Guadalupe Peak (04 May 2008)

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[Ed: Imported from Americas Roof ‘Summit Trip Reports’ forum]

[By: Mark Stauter on May 8 2008 at 12:03 PM]

[Link: http://www.network54.com/Forum/198362/message/1210262607/Guadalupe+Peak+%2804+May+2008%29]

I climbed Guadalupe Peak on Sunday morning, 04 May 2008. I spent the previous night at a motel in Carlsbad, N.M., about an hour or so away. Unless you’re camping, there is no place to stay in the immediate vicinity.

I started out from the Pine Springs Campground trailhead at 7:25a MDT. It was a nice cool morning with some high clouds and very little wind. It’s about 4.25 miles to the summit with 3000+ feet of vertical gain, so the trail is pretty steep in places, especially at the beginning and the end. For the first two miles or so there are frequent switchbacks as you gain elevation pretty rapidly. At 9:30a I crossed the bridge and passed the spur trail to the primitive campground. Soon after that you can see the summit pinnacle, but it’s about a half mile of steep trail to get there. I reached the summit and its curious aluminum pyramid at 10:25a MDT, three hours after starting out. Some campers had signed the summit register earlier, but I appear to have been the first hiker from the trailhead to have reached the top. In the half hour I spent at the summit about a half dozen more hikers arrived. It was cool but, fortunately, not very breezy at the Top o’ Texas. The view was a little hazy but still quite nice.

I started down at 10:55a MDT. It was only going down that I really noticed some fairly severe downside exposure in three or four places along the trail. Most of the trail consists of loose limestone chat, so it’s easy to slip and slide, and caution is recommended in the exposed areas. I reached the trailhead at 1:25p MDT, so 2.5 hours on the descent and six hours total elapsed time. I carried 2.5 liters of water and a quart of PowerAde Option with me, along with a few granola bars. I consumed all of the liquid en route, and could have used more. If it had been a hot day I would have gotten very dehydrated, so I recommend taking a generous about of fluid with you.

The National Park Service maintains the entire area, so access is not a problem. There is a $5.00 access fee, or you can use your Parks Pass. This is a strenuous hike, certainly the most difficult of my 26 state highpoints to date, but it is worth the effort.

I’ll post some snapshots at: http://web.mst.edu/~mstauter/highpoint/

Mark Stauter
Rolla, Mo.

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