Guadalupe Mountains NP – November

[Andy Chassé]

Anyone interested? I'm thinking 3 days @ 15-20 miles per day. Planning to link the campgrounds to minimize amount of water that needs to be carried. Not too particular on the route, as there are a lot of options and I've never been. Right now, I can manage most any day in November.

[Luke Schmidt]

I might be interested. Weekends are best for me.

[Alex Eriksson]

I'm really interested….just not in going with you. It's nothing personal, you're clearly just in way better shape than I am if you're doing 15-20 miles and I gotta be part of a group hike where I'm not the one who gets eaten first if the sh*t hits the fan. ;-)

Seriously though, the Guadalupe Mountains and Big Bend are on my to-do list if I can squeeze at least one of them in before December. It's not looking promising but hey I never know.

[Eugene Smith]

Andy, I would really love to join you, but I'm not sure if I can get the time away for the whole enchilada you have in mind. I could possibly join you for one portion of the trip.

It's been a while since I last visited the Guadalupes and they're definitely worth exploring some more.

[HkNewman]

Work obligations screw up my Sundays for the next 5 wks. Might be able to do a portion of this trip with everyone depending on the dates. It's been too long since I have hiked the park itself (like 1989), tho I've done an overnight in nearby Last Chance canyon in the neighboring National "Forest".

[Luke Schmidt]

Edited

Given these three facts I have an idea.

1. Three full days is a bit much for me because I'd need two more days for driving.

2. HK can't do Sundays.

3. I don't know what Eugene's schedule is like but sounds like he can't get three full days.

How about a Friday to Sunday trip with stops near roads. I'm assuming these campgrounds are at or near roads so I'm thinking people like Eugene and HK (and maybe me) could join us or depart early depending on their schedules.

[HkNewman]

Aw heck, don't make any allowances for me. My weekends are Saturday and Monday's, so I may join for a day or so. Sounds like Andy will bounce from one CG to another, so there may be some bailout points.

[Luke Schmidt]

Well that plan works well for Eugene as well as me too depending on how much time off I can take.
Actually if backcountry campsites are available it might be better to plan on passing through the campsites in the afternoon than going into the backcountry a ways to camp. If we passed through a campsite at say 4 PM on Saturday that might work well. People who need to leave would have some driving time in the evening and those who continued would have time to go a ways into a more wilderness like area.

[Andy Chassé]

I'm sure we can make something work. I was planning on driving up Thursday, full day of hiking Friday and Saturday, partial day on Sunday and drive back. As HK said I'm planning on a campground stop each day because it's the only water out there, so it should be really easy for people to get on and off. Can easily switch the hiking days to Sat/Sun.

Eugene suggested we jet up Guadalupe Peak and bag that real quick, then back down to Pine Springs for our bags and back up. Guadalue Peak – Pine Springs – Tejas – Bush Mt – Blue Ridge CG is about 17 miles. Saturday, there are a few route options from Blue Ridge to Dog Canyon CG (water/parking). People can hop on or bail there, I can stop in for water and keep going. Lots of ways to make loops out there, so there's a lot of wiggle room. Although it probably won't be an issue, we'll need a couple of alternate routes in case the backcountry CG we're planning on is taken.

Let me know what y'all are thinking.

[Andy Chassé]

http://www.nps.gov/gumo/planyourvisit/upload/parkmap1.pdf

Take a look at the map and see what you guys think. I have a topo sitting in front of me so can verify distances etc.

[Luke Schmidt]

Looks like a fun route. It looks like we'd be starting with a long first day then a dry camp that night so we'd be starting out carrying a lot of water. What if we did more or less the same route but moved the peak climb the last day? If we camped at Marcus Cam we'd be pretty close to Dog Canyon and water the next day.

Edit-Speaking of water I wonder if we could get away with a bit less then a gallon a day since it should be a bit cooler? I'll probably eat cold food which means all I gotta do is drink.

[Andy Chassé]

Either way works for me. Anywhere out there except the developed campgrounds will be a dry camp unfortunately. We can stay in the campgrounds with water, but I'd rather suffer the water weight and camp in the backcountry. Both Dog Canyon and Pine Springs have water, and I think Mckittrick canyon TH does too.

As for how much water to carry, I've always done fine on 3L for a day in mild temps. If no cook I think that would be okay for most.

[Luke Schmidt]

I'm down for backcountry camping with stops in campgrounds during the day to replenish as needed. The whole area looks cool so I'm not super picky on routes.

[Andy Chassé]

Sounds like we're on the same page. I'll be happy just to be out there and see some new terrain. Does anyone have a date in mind? As I've said, I'm probably the least constrained by schedule right now and can manage most any day in November.

[Luke Schmidt]

I can be pretty flexible within two constraints.

1. I'm a substitute teacher so I can be pretty flexible on dates. All I'd ask is we include the weekends since I only get paid on days I work.

2. I promised a friend I'd help him take his young boys on their first hunt. I'm not sure if it will happen in November at all but I'll need to work around that. The good thing is for him I pretty much have to do it during the week so probably won't be an issue.

Next weekend it sounds like Andy is busy. I'm thinking the sooner the better since the days are only going to get shorter.

[Andy Chassé]

Sooner works for me. I have a 25K this Saturday but can definitely do next weekend (11/10) if that isn't too short notice for people. I MAY have an event on 11/17 or 18, but not 100% sure so could maybe do that one instead.

[Luke Schmidt]

Right now I think it would work. I definitely want to work Thursday and possibly Friday (a school I like thinks they'd need me) so I'd lean towards a Saturday to Monday trip if that works for everyone else.

[Andy Chassé]

Sat to Monday is cool with me. Eugene, HK? What do you guys think? If either of you just wants to hop in for a day, since 2 of the 3 days are your weekend HK, should be easy to set up.

[Luke Schmidt]

I KNOW right now that Sat – Mon. will work but I might be able to make Friday work and I could always do a partial trip if that worked better with Eugene and HK's schedules. I'll wait to see what works best for you guys.

[HkNewman]

I could join for a day Saturday -11/3 or 10th or 17th, since you guys would likely be cashing it in on Monday. Add: should be no problem since I'll be packed really light, gotta figure out where to stash vehicle for potential support (bringing in emergency water, other liquids).

(ed. add)

[Q Smith]

Guys,

I've been all the trails and places noted, and a few more. Those are some tough hikes (of course i'm 56). Also, check the wind forecast. It can blow you off the mountain!

– guadalupe peak and back down is no big deal 2.5 hours up, 1.5 hours down (you will see other folks). you hit some nice forest the last third of the trail, the camp ground doesn't provide much protection from the wind.

on these hikes, you may not see anybody
– pine top to dog canyon is pretty aggressive: you will need more than 1 gallon of water and you're gonna be very dry when you get to dog canyon – very very dry
– pine top to the bowl and back down (whether you back track or use bear canyon) you will need at least 1 gallon of water and again you will be very dry when you return
– pine top to bush mountain and then anywhere is more than one day (2 gallons of water)
– mckittrick canyon to dog canyon is doable but it is a full day and you will need a gallon of water (the other direction is easier). there will be a LOT of people until you hit the vertical (just past the grotto – i think a disappointing grotto)

– all of these trails have a lot of up and down and are a tad tougher than they appear on the maps
– devil's canyon is flat and easy but rewarding… again many people but nice stuff

after all that negativity let me add this…
go to bush moutain, get off the trial and go west until you reach the escarpment which is awesome

PLEASE let me know if my advice was misleading!!

Q

[Luke Schmidt]

Thanks for the advice Q. Don't worry I won't go light on water. I'll probably end up carrying a gallon just to be safe.
Right now I have work on Friday so the earliest I could leave would be about 4 PM and the drive is a good 10 hours. I could probably be their and ready to go by 10 AM or so on Saturday, all of Sunday and part of Monday. I'd kinda like to get out in time on Monday to do the drive back home in one push but I'm will to be flexible. I could always bail out on the last day or take an extra day off.

[Andy Chassé]

Appreciate the advice Q. As to the difficulty, I believe all of us have put in long days over rough terrain and am not particularly concerned about it. For water, I've regularly gone out with 3L/day, I just make sure to hydrate heavily beforehand so I can carry less. I'm sure most people are more comfortable with 4-5L though. Thanks for the pictures and trail description – very excited to see it.

Ok, haven't heard anything from Eugene, but that all sounds fine with me. I was planning to just head out Friday AM and and hang at a campground that night. I'm not sure we ever really decided on the route, but that's something we could probably slap together real quick.

[Luke Schmidt]

Andy as long as you have a good map I'm good with finalizing the route last minute. My chances of being their for the whole trip may be diminishing. I was thinking I could take off all of Monday and possibly Tuesday. Now it looks like I might have to be back home on Monday night but we'll see.

[Andy Chassé]

Sweet deal, yeah I have a good topo. Well, let me know when you figure your schedule out. If another weekend would work better we can try for that. I'm pretty easy.

[Author]

Posts