r/Highpointers • u/lezzygirlz • 16d ago
Guadalupe Peak (highest peak in Texas)
Guadalupe Peak! Reaching 8,751 ft of elevation, 8.4 mile round trip.
Have to be honest, pretty hard hike. Lots of incline and some narrow rocks to walk on. Took about 8hrs to finish.
Started off around 8:30am with about 80 degree weather finished at 5:30pm. On the way back, a thunderstorm started, with hail! It was an insane experience, thunder was loud, lightning was bright. Very scary situation to be in, slipping on rocks and streams going fast!!
Beautiful hike though, and tough.
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u/Jmtungsten 16d ago
How windy was it at the top?
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u/lezzygirlz 16d ago
honestly it wasnt windy! i was expecting it to be high, it got windy once the thunderstorm hit which was pretty crazy 😭
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u/MadBro45 21 Highpoints 16d ago
Great hike. I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Congrats on the summit
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u/CHENWizard 16d ago
Last time I was there, I had planned on camping at that site near the peak. Storm came through that day and there were 90-100 mph gusts recorded at the peak. Trail was closed so we couldn’t even attempt it if we’d wanted to (we didn’t). Got a cheap motel room in Carlsbad and hiked the next day. Still had strong wind near the peak, but not deadly. It was insanely cold and the clouds were low and freezing on the trees. Incredible to look at, but much tougher than expected, having done some equally challenging hikes at higher elevations.
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u/lezzygirlz 15d ago
im glad you waited it out! but yeah, the winds and weather up there can get pretty crazy.
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15d ago
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u/lezzygirlz 15d ago
it definitely is strenuous, but you do see a bunch of quartz along the way and the views are definitely amazing
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u/Existing_Attitude189 15d ago
Congrats! I did it a few years ago and built a burning hatred for the switchbacks that represent the first mile. They were leg burners going up and back aches coming down.
I had a very good chuckle at the number of out of shape folks wearing crocs turning around a mile or so in.
It was clouded over at the peak the day I hiked it, and I finally sat down for a long stretch to catch my breath. A nice woman pointed out I was literally 10 feet from the peak . . .It sneaks up on you,
The view of El Capitan is awe inspiring. I am glad they have such a strong cell signal up there as I did lots of facetiming showing off the 360 view.
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u/lezzygirlz 15d ago
oh my gosh, yes! the first part was definitely strenous. then getting to the top, and having to climb those rocks were definitely calf burners 🤣 i agree though, the view was awesome to see!
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u/antarcticgecko 15d ago
The rangers at the guest center say most people underestimate it and bail before the peak. He estimated only 25% of people reach the peak. So good job! It’s a day hike but surprisingly difficult.
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u/Fearless_Day2607 4 Highpoints 13d ago
Is that because of the difficulty of the hike, or bad weather conditions?
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u/antarcticgecko 12d ago
The hike itself. It’s steep, and harder than a day hike feels like it should be. Then if the weathers bad it can be that much more difficult.
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u/Fearless_Day2607 4 Highpoints 12d ago
Looking at the distance/elevation gain it doesn't look crazy. Similar to Wheeler Peak, which I did a few years ago. But I saw reports of hazardous winds at Guadalupe.
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u/antarcticgecko 12d ago
I have also done wheeler peak and I would consider Guadalupe to be more difficult. Maybe it’s psychological, lots of switchbacks.
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u/AbjectSignature5916 1d ago
I did this one in November a couple years ago, good hike with a couple sketch parts.. absolutely amazing stars at night
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u/wild_Nile_ 16d ago
Don’t know Texas had any elevated landscape 🤣
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u/front_rangers 15d ago
Did you just think it was all plains and prairies?
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u/wild_Nile_ 15d ago
I was more poking fun at Texas. 8,700ft isn’t a little mountain. Lost in text sarcasm lol
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u/Used_Sort_6444 16d ago
Hiked it back in 2001. I loved it, good intro to desert hiking.