This was one of my favorite hikes with some of the best views in Texas. It was a 2 day trip, with the first day getting near the top and setting up camp and the second day rising early for sunrise and heading back down. A weekend trip, but I wish I had made it longer. There was a path that took a little bit deeper back into the valley and would have let me take it a bit slower. However, I can't ever complain of the hike that I did take.

The Guadalupe Mountains are in the far west of Texas, near El Paso. I had been out to this area several times, camping at the nearby Big Bend National Park. The drive was about 3-4 hours from San Antonio which I was living in at the time. The drive itself is somewhat interesting, starting from hill country, across vast plains, then the diving into valleys between plateaus. Parts certainly felt like driving through a western movie.

Once arriving I quickly donned my backpack, my hiking shows, poles, and began swiftly. I did not have much time to waste as I needed to reach the top campsite before nightfall.

The hike up

The hike starts out fairly typical and maintained, though certainly with parts that straggle over rocks. Fortunately this was done all in the shade. Clear skies enable impressive views, but would have not been as pleasant to hike under with the Texas sun in the middle of summer.

I thought bringing poles might have been excessive but they proved helpful across some of the more rough parts.

Rising through the mountains

While the start felt very familiar with previous hikes in Big Bend, there was no shortage of remarkable views. The pace I kept was quick and, still fortunate in the shade, the rising shadows also kept me stopping every now and then to see beautiful rocky outcroppings highlighted by that contrast.

Near the top

Closer to the top the trail leveled out, though still below the ridge. The path wandered through some brush and trees and effectively become not too different than any hike around San Antonio instead of near a mountain's peak.

Along with the sun setting the temperature dropped significantly. I did not take as many photos here as I knew I need to setup my camp and get comfortable. The low overnight was going to be below freezing and I wanted to get into my sleeping bag rather quickly.

However once I did I was in for a slight surprise. I wanted to make sure I could still see the stars as out here as the night sky was near pristine in its darkness and visibility. Here being one of the few places I consistently could see the Milky Way. But what also appeared along the horizon was the glow and fires from the large west Texas oil fields. Quite a contrast with the remoteness of Big Bend. By the morning I could see those lights begin to diminish with a much greater one taking their place.

Morning

It took me only a dozen minutes to take down my tent and scramble the rest of the way to the top. Before setting out, I didn't fully appreciate what I would find here. I could see all the way to horizon for dozens of miles in every direction, the curvature of the Earth, and the shadow of the mountain on the clouds behind me. And then as I sat taking it all in, the sun began to rise ...

I'm not sure what more to say, even these photos don't capture the feeling. I just enjoyed the quiet and the view. All of this was obscured on the hike up and I didn't really pay attention to other photos online of what to expect. I was not planning on nearly perfectly clear skies either. The only other time I have seen nearly this far, and not in a plane, was my hike up Mt Fuji, but weather there was a bit more cloudy, maybe a bit dramatic at times too.

Here, however, I could see so far.

The hike down

It took me a bit of time to finally set off again. Almost too much time. While the way back was uneventful, thoughts always coming back to that sunrise, I made it back to my apartment just after sunset. I had work the next morning and a few chores to do. Back to life, but with such a wonderful memory.