can get a chance to look up from your feet and the rocky trail under you, the views off the mountain are consistently breathtaking the whole way up. Looking backwards toward the trailhead, I became aware of just how high I had climbed in such a short distance, as my SUV left in the parking lot turned into a little white blob far below me
The next two miles, though still very much uphill, at some points reaching a 28% grade incline, were a breeze compared to the start of the trail. Though the trail remains relatively rocky, because it is such a well traveled trail and the dirt and rocks are so packed in, I didn’t have any fear of slipping on loose rocks. Eventually trees surrounding me had become taller and greener than short brushy bushes, and the breeze started to pick up. The trail does get narrow, so if hiking with a group, single file lines would be necessary.
It was during this section I was able to get into the rhythm of the hike and enjoy the surroundings and the unique solitude that comes with hiking alone. I'm not sure of the typical traffic on the peak trail, but luckily it wasn't very busy on my summit day. Because of this, I didn't hear much chatter from other hikers and could take in all the sounds of my natural surroundings. Every so often I would come upon a group of hikers and introductions were made and good lucks passed. As a solo hiker it can be more difficult to cheer yourself on in the same way a hiking partner would but there was such a strong sense of community on the summit trail that day that it felt like the whole mountain knew my name and was cheering me on.
Just after the offshoot for the peak campground around mile 3, I crossed a bridge fitted into the side of the mountain, and I knew from reading others accounts of the summit that I was now on the final leg of the ascent. By this point I was feeling a bit worn out, but this knowledge gave me the final kick I needed. At one point it became difficult to determine where the trail was supposed to go around a large boulder. I headed to the right but quickly that route became sketchy and I realized I had gone the wrong way. I turned around and got back on the trail to find that the correct route included a rock face to the right, with a steep drop to the left.
In the final mile up to the peak, the trail steepens, becomes much rockier, and there are no longer any tall trees to provide cover. For those with a fear of heights, this last section could be scary. There were a few instances where the trail became a series of large, somewhat flat rocks that seem to tilt sideways. Though a little bit nerve wracking to hike on, they aren’t dangerous but I would proceed with excess caution if the trail became at all slippery.
Continuing up the rocky, steep switchbacks for what seemed like forever, I took some time to enjoy the views. You can look down off the trail and see El Capitan, which is one of the park's next most popular sites, from above. To the East, the landscape turns to the West Texas we all know: completely flat. But to the West, the Guadalupe Mountain range stands tall.
Just ahead I saw some hikers sitting on a rock and assumed they were seated just off the trail taking a break so kept going, thinking nothing of them, and having no idea how much longer I had to climb. When I turned at what I thought was the next switchback I saw the tall steel spire marking the highest point of Texas. Immediately upon seeing the spire, I forgot about the last 3 hours. I forgot about my growing hunger, the blisters on my toes, the sweat covering every inch of my body.
I found a rock to make my perch for the next half hour and opened a bag of trail mix to enjoy as I enjoyed the scenery. It was at this point I realized just how high I had climbed, and that I did it alone. Eventually I asked a group of people if one of them would take my picture with the spire-- I was not going to climb all that way and not get the iconic picture at the peak!
Once I thoroughly enjoyed the views from the top of Texas, I began my descent. In most other accounts of the peak trail I had read, the general consensus was that the descent was the hardest part due to the impact on your joints, though I wholeheartedly disagree. I was flying down the mountain, giggling as I would break into a run and let the steepness of the trail carry me down. My friends who have hiked with me know my philosophy on descents: "Just kick your legs out and let gravity do the work." This was all fun and games until the looser rocks got the best of me and I started slipping more frequently, so I decided it was time to slow down a bit.
With about 3 of the 4.2 mile descent left ahead I came up on the only other solo female hiker I had seen that day. After some quick introductions, we decided to team up for the descent. The next 3 miles were packed with laughing over slipping across loose rocks, stopping to look at the views, stories shared of past adventures, and dreams of future ones. It took us a little over an hour and a half to make it back to the trailhead. Once we congratulated each other for the effort, my hiking buddy for the day and I parted ways and I made my way back to the visitors center to buy a patch to commemorate the day's adventure.
Hiking to the top of Texas was definitely a challenge but worth all the effort. If I return to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, I want to check out some of the other trails and sections of the park instead of spending the whole day on the peak trail.
