02/16/01 Hiking Smith Spring Trail:
After leaving Big Bend National Park I headed to Fort Stockton to do some shopping and then to Fort Davis and the Davis Mountains. These were pretty cool going in. They seemed to be made of giant cinnamon twist donuts stood up on end and stacked one against the other, a really strange looking rock formation. This gave way to the ho-hum of limestone hills and mountains. These have little vegetation and few interesting formations. They did remind me of the old westerns movies when the Apaches suddenly appear at the top of a big hill, strung out in a long line, before charging down on the wagon train. The continuous cooing of morning doves drove me out of the Davis Mountain State Park before I had a chance to do any hiking. They did have a couple of nine mile round trip trails.
From Fort Davis I took off directly for El Paso, since there was nothing else in between. I ended up at Hueco (pronounced Waco) Tanks State Historic Park. This area boast 3500 Indian pictographs and some good rock climbing. I could only stay one night because of prior reservations. Sounds pretty hard to get into. If I'm ever back in the area I'll stay at one of the other campgrounds and take the guided tour of the pictographs and do some hiking. (I was later told by a local they line up to get in there on weekends and holidays. Sigh!)
From Hueco Tanks, Guadalupe Mountains National Park is only 1.5 hours away. The Pine Springs campground sits in a basin at 5900 feet elevation and several of the peaks looking down on it exceed 8500 feet. And the wind blows and it gets cold when the sun isn't out and I can't sleep in the truck in the tent area and don't want to go over with the RV's.
02/16/01:
And the wind howled last night and my teeth were chattering before I even got up this morning. The temperature didn't move an inch when the sun came up. The wind was still blowing too hard for the sun to have any impact. Last night produced a gorgeous sky though. Every star in the sky must have been overhead at the same time. Many of them actually twinkled. Off on the horizon lights would take turns flickering on and off. And the Guadalupe Mountains are 50-100 miles from anything in any direction?
Having been down out of the mountains the past week, I didn't want to do anything strenuous today so chose the 2.3 mile Smith Springs Trail that only rises 470 feet in elevation. It had the added advantage of maybe seeing elk that frequent the springs.
The Frijole Ranch Museum was locked up tight as I started from their parking lot. The temperatures had risen to the 40's and the wind, down out of the basin, slacked off quite a bit. A short walk brought me to Marazanita Spring. Mescalero Apaches had a village here for 300 years before the U.S. Army came in and destroyed everything in sight.
The trail wound along the rim of a canyon for a while. Pink madrones, aspen and other trees seemed abundant on the canyon floor, apparently receiving enough water to flourish from Smith Spring above. The trail then crossed a low point in the canyon walls and twisted it's way up a boulder strewn hill. I had the first of three deer sightings on the way up. It's much more interesting to watch one deer do it's thing in the wild than see 50 of the 'tame' deer wandering around a park.
Smith Springs is very pretty, even on this February morning. It's at the base of several peaks rising up 200+ feet. It's like an oasis in the middle of the desert, which I guess it is. Lots more pink madrones, oaks, aspen and firs surrounded the spring as it trickled over moss covered rocks into the canyon.
02/17/01 Hiking Frijole Trail:
The sky was filled with stars again last night but someone ordered up a thick blanket of fog by morning. The temperature had dropped into the teens but fortunately there was no wind blowing. That would have been a killer. As it was, the chill quickly sank into my bones. My gallon jugs of water were just about frozen solid. The sun started to break through around 9:30am, oops, we're on Mountain Time now so the sun came through around 8:30am. I would have gone shiking anyway out of self defense, just to keep the blood moving on a day like this.
I drove back to the Frijole Ranch again to hike the 5.5 mile Frijole Trail. It has a 570 foot rise in elevation and will end, I hope, my acclimatization process to the 6000 foot altitude at which I'm camped. If things go well today I might tackle something a little more challenging tomorrow.
Temperatures moved up into the 30's to go along with a bright blue sky overhead. Big fog banks could still be seen off to the east. The Frijole Trail began a gradual ascent towards the base of the Guadalupe Mountains, generally not rising more than 3-5 degrees except when crossing a canyon. As I gained a little altitude I could look down on several gullies, washes, arroyos, canyonettes or whatever they're called.
The Park Service has a nice Hiking Safety pamphlet covering what to do with lightning, mountain lions, rattlesnake bites, heat and hypothermia. Supposedly no venom is injected in 25% of all rattlesnake bites. They also say suction with venom extractors is only minimally effective and not to make an incision or use your mouth for suction because of bacteria. Mountain lions like to attack from the rear and crush the back of the neck. Needless to say mine was itching during the entire hike.
I got to Bear Canyon with a few stops to admire the view. Several small canyons intersect the trail. They all have pink mandrones, alligator juniper, oak and aspen growing on the canyon floor. Once past Bear Canyon, the trail continued along the base of the mountains and then turned downhill towards the Visitor's Center.
The return path is along the Foothills Trail. Just as I turned onto this trail I spotted my first elk tracks. Almost identical in shape to a deer's, they're more the size of a horse's hoof. I was able to follow it a little ways through rich brown mud. A little farther on I saw a couple more tracks.
02/18/01 Hiking Salt Basin Trail:
No ice in the water jugs this morning but the winds are back with a vengeance. Temperatures in the 50's and the sun trying to push through the haze as I started up the El Capitan trail to the Salt Basin Trail. This trail is a little higher, a little longer with a little more elevation than the previous trails I've hiked here in the Guadalupe Mountains. The combined trails are 7.8 miles long, rise 740 feet in elevation and are supposed to take 4-6 hours to complete. Ha!
I got an early 7:30am (Mountain Standard Time) start before the nitwit next to me could start his generator 10 feet from my head. I can just here his wife, "honey, after you fix the satellite dish for the TV would you get my hair blower off the microwave right next to the refrigerator?" And they call that camping.
The trail looped around the campground and down the long rolling hills. Right away I started mumbling to myself that I'd have to trudge the final half mile of the hike uphill. There's nothing much on these hills except some grasses, a few yuccas and a few mesquite and juniper trees.
El Capitan, 8085 feet, stood in the background with its 100+ foot bluffs overlooking the valleys and canyons. It's hard to believe that tall peak was once an underwater reef. True! El Capitan is covered with fossils of marine plants and animal life. 20-25 knot winds would keep the rock climbers of the rock on this day. At the top of a large hill I got hit with the full force of those winds. I heard a whistling close by and tracked it to the wind howling through a plastic whistle I carry dangling from my shoulder strap. I was presented with a nice panorama though. Mountains to the east, mountains directly in front of me with desert and salt flats beyond. Even with the haze I could see for miles and miles and...
The trail descended from the steep hill and then down a smaller hill and into Guadalupe Canyon, 100 feet deep in places. Every step of the way I bemoaned the fact that I'd have to climb back up again. When they said 740 rise in elevation I think they meant the distance between the low and high points of the hike. It was down one hill or canyon and up the next for most of the way. I think I climbed much more than 740 feet.
I got to the Salt Basin Junction at 9:30 and continued on after a short break. The trail led down to and along the canyon floor. I stopped to take a picture of a real old alligator juniper with El Capitan in the background. What I didn't know was the trail bore off to the right, right there. I found a trail to the left farther down the canyon. It dead ended at an old road and gate. Backtracking I found another trail on the other side of the canyon leading up some small shale ledges. Another 50 feet on, the canyon dropped 30-40 feet. Glad I wasn't coming through there at night.
I continued on this trail for half a mile or so and then came to another deep canyon. Beyond that was another steep peak and ridge that would have to be negotiated. Beyond that, presumably, was the Salt Basin. All the hills and canyons I'd have to climb and cross on the way back was wearing on my mind. I was still pretty fresh but knew the legs and lungs would be protesting later. Deciding not to push it, I turned back. Actually the hike back wasn't as bad as I'd feared and I made it, tired but in good shape. I also did not experience any dizziness which, obviously, was a very good thing.
