Climbing up Guadalupe Peak, the tallest mountain in the state of Texas, was one of the most physically challenging things I've done in years. In total, the hike is an 8.4 mile round trip, which doesn't sound like much, but the incline for 4.2 of those miles was certainly an uphill battle...
After an early start, we embarked on our climb, packs heavy with water, a full loaf of bread, peanut butter, and of course, jelly.
The picnic we had about three quarters of the way up was absolutely divine - it's funny how whatever food you have becomes the most delicious thing ever when you're hiking!
It was difficult for us to figure out which mountain was actually the highest - the one we were going to make it to the top of. The trek ended up taking us slowly across three separate mountains till we finally made it to Guadalupe Peak.
The coolest part of the hike was watching the scenary change. It started off rocky, but within an hour we were hiking through a forest of trees!
Everyone we came across was incredibly supportive of each other. Shouts of "you're almost there" and "30 more minutes" followed us the whole way up. While it was nice to be encouraged, it was always kind of sad when we realized the peak was not "just around the corner." However, once we made it up to the top, we knew the hike was totally worth it. Staring out for miles across the hills made you feel really small, but also infinite, like we were on top of the world.
After signing the guest book, snapping a few photos, and a good long thoughtful stare out at the view, we began the descent back down to camp and our hearty beans and rice camp stove dinner. In total, the hike took almost nine hours! The journey down was a piece of cake compared to the climb up. Definitely glad we did this hike at the beginning of our trip! It was the hardest and longest hike we accomplished.
If you're thinking of spending the night at Guadalupe Peak, you either need to get to the park early to get a camping permit, or be prepared to hike into the backcountry (meaning you'll need to carry all your gear in to your camping spot, usually at least a hike of a few miles!) Camping spots go really fast! There was a crowd of people standing outside the park center even before it opened at 8:00AM.
This was a wonderful way to start our spring break road trip. I'm glad I can finally cross this feat off of my Texas bucket list! 10/10 would reccommend.
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