Big Circle - Guadalupe Mountains National Park

The next leg of my trip was another of my “outstanding” national parks, Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The park contains the highest point in Texas: El Capitan at 8,749 feet.

Imposing

It was was a landmark on the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. It sits at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan desert.

Rugged land

The park is small (135 square miles), has no roads to speak of and is mainly for hiking. I had planned to spend two days there, but because I arrived early, it was still hot but also windy and it is rather similar to Big Bend, I opted for just two afternoon hikes.

Looking out toward the trail

I decided to take the trail to Smith Spring, which was described as a beautiful, peaceful oasis. After the hot, dusty disappointment of Mule Ears Spring in Big Bend, I was looking forward to something idyllic. The hike did not let me down.

It starts at the historic Frijole Ranch.

An old ranch building

It on a paved path that is supposed to be wheelchair accessible, but last year’s floods washed out a key portion over a culvert. 

The trail winds past Manzanita Spring, a lovely reed-surrounded pond that looks toward El Capitan. 

Manzanita Spring

Then, it crosses a flat area by a ravine and follows a dry creek bed. 

Since some of the hike is in the creek, I wouldn’t do it if rain were imminent

There were flowers ... 

Flowers

... and little splashes of fall color along the path.

Colorful plants

Smith Spring, itself, is beautiful. After days of being in the desert and seeing only muddy water or dried up creeks, I just wanted to jump in. I didn’t.

But, I did enjoy the sound, the smell and the beauty of it

The trail is a loop. The way out, passes along the side of a hill through tall grass (yes, I did think a lot about snakes and was very glad I wore my long, tough hiking pants). 

Trail

Then, it picks up another creek bed (with one part so washed out, I had to climb up) and then meets back with the main trail.

Looking up

Then, I rushed to McKittrick Canyon, which closes at 5:00 p.m.  

McKittrick Canyon

I had time for only a brief walk on a longer-than-expected nature trail. I left just in time to avoid being locked in.

Another part of the park, Dog Canyon, is on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line is reached by driving through Carlsbad. I thought about trying to make it there before sunset, but decided not to. In my next post, you’ll see why that was a great decision.

Along the trail

Just a few notes on Guadalupe Mountains: People have lived there for over 10,000 years ago in and among the many caves and alcoves. The first Europeans to arrive were the Spanish in the 16th century, but although they did not make serious attempts to settle, they did introduce horses to the area. 

Nomadic indigenous tribes, including the Apaches, found horses to be an asset for hunting and migrating (Mescalero Apaches harvested the agave-mescal- there for food and fiber; agave roasting pits and other artifacts of Mescalero culture can be found in the park). The Apaches remained in the mountains through the mid-19th century, but were challenged by the Butterfield Overland Mail route in the 1800s. The Apaches were driven out to reservations.

A pretty view

Felix McKittrick (of the canyon), one of the first European settlers, worked cattle during the 1870s. Frijole Ranch, built in 1876, was the first permanent ranch house and the only major building in the region. In 1908, Williams Ranch House was built, and then most of the smaller ranches were consolidated into the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch. In 1921, Wallace Pratt, a geologist for Humble Oil, bought the land to build summer homes for his family. He donated about 6,000 acres to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which was dedicated and formally opened to the public in 1972.

Cactus close-up

Trip date: September 24-October 7, 2014