Guadalupe Mountains - 5/18-5/20

[ox4mag]

A small group of us plans to visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park for a 3-day weekend of Jeeping, camping, and hiking in the mountains of west Texas. The itinerary will start off with camping on Friday night and then Saturday will be spent on the off-highway trails in the area. Saturday afternoon will then feature a backpacking trip en route to Guadalupe Peak, the highest peak in Texas. On Sunday, we'll return to the trailhead and then return back home. This won't be a very long trip but will be more than fun nonetheless so if any of you would like to join us, shoot me a PM or email at fledwell@jpfreek.com. Happy adventures!

 

[Ridgewalker]

Have a great time! That is a very unique area. It is one of the few which have trout in TX. I backpacked there in July some 35 years ago. Ran out of water for nearly 2 days. All the "springs" were dry. Sucked the dew off the leaves each morning. Scary!
Enjoy!

 

[ox4mag]

Oh man, that's incredible! What time of year were you there? Where did you backpack to and did you do Guadalupe Peak and/or El Capitan? I'm definitely looking forward to the trip, I just hope that it won't be too terribly hot while we're there but it's going to be a blast nonetheless.

 

[tdesanto]

Oh man, that's incredible! What time of year were you there? Where did you backpack to and did you do Guadalupe Peak and/or El Capitan? I'm definitely looking forward to the trip, I just hope that it won't be too terribly hot while we're there but it's going to be a blast nonetheless.

Regarding temp, I'm not sure about these mountains, but I can speak for Big Bend during that time of year. May and June are the hottest months of the year for Big Bend and that's not that far south from the Guadalupe Mountains. Your elevation will be the deciding factor. I know that it varied easily 10-15+ degrees with an approx. 2000' change in elevation last May when I was in Big Bend.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Oh man, that's incredible! What time of year were you there? Where did you backpack to and did you do Guadalupe Peak and/or El Capitan? I'm definitely looking forward to the trip, I just hope that it won't be too terribly hot while we're there but it's going to be a blast nonetheless.

Time of year was the 4th of July holiday. I cannot remember exactly where we went in. It was on the northeast side through an old homestead which had a very small stream with trout in it that the homesteaders brought in. After a slow rising trail, it was a long switchbacking trail up to the top. After running out of water (we carried 2 gallons each) we decided not to risk climbing Guadalupe Peak. We walked out where the ranger station is today (nothing was there back then including water). A USGS surveyor gave us water when we walked out. He also took us back to our truck. Luckily we were young and tough back then.
Have a great trip.

Just looked it up where we went...McKittrick Canyon (old homestead) to Pine Springs.

 

[JMcD]

My brother in law owns the ranch adjacent to this area and in fact, there is also a really cool place that 4WD vehicles are allowed to drive. I belive it is called the Smith Ranch....but it is in the park and they will let you drive up to it. In addition, the old homestead mentioned previously is still there at Pine Springs. Water flows year round from it and doesnt even need to be treated. El Capitan is the tallest point in Texas, May and June are not terrible, but a little hot nonetheless. This will be a good trip, be careful as a few folks died in that park not too long ago. It is real easty to get lost if you dont know what you are doing.