Happily, gloriously, we did reach the top of the cloud deck. Right around 8300 feet, a deep cobalt-blue sky opened up above us, and the tendrils of cloud off to the side faded away as a defined cloud deck became visible, stretching off into the distance. Man, I love it when that happens!
With full sun, white clouds, and white rocks (Guadalupe Peak seemed to be entirely composed of limestone or some similar rock, like perhaps dolomite), we were glad for our sunglasses. It was brrr-ight out! The trail switchbacked up easily through mildly craggy terrain, and we stopped frequently to take in the panorama(s) before us. The traffic on the trail was fairly light, too, meaning we mostly had this scene to ourselves.
The final few hundred feet of climbing to the summit was on a moderate grade, half over solid bedrock, and quite easy. The going was relaxed, the situation sublime: hardly a breath of wind, cool but with a bright, warm sun, clear air around and above us, and a white deck of cotton stretching away to the east below us.
Soon a distinctive metal pyramid popped into view - the summit marker (strangely placed there by American Airlines). We topped out at 10:20 a.m. or so and dropped our packs, got out some Lone Star Beer (what else is one supposed to drink on the highpoint of Texas?), and enjoyed the vistas.
We basked in the bright light - made all the brighter by the white rock around us - and reflected on what had been a relatively good cilmb. Chris, Bunno and Steve had maintained quite a decent pace - over nearly 3000 feet of gain from the trailhead, and we had arrived at the top in about two and a half hours. Pretty decent, especially for non-regular hikers.
After an extended 'elevenses' stop (couldn't really call it lunch, since it wasn't even 11 a.m. yet), we made ready to head down. The top of the cloud deck seemed to be rising, and tendrils of cloud occasionally wafted over the rock only feet away from us. I was glad we had arrived when we had, for it was possible that soon the summit would be entirely in cloud. No matter to us, though, and down we went.
It had been relatively un-crowded on the way up, and I had an impression at this point that this was a lightly-travelled trail, despite being the state high point. On the way down, though, I realized that this wasn't the case. We encountered a ton of uphill traffic as we were descending. Seems like most Texans are not early risers!
An animated and extended discussion about the merits (or lack thereof) of javascript helped pass the time on our hike back down. We were in cloud for most of the descent, but by the time we began our final descent off of Guadalupe Peak's lower east buttress, the skies had mostly cleared, and it had become a warm sunny day again.
Hands in the air as we arrived back at the trailhead right around 1pm, only five and a half hours after starting out. Great job, guys. Thank you so much for accompanying me on this hike. I really enjoyed the company.... and to all of you readers out there: care to join me on the next outing?
Post-hike, we began our long drive back east to the Austin area and south-central Texas. We made it as far east as the town of Junction along I-20 before stopping for the night. Somehow we got coralled back into another session of Texas BBQ. I was definitely starting to get meated-out.
Guadalupe Peak - Hike Data
Start Time:
7:36a.m.
End Time:
1:00p.m.
Duration:
5h24m
Distance:
13.03 km
(8.1 mi)
Average Speed:
2.4 km/hr
(1.5 mph)
Start Elevation:
5902ft
(1799m)
*
Max Elevation:
8767ft
(2672m)
*
Min Elevation:
5851ft
(1783m)
*
End Elevation:
5851ft
(1783m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
2848ft
(868m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
2909ft
(887m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
The next day we had a three-hour drive back to the airport in Austin to catch our flight home. We had enough time to do a little sightseeing, though, so we stopped en-route in the town of San Antonio, home of the famous battle of the Alamo. Turns out that San Antonio has a lot more going for it than just the historic Alamo - its quaint canal system, for example, is very upscale and chic. Worth a visit.
