#19: Guadalupe Mountains & Carlsbad Caverns National Parks
Upon leaving Marfa, I headed north to two smaller national parks: Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas and Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. Although these parks are in two different states, they are only about a 45-minute drive from each other. Both being smaller national parks, I hadn’t planned on spending more than three days in the two parks combined.
About a two-hour drive from Marfa, I arrived at Guadalupe Mountains NP mid-day. This park is in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert, whereas Big Bend NP is in the southern part of the Chihuahuan Desert. I reserved a campsite for two nights. The camp”site” was basically a parking lot, which was a little disappointing. However, my fellow campers were super nice and helpful.
That afternoon, I decided to do a hike called Devil’s Hall, which would take at least a few hours. The weather was moderate and not hot at all, so Addie was completely fine relaxing in the trailer while I hiked (again, no dogs were allowed on the trails).
The next day I’d head out to Guadalupe Peak - the highest peak in Texas. This hike was going to be longer and more rigorous, but I figured while I’m there I should do it. Plus, I was told the views were incredible from the peak (~8,700 ft).
The hike to Devil’s Hall was respectable - the landscape was diverse and it was a lot of rock scramble (which I like). I was hiking solo, but I did run into a few other hikers along the way so I didn’t feel unsafe. After walking up a set of naturally-formed rock steps, I was almost at the destination. When I got there I understood why they call it Devil’s “Hall.”
On the hike back, I met a fellow traveler and new friend, Gerard. He and I hiked back together (getting a little lost on the way) and chatted the entire time. This is what I love about this trip: I meet so many interesting people by happenstance. Gerard and I enjoyed a drink and some soup back at my Airstream that night.
Given the weather forecast of freezing cold temperatures and a wintery mix, I made the decision to switch up my plans a bit. I’d take the bad weather day and drive to Carlsbad Caverns NP and then the day after do the hike to Guadalupe Peak. I love hiking, but I hate being miserable due to the weather. Plus, the visibility would have been zero when I got to the peak. No fun.
Gerard and I met in the morning at Carlsbad Caverns NP. The weather was SHIT. Freezing, windy and wet, we were happy to be underground. This park had a kennel for dogs, so I was able to bring Addie with me and put her in a warm kennel while Gerard and I hiked the cave. It was really hard to leave her, but it was the best thing to do - she would be warm and safe.
To get down to the caverns, you can hike/walk or take an elevator. We opted to hike it so we could see more. We ended up hiking down the equivalent of 95 stories of a building. Our ears popped a few times going down and taking the elevator back up.
At 56 degrees Fahrenheit at all times (all seasons) the caverns were breathtaking. And huge! I was amazing by how many different rock formations could be present in the same cave. There were so many different types of textures, shapes and sizes. My favorite were the ribbon type, which I’m sure you can identify among the photos below. To date, there are 119 known limestone caves in the park (with more to be discovered in time).
Gerard and I headed out of the park for a quick bite before we went our separate ways - of course, after taking a photo and posting to Instagram. 😃
The next morning was, again, crappy weather. As I’ve said before, some things are just out of my control. Foregoing the highest peak in Texas, I headed out that day to explore the rest of New Mexico.