02/20/01 Hiking Hunters Peak Trail:
We had an interesting dawn this morning. While still dark, the moon rose over the horizon looking like a big yellow toenail clipping. As it rose higher it turned to its normal silvery white. Some nice black and white cloud formations accompanied the big dirty toenail. I was looking for a photo opportunity but it was still dark, although my shoots dark very well. I get back a nice black picture. The sun followed the moon shortly thereafter.
Well, today I bagged my first legitimate 8000 foot mountain although I didn't start out to do it. The temperatures were in the 50's but a strong 20-25 knot wind was still blowing. Today's goal was Pine Top, a mountain campground sitting at 7900 feet. This would be a 4.0 mile hike with a 2000 foot climb in elevation and is supposed to take 2-4 hours to complete.
The first 45 minutes on the Tejas Trail is a gradual rise of less than five degrees along the foothills of Hunters Peak. I took five at 6600 feet, a 700 foot rise from my 5900 foot campground. I had great and changing views of Guadalupe Peak across the basin and its neighbors. Lots of rocky crags and bluffs can be seen from this trail. A goodly covering of mesquite or juniper or small pines (I couldn't tell which) on the slopes added to the view.
I rounded a corner of the trail and walked right into the full force of some heavy winds. As I stood admiring the spectacle laid out before me the wind pushed me around a little. 200 feet below me was a deep narrow basin. Hunter and Guadalupe peaks and maybe Bush mountain rise 100's of feet above the basin. Pinnacles rise up off the basin floor and several peaks roll down to blend into each other. The winds were too strong for me to linger and I had to move on.
Three does cut up through the switchbacks in front of me. I stopped to watch them (not to rest, of course) for a minute as they munched on some bushes. Watching them in the wild is much more interesting than seeing 50 of them wandering around a campground. As gray as they are, they blend right into the bushes and disappear if you take your eye off them for a second.
At 9:30am, two hours into the hike I took another five at 7200 feet. Much of the trail along this section has been blasted into the side of the limestone walls. I could see a few places where they drilled holes for the dynamite and then changed their minds. Other places showed the spray paint where the engineer probably wanted to blast but again, for some reason changed their minds. Lots of quartz intermingled with the limestone.
These were some steep slopes. One slip and you'd go over the side and roll and slide a very long ways. The winds were blowing harder too and it seemed ten degrees cooler. Quick stops became more frequent. Breathing was fair and no dizziness. The culprits were the muscles or tendons on the outside of my upper thigh below the hip socket. They were complaining loudly..
I got to Pine Top at 10:30am and the GPS finally settled down at 7900 feet, a 2000 foot rise from the campground below. The Bowl Trail branches off the Tejas Trail at this point. I had been told it was fairly flat and offered some good views. Looking at the map I saw a fork of the Bowl Trail led to Hunter Peak at 8368 feet. That was another mile or so but only another 400 feet, so after a ten minute break I was off again.
Several great views of the valley and Guadalupe Peak appeared on my right. Soon another fork pointed to Hunters Peak. The flatness disappeared and was replaced by a 10-15 degree trail for a ways. Oxygen seemed to be getting a little scarce. I wasn't moving fast enough for my legs to hurt but I was certainly huffing and puffing.
I was surprised to see big fat alligator junipers with their distinctive scaly bark and good sized Douglas firs at this level. Through the trees I could sometimes see Hunters Peak acting as a magnet and drawing me on as my energy level started flagging. A 30 knot wind helped some by pushing me from behind towards my goal.
I stood on top of Hunters Peak at 11:30am. The valley itself is pretty ho-hum from here but I had nice views behind a couple of pinnacles below the peak. A couple of U.S. Geological Survey markers had been pounded into the rock in 1943. I dunno what they signify. After lunch I started back down. Some butthole had come up or down the trail eating his lunch and throwing his trash left and right. I picked it all up but cussed him for every piece.
I had some trouble with loose gravel on the way down. It's really slippery especially with a solid ledge underneath. I slipped a couple of times and landed on my butt once. Yes, that happened at one of those really steep places but God looks after drunks and fools. I don't drink much any more.
02/21/01 Hiking Devils Hall Trail:
Another mild night but the winds are still howling. I read somewhere they are very strong in the spring and thunder and lightning storms prevail in the summer. At 8am I was on the Devils Hall Trail. Today was supposed to be a slow and easy day after bagging my first 8000 footer yesterday. The Devils Hall Trail leads up into the panoramic views I had from the Tejas Trail yesterday. It's a 4.2 mile hike with only a 400 foot rise in elevation and takes 3-5 hours. The reason for the extra trail time soon became apparent.
The first half hour was along a gently rising slope below Guadalupe Peak. I had banged my knee pretty hard yesterday and it made its presence known early in the hike. The trail then turns up a wash for the rest of the way. They probably could have turned the trail into the wash much earlier but then you probably wouldn't have the nice views of Hunters Peak along the way.
I decided early on I didn't like this kind of hiking. The loose stones in the creek bed are too large for comfortable walking and scrambling over boulders, large and small and bunched together, didn't seem my cup of tea. Plus I couldn't get comfortable. I sweated with my windbreaker on but if I took it off the wind would start and I'd be chilled. I need to take a better look at the contents of my day pack. I need a better assortment of clothes.
The things that kept me going were the views. Cliffs and walls and bluffs and pinnacles towered 100's of feet above in all directions. I'd be walking along rubbernecking, oooh'ing and ah'ing, banging into things because I wasn't watching where I was going and getting a crick in my neck. Halfway up one hill at the base of a tall rocky outcrop I could see what was almost certainly a black bear or mountain lion den, probably a black bear. It's big round entrance faced to the east to pick up the morning sun.
The walls closed in giving more the feel of a canyon. The rock became layered, 4-6 inches thick and was a dark gray. Dunno what it was. At one point the rock crossed the entire canyon and rose up 6-8 feet. Fortunately it also made a serious of very nice steps. The canyon narrowed to 15 feet or so and right after that a trail sign announced the end of the trail. I was only 1.5 hours into the hike and elected to continue up the wash another hour or so.
A large wall of crumbly, brownish sandstone type rock, mud and dirt looked like it might collapse at any moment. I didn't linger there very long. I soon learned to poke at clusters of dead leaves before walking on them. They tend to gather in holes, filling them up so everything seems level. Not good for the ankles.
Lots of large whitish (not pinkish) Texas madrone trees and Douglas firs were scattered along the wash. Some of the huge boulders indicate the power of some of the flood waters that come through here. This is a trail with a fair amount of scrambling and a trail for good hiking boots. And yes, I enjoyed this hike and don't dislike the hiking conditions as I did earlier in the hike.
02/23/01 Hiking Guadalupe Peak Trail:
Today I went after the big one and I got it. Guadalupe Peak, at 8749 feet, is Texas' tallest peak. The trail is 8.4 miles round trip, rises 2930 feet from the trailhead and takes normal people 6-8 hours to complete. I started out at 7:15am. The first 45 minutes were pretty tuff for me as the trail began with a 10 degree incline.
Heavy fog or more like low lying clouds obscured much of the mountains to the east. Some of the mountains tops poked up above the clouds providing an interesting effect. The wind's been down the past two days as some weather moves in. I was wishing for it back because it blew all the truck noise from the highway away. That kept me up much of the night and I almost cancelled this hike.
At 8:20 I took five. The GPS said I was at 6900 feet and had come 1000 vertical feet. That was about 1/3 of the total rise expected on this trail. I had been walking with my head down because... it's easier and I need all the help I can get. I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings, just trying to get up the trail. Now that I was taking a break I had the chance to appreciate the great view of Hunters Peak and its surrounding ridge across the valley. I hiked it the other day. It had a 2500 foot rise but it didn't look that high from here.
At 7000+ feet it seemed to get 10 degrees colder. The trail became easier and I was taking fewer 2-10 second stops. The trail led through the pine trees I had seen from Hunters Peak the other day. From this point on, snow patches appeared here and there. By 9:30 it was time for another break and the GPS showed 7700 feet. Another 1000 to go.
Low lying clouds still covered much of the mountains to the east. Lots of higher clouds overhead and directly ahead. It's not often you get to view clouds at eye level so I snapped a picture. The sun was just an intermittent thing as the clouds closed it out most of the time. I came to a short wooden bridge spanning the gap between two pinnacles where the trail crosses them. That was a long, long ways down.
At 10:30 the GPS showed 8470 feet. I've never been that high before except in an airplane. Wonderful views appeared everywhere. A lower peak now appeared to be an island with nothing but air around it. I had great views of Hunters Peak, the back side of El Capitan, the eastern mountains and valleys.
Temperatures dropped some more and the winds picked up. I had just reevaluated my day pack's contents yesterday. I had on a Duofold T-shirt, a Polartec shirt and Polartec sweater. I reached into the pack and pulled out a Polartec vest that was just right for these conditions. A thunderstorm was supposed to be on its way. I didn't hurry though. I couldn't, I was already going as fast as I could and that was at a crawl.
I got to the top about 11:30, a 4 hour and 15 minute climb. A small monument and a large rock cairn sit on the summit, dedicated to stagecoach drivers and pilots who had to negotiate these passes. I signed the log book I found in an old ammunition box, took a few pictures of the great views, even though it was kinda hazy and started back down, seriously thinking about the possible thunderstorm.
Many other people were on their way up by that time and were more than happy to pause in their efforts and chat. I spent close to an hour chatting on the way down and finally got off the trail at 2:30pm. That made 7 hours and 15 minutes, including breaks and chats, within the upper range of the time estimates. Since the old bod held up well I was feeling pretty smug and self satisfied.
02/25/01 Hiking McKittrick Canyon Trail:
Snow and heavy winds kept me off the trails yesterday. We've had sustained winds of 48mph with gusts up to 60mph for the past 36 hours. And we got an inch of snow. I know, I know, poor, poor, pitiful me. But I'm supposed to be having 70 degree weather. I thought the winds were going to rip the kayak and the rack right off the truck but they held up well. The truck really shook and shuddered though.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow. After 11 days I'm heading out anyway and plan on stopping at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, right up the road in New Mexico. So today is my last chance for McKittrick Canyon. It's an overcast day, temperatures in the 40's and some wind blowing as I prepare for the hike at 9:30am.
The trail begins behind the McKittrick Canyon Visitor Center as a wide pebbled road through desert cactus and creosote bushes. 15-20 minutes later the large slopes with tall bluffs on top begin getting closer. Sawtoothed cactus lined both sides of the trail initially but then mesquite began sharing the trailside with the cactus.
I crossed back and forth across a stream with real water in it. That's what makes McKittrick Canyon unique. Here it is surrounded by desert and arid mountains and down in the canyon are lots of grasses, trees and other plants requiring water.
By 10:15 I'm at the Pratt Lodge. This guy Pratt heard McKittrick Canyon was the most beautiful spot in Texas. When he saw it, he bought it and willed it to the national park. The lodge is a stone house and outbuilding. Peeking in the window I could see a gas stove and probably a gas furnace. Great place to live but lugging groceries in would be a bit of a chore.
Past the Pratt place the views improved considerably. 400-700 foot peaks and ridges pretty much surround the canyon, some of the peaks still sprinkled with yesterday's snow. Walking along the very easy trail I was surprised to hear the sound of a small waterfall.
I got to the Grotto a half hour or so later. This is a small, open limestone cave with lots of stalactites and stalagmites (thank god for the spelling verifier) hanging from the ceiling and poking up from the floor. After visiting a stone hunter's cabin a little farther on I turned back. The trail continued on to McKittrick Ridge. The ridge is about 1.5 miles away but rises 2500 feet within that distance. That didn't sound like something I wanted to tackle. In fact a ranger said although it has the best view on the mountain, very few people try it.