| Texas and New Mexico (6 Areas) |
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Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Texas (Summit Hike & Devil's Hall) McKitrick Ridge – Guadalupe Mountain National Park, Texas Triassic Trail (Table Rock) - Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX Upper Canyon Trail – Caprock Canyon State Park, TX Austin and San Antonio, TX (Enchanted Rock, Perdenales Falls, Hill Country & Colorado Bend) Alkali Flat Trail - White Sands National Monument, New Mexico Dining Tips: we love to hit the local eateries/diners, for example, near Colorado Bend, there is no potable water & food within 20-30 miles from the park; we encourage you to experience Southern Texas hospitality at Lometa's local diner. Drop by and say hi to the sisters that runs the diner. Visit the local establishments and stay away from Chains to keep our towns vibrant.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park - Texas (Summit Hike & Devil's Hall) Get to the trailhead is easy; the trailhead parking lot is next to the Pine Springs Campground. Just drive straight until the road dead-ends. We got there around 9:00am and started the ascent. What surprised us was the ruggedness of the trail. Hiking boots with stiff soles are highly recommended since the trail is mostly litters with small to medium size rocks. This translates to a lot of pounding on your feet. If you have time to stop and linger, you will probably discover fossils. We encountered quite a few rocks with fossilized shells. The beginning of the climbs followed the side of Pine Spring Canyon, then circled to the back of the mountain, up through a pine forest, and onto the final push to reach the summit. The summit offered a spectacular view of the Salt Flats, Chihuahua Desert, etc. During the last section of the trail, the sun reflected off the quartz crystals and I told Mary we were walking on diamonds. On the summit, the greater than 270 view will beg you to take tons of pictures. Since we love heights, we sat on a boulder outcrop with a steep cliff below us. We felt as if we were suspended in mid-air. In hindsight it was pretty dangerous since this mountain is not for climbing and the rocks easily crumbles. Before descent, we made our way to the obelisk that marks the summit. We opened the metal box and signed the register. I noted someone left an emergency blanket up here – something to remember if you didn’t bring enough cloth and find it’s too late to descent. By the time we reached the parking lot, it was around 5pm - we took lots of breaks and pictures. The hike can be done in 5-6 hrs with a steady pace. Tips: visit when it’s cool (we visited in November) and bring lightweight layers/hard shell for extreme temperature fluctuations; bring enough water. No need to bring a GPS - one way in, one way out. Start early or bring powerful flashlights. Side Trips: 1) Sharing the same trailhead is the Devil's Hall hike; this narrow 4 mile (round trip) gorge hikes is fairly level but the trail is rocky toward the end. There are some gorgeous maples and rugged canyon scenary. 2) Not far from the visitors's center you will find the Smith Spring's loop trail. The trail offers a relaxing stroll (albeit some elevation gain) to introduce you to the landscape of the region.
McKitrick Ridge – Guadalupe Mountain National Park, Texas McKitrick Ridge starts off at the McKitrick Canyon Trail. On the date of the hike, we had no intention to reach the ridge top and only decided to reach the Hunter’s Cabin off a leveled hike through the canyon floor. Along the way we visited the Pratt’s Cabin and the Grotto. Honestly, since we didn’t visit in Fall and missed the fantastic show of red and yellow, we didn’t see a whole lot on the canyon floor and decided to press on beyond Hunter’s cabin… this turned out to be a fantastic surprise. There were moments of déjàvo when we climbed… at the canyon floor, I pointed to a Hoodoo like rock WAY UP on the top of the mountain and joked with Mary that we will get there… honestly my gut feeling is that we will turn around long before reaching that point. But guess what? In about an hour, we were standing above that Hoodoo and walking on the ridgeline on the other side of the mountain… (Remember the “Analogy” I wrote in “Contact Us” section of the webpage?) The climax of the hike has to be the ‘notch’ where we crossed the spine of the ridge and is able to look east at the North McKittrick Canyon and south into the South McKittrick Canyon. When I first peered through the notch I was awed by the sight of another valley; the giant slab of rock in front us felt so close that we can almost touch it. The rock had a straight, brownish, almost Chinese watercolor-like façade with a hint of menacing vibe… “I don’t think this mountain welcomes climbers (with ropes & all)”, I joked with Mary. We continued about half a mile on the ridge top and turned around when we approached our pre-establish turnaround time (1:00pm). We stopped short of the reaching the campground by a few hundred feet. Tips: Carry enough water, wear sturdy hard sole boots. Watch for trailhead closing hours and establish a turnaround time. Distance: ~ 10+ miles roundtrip
Triassic Trail (Table Rock) - Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX Palo Duro (and Caprock Canyon) offers some unique scenery for this part of the country – the landscape resembles that of Utah and Arizona. The vistas are not as expansive as Canyonland but who says Texas is flat! Palo Duro is only about 25 miles South of Amarillo. This makes the park a fairly popular destination for the folks living around the area. Get to the park, from Amarillo, take I-27 south. Exit State Hwy. 217 (exit #106) and turn left (east). This will take you directly to park entrance. Triassic Trail is the only route that begins at rim level (at the visitor center). Stop at the visitors’ center to obtain a map of the trail or follow the signs at the visitors’ parking lot. The start of the trail involves a gradual climb next to the cliffs (to our right). About two third ways up the trail, we noticed the amphitheater dwarfed under us (on our left). The trail gradually levels off and we found ourselves traveling on the edge of a plateau, the plateau then gave away to a narrow ridge that ends in a rocky summit (a.k.a. Table Rock). From here, we backtracked and returned to the parking lot. We chose this trail because it took us to one of the highest point in the park. Note: on your way down, there should be a side trail leading you down to the amphitheater. This trail seems to be very steep and you must find a way back to your car (hitch a ride or walk). Ask the ranger about the entrance/exit by the amphitheater… if conditions allows, you can save yourself a couple miles of gradual climbs by enter near the amphitheater. Tips: no special equipment is needed for this hike. Distance: ~ 7 miles roundtrip Rating: 8 out of 10
Upper Canyon Trail – Caprock Canyon State Park, TX Upper Canyon Trail (and the Triassic Trail in the nearby Palo Duro) is perhaps the best two hiking trails in Northern Texas, and one of the best Texas State Park hikes, IMO. One of the best part is that these trails is their location, they are within driving distance from many nearly cities, including Dallas/Fort Worth. Getting there: The State Park is located in the middle of nowhere, we stayed at Hotel Turkey in the town Turkey the night before. Based on the town newspaper, the hotel was to be donated to charity a month later. We felt fortunate to have stayed in a piece of history. Camping is probably a better choice for this park. We arrived at the park and visited the only ranger stationed at the park. She told us about the loop hike. From the park entrance we drove north on the park's main road, past the tent camping area and arrived at the trailhead. I believe it’s the North Prong parking lot. The 1st section of the hike was an easy stroll on a well maintained dirt trail. For now, the trail skirts the perimeter of the ridge and we headed toward denser vegetation, the trails narrows and follow a creek bed periodically. In the distance, we could see a few hoodoos; another nice surprise in this part of the country. The second section of the hike starts when the trail abruptly turns left and we started a steep climb toward the ridge top. The steep hike took us to the Fern Cave; it’s not much a cave looking from the outside other than a hole in the wall with lots of fern. I was not impressed but the cool breeze emanating from the ‘cave’ was a nice relief from the heat (and this was in January). By the time we got the ridge top, the temperature is cooler again with wind gusts swept over the ridge top. There are overlooks on both sides of the ridge but we didn’t linger for too long due to the wind gusts. As we skirted around the ridge top, we started to make our way down… the wind actually picked up and Mary was ‘blown up’ like a balloon by the gale force wind. The highlight of the trail is the Haynes Ridge Overlook. There is a weather beaten chair and a sign next to the overlook. I remember the view extends to the horizon at this point. From here we also saw our car. We followed a trail headed down toward the parking lot. This trail was extremely rocky and rugged. It’s more like a water runoff than an actual trail. But this was the shortest distance to our car. Overall this was good hike. Don’t quit when you have made it to the cave, the best part is yet to come. Tips: very windy on the ridge top, use the modified via-ferreta setup on your kids if you are afraid to have them blown away near the overlooks. See our Tips section. Distance: ~ 6.5 miles roundtrip Rating: 8 out of 10
Austin & San Antonio Enchanted Rock – located near Fredericksburg, this place makes a great weekend trip. This 400 feet rock is literally a piece of giant rock. It’s hard to describe and you’ll have to experience it yourself. We took a short stroll to the ‘rock top’ but will probably be back for some bouldering and hiking around the rock. The place was packed and the line of cars extended all the way to the highway. Perdenales Falls State Park – located near Johnson City, this place boasts some of the clearest water in Texas I have ever seen. We went down to the riverbed and scrambled up and down the river. There are lots of nooks and cranny to explore. Be warned, talk to the ranger prior to entering the river and ask about flash flood danger. Colorado Bend State Park - located near Bend, TX. This remote location is designated as a primitive area with a long 8 mile country road to the park's center, if it wasn't for the frequent stump on the brakes when faced with upcoming trucks; I almost thought we were in a New England Rally Race... A word of caution, please drive slow and show courtesy to your fellow travelers (less rocks and dust for everyone to swallow). This place is suppose to offer good fishing when White Bass is spawning. For hiking, there is a nice waterfall hike and a surprisingly