Guadalupe Peak: Ascending the Highest Peak in Texas
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine from work asked me if I would be interested in climbing Guadalupe Peak with him to watch the sunrise on his birthday. Never one to shy away from a good challenging hike, I enthusiastically agreed. However, things happened on his end and I got Covid for the third time, and we were unable to make it up on his birthday in mid-March, but we were determined to reschedule as soon as we could. A little over a week later on March 19th, the day before my birthday, we met in our work parking lot at 4am, along with one other friend of ours, to carpool about 45 minutes to the trailhead parking lot.
The three of us are all in pretty good shape, but we knew this was going to be a tough climb – I was, however, the only one in the group who had never done it before, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. We got to the trailhead at 5am, strapped on our headlamps, and started the ascent. It was still dark and cold, and we knew it was going to get colder near the top, but I live for self-punishment and was excited for the challenge. The trailhead is about a mile above sea level. 3,000 feet of elevation gain over 4.2 miles of rough, rocky trail were all that remained between us and the summit.
The rough trail heading up to the summit of Guadalupe Peak. The ascent is 4.2 miles of this.
The first portion of the hike is a bunch of log stairs on the trail with some switchbacks. You climb a considerable elevation in the first hour, navigating switchback after switchback for a while, and eventually hit a patch of conifer trees. This marks your transition from the desert ecosystem of the lower part of the park to the higher forests, where you’ll remain for the rest of your ascent. We were booking it at this point, but were definitely beginning to slow down. Even if you’re in great shape and hike regularly, the first half of this ascent is grueling, there’s no way around it. We were huffing and puffing as we climbed, but we wanted to make sure we got to the top to see the sunrise.
Our hopes of seeing the sunrise were crushed when we got about three quarters of the way up and realized that a thick fog had settled upon the mountain and we had no more than 15 yards of visibility, and it was raining on us. Even so, we were excited to get to the top for the accomplishment, and even more excited when we saw that the rain had turned to ice with elevation, and had coated the conifers around us in a thick blanket of ice. It was a fantastic consolation prize.
The thick forest of ice-coated trees looming in the fog near the top of the mountain.
Near the top, I was informed that there was a rock scramble coming up. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to actually call it one. It’s really just a rougher patch of trail. Nevertheless, it is challenging when everything is wet and coated with ice, so it slowed us down a bit. The trees faded away into the fog behind us as we reached the rocky, bare summit.
The summit of Guadalupe Peak.
A pyramidal monument marked the spot. I usually like to have a local beer at the summit of a tall mountain, but I forgot to bring it along this time around. Forgive me, it was 7am at this point. Next time up Guad Peak, I’ll bring a West Texas brew along in my backpack. However, my friend had a roommate who had made cookies, and he was kind enough to share when we got to the summit. Once again, a nice consolation prize for a tough hike. It was windy up there, so we weren’t able to stay long, and we quickly got back on our feet and headed back down the trail.
The monument marking the summit, frozen over with a sheet of ice from the rough conditions that morning.
I think going back down the trail was the most hazardous part of the whole trip. With ice on the rocks, getting down can be slippery and challenging. A few times, I nearly fell. If you’re thinking of going, consider bringing some trekking poles to give you more stability as you get to the steeper parts. We managed, but next time, I’ll likely bring those and a backpack with some extra medical supplies in case someone does fall over. Something else prospective Guad Peak conquerors should consider is the steepness of the trail. Hiking up is tough, but if you have knee issues, hiking down may very well be worse. I would be cautious if you fit into this category. I don’t have any knee issues, and mine were still sore after this hike. However, the fog had begun to clear and the sun had peered through the clouds, and we were now able to see parts of the trail we hadn’t been able to see on the way up. It is a beautiful trail, and I imagine even more so on a clear day.
A quaint wooden bridge on the side of the mountain.
As we got down below the clouds, we saw a tremendous view that we had been hoping for the entire hike. The edge of the Guadalupe Mountains, and the Permian Basin beyond. It’s probably the most expansive view I’ve ever been treated to, simply because the Permian Basin is so flat and vast, and Guad Peak rises so high above it. We also started bumping into people who had gotten started at a reasonable time and were doing the hiker tradition of asking us “is it worth it?” and “how is the view?” I don’t know about you, but I’ve never liked the “is the hike worth it?” question. I can’t exactly assign a value to the hike for someone else; I don’t know what they’re after. Is it worth it if you’re hoping to meet a wise old man who holds the secrets of life and the universe at the top? Probably not. Is it worth it if you want to challenge yourself and be rewarded with stunning views and beautiful natural phenomena at the top? Absolutely.
The closest thing we got to a sunrise - a partially blocked one over the Permian Basin. The plant in the foreground with the long flower is a sotol.
While we walked, we naturally chatted about a lot of different topics. Since we all work together, naturally we talked about our careers and our current workplace. Since we have a job that often involves moving to a different part of the country for work (another hint about what my day job is), we all talked about where we’d like to go eventually in our careers; moving to Alaska has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old. We talked about current events and issues in wildlife conservation, and that really just ended up being a monologue by me about some of the current threats to hunting in the US and abroad. I also told them about this blog, which was the first time I’ve ever told anyone in person about it. It was a little embarrassing at first, but they seemed intrigued and one of them even told me that he also had a blog himself. I realized at that point that the embarrassment was all really just in my head.
As we got closer to the bottom of the trail, we bumped into a volunteer at the park who was out roving the trail herself. One of the people in our group knew her, so we spent some time chatting with her about the two parks in the area – Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns – and it was a welcome breather. We could see the parking lot by this point, so we weren’t in a tremendous hurry anyway. We chatted about the park and about her job as a volunteer, then we said goodbye, headed down the trail, and arrived at our car. I did my best not to fall asleep on the drive back as we headed up 62/180 on the way back to town, passing the subject of last week’s blog post, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, about halfway. When I got home, I got a shower, made a half dozen eggs, poured myself a cup of coffee, and sat on the couch. I didn’t move the rest of the day, but despite the physical soreness, I was happy with myself for completing one of the most challenging hikes I’ve been on in quite a while.
A view of Pine Spring Canyon from just under the clouds.
Guadalupe Peak is not for the faint of heart. It’s a tough hike that will make you earn every inch, but you will be rewarded with arguably the best view in the state. If you, like me, like to go to wild places that don’t get bogged down by crowds of tourists, Guadalupe Mountains is one of the best options in terms of National Parks, and Guad Peak is a great hike within the park that lots of folks will shy away from because it’s too difficult. If you’re up for a challenge, it will push your limits and make you a better hiker, preparing you for even more strenuous hikes down the road, like Colorado 14ers or tough backcountry elk hunts – both of which are on my “soon to do” list. All in all, while I can’t definitively say it’s “worth it” for you, I would venture to guess that you will agree with me that it is after you do it. Have fun, stay hydrated, and stay safe.
