• click for e-mail

• My two sons and I drove from Dallas to Guadalupe Mountains National Park (505-785-2232) in July of 1995 and 1996. and June 1997, in order to backpack the primitive high-country. The park is about half way between El Paso and Carlsbad Caverns on the border with New Mexico; it took us less than 10 hours to drive there from Dallas. We set up a base camp at the trail-head and registered our plan with the park service. We had a waterproof topographic map -- we would soon find out how prescient that was.

• Next morning it took us about four hours to ascend the Tejas trail, which is four miles long and climbs from 5000 to 8000 feet above sea level. In the summer you do not want to make this climb in the afternoon -- it is one of the hottest and driest trails in the park (in fact, if you can start at the Dog Canyon campground at the North entrance to the park, your hike would be mostly level or downhill if you arranged to be picked up at either Pine Springs or Mckittrick Canyon). There is some tall grass along the lower part of the Tejas trail, so be sure to cover your legs with insect repellent. Keep a water bottle in a pocket on your backpack. In fact, you should plan on packing about one gallon per person per day (there is sometimes water in the high-country, but this is very weather dependent). So don't be surprised if you get caught in a rain shower, but don't count on it to refill your water bottles. We carried only two day's supply of water on our second trip, and it didn't rain so we had to return early. On the third trip we got pretty dehydrated and sunburned on the Bush Mountain trail from Blue Ridge camp to Dog Canyon camp. I don't recommend this trail -- much of it passes through a burned area, and there is not much to see, plus it is very hot and remote. If you do take this trail, keep in mind that Marcus camp has been moved, and no longer is on Marcus trail, but is on Bush Mountain trail. Most of the existing maps don't show the correct location.

• My boys both play soccer, so they were often waiting for poor old Dad to catch up. The steep trail and the altitude and heat, plus the weight of a pack carrying three gallons of water in addition to its normal gear, definitely separate the men from the boys. Don't wear new boots! This trail is not for beginners. My neighbor Tom came on the 1996 trip -- he said the climb up to Pine Top was the hardest thing he ever did, and he jogs daily! Of course, he doesn't jog with a 50 pound pack. Be sure to bring ace bandages in case your knees start to give out. Even if you never had leg cramps before, it is a good idea to make sure you keep enough water and pottasium in your body. It's an interesting experience to have your leg cramp in a tight sleeping bag in a small tent you are sharing with someone else who is laughing at you, while you thrash around like a fish. Also be sure to trim your toenails, because long downhill treks put a lot of weight on the front of your big toe as it presses into the toe of your boot. This repeated stress can easily pry your toenail right off. You won't really feel it until it's too late.

• At the top of the Tejas trail pines predominate, and the temperatures are a lot cooler. It rains almost every afternoon, and lightning and hail can be very dangerous. We were caught on an exposed ridge by an especially violent storm the first day, and were soaked by freezing rain before we had a chance to get our ponchos on. Lightning exploded a tree about 50 feet from me, and I was hit by flying bark. The tree ignited, but luckily the rain put it out. Hail was marble size. We were on our way to a protected camp in a valley, and before we got there the trail had turned into a torrent of water. We set up the tent in the rain, which was difficult because we were all starting to suffer from hypothermia. It took three hours curled inside our sleeping bags before our teeth stopped chattering. The temperature outside the tent dropped below 50 degrees (remember this was July), but inside it was warmer since three of us were sharing a seven foot diameter dome tent. I was beginning to wonder why I had bothered packing in so much extra water! But on the second trip we didn't pack enough water, thinking we would be able to collect rain water with inverted ponchos. The key point to remember is that the weather on the mountain is not predictable, and doesn't necessarily follow the weather patterns common at the base of the mountain. Running and standing water on the mountain exist only for a few hours after a rain.

• The rain stopped late on the first night of the first trip, and the elk whistles and deer grunting added an eerie quality to the overcast dark. We cleaned up camp early the next morning and realized that most of our clothing had been soaked through the nylon backpacks, because it had rained so hard. Hiking in wet socks is a big mistake. But the main problem was that our packs weighed a lot more than before, because of the water retention. The valley at Tejas camp was too sheltered for the sun to dry out our clothes, towels, etc. So we headed back up to the top of the Tejas trail, where the tree cover was not as thick, and there was a lot of sun and wind to dry things out. On the second trip we packed everything in waterproof bags.

• It took us two hours to get back to the top, and another two hours for things to dry out. We realized that the storm had exhausted us, so we decided to cut the hike short and head back to the trailhead. On the way down, we met rangers several times who were on their way up to check for storm damage and survivors. It had been their worst storm in several years, and almost all the hikers had bailed out from the high country already (we didn't see a single one). People do die up there. Next time we won't treat the rain so casually. We were deceived by the warmth of the early afternoon air and the strong sun, and were actually looking forward to a little rain to cool things off. After all, it was July. On the second trip, it rained quite hard during the night in the base camp, and we were expecting running water the next day on the mountain. But there was only a little mud -- not even enough to cake on our boots.

• We cleaned up and had something to eat at the trailhead, then began the drive to our next camp in the Monahans sand dunes. We ran into a flash flood on route 54 coming off the Sierra Diablos. It was a clear and innocent day, and it had taken more than 12 hours after the end of the storm for the runoff water to reach the road. We came over a hill at about 60 mph and without any warning slammed through about two feet of water and rocks rushing across a low point in the road. Luckily our 3/4 ton van was equipped with large truck tires and a performance suspension. A compact car would have been washed away. A few miles farther along the road we met the highway crew on their way to set up barricades, and we let them know where the high water was. Later that day we had to deal with a killer bee swarm in Monahans. Flashfloods, hail, exploding trees, hypothermia, forest fires, killer bees ... perhaps life in the big city isn't so bad after all.

The Tejas trail from Pine Canyon to Pine Top is pretty difficult, but the Bear Canyon trail is even steeper. If your legs are still in good shape when you plan to come down the mountain, you could consider the Bear Canyon trail. Otherwise, stick to the Tejas trail. Most of the primitive camps are pretty close to ridges, and don't offer a lot of protection from wind and lightning. Tejas camp is well protected, however. Some notes about our backpacks -- these were all external frame types, telescoping to fit any torso. The 11 year-old carried 20 pounds, and the adults carried anywhere from 35 to 50 pounds. Be sure to adjust the straps so that most of the pack weight is on your hips. It is also a good idea to add a wide pad to the shoulder straps to distribute the stress on your shoulders. Many packs have water bottle holders, but make sure that your bottle is tall enough for you to grab it easily. The rivets on blue-jean pockets will bruise your hip if you wear them under a backpack. When hiking in the mountains with a heavy pack, unless your legs and stamina are very, very good, you are going to suffer some. If you have the option of using a pack mule or horses, give it some serious thought.

Guadalupe.htm 7-4-97