Guadalupe Mountains National Park |
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The highest point in the state of Texas, Guadalupe Peak at at 8,749 feet (2,667 m) is in the range that gives Guadalupe Mountains National Park its name. However, the most conspicuous of the mountains in this park is named El Capitan, the Captain; this peak is a famous landmark, visible for hundreds of miles around. The approach to the park can be deceiving. The mountains and surrounding desert flats appear extremely rugged and desolate. No trees are visible--only boulders, cacti, and a few hardy shrubs. A hike up into the Guadalupe Mountains, however, takes you into a very different environment with temperate and alpine forests, burbling streams, and grassy meadows. The Guadalupe Peak Trail offers some of the most outstanding views in the park. Climbing over 3000 feet to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the trail winds through evergreem forests and offers spectacular views of El Capitan and the vast Chihuahuan desert. The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. A late autumn hike through this canyon brings you to a brilliant show of native bigtooth maple trees blazing red and orange in the sun. Although there is stiff competition for campsites at McKittrick Canyon throughout October, at other times of the year this park offers ample solitude and challenging, but very rewarding, hikes. From this park, you are only a short distance away from the famous "Bat Caves" of Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
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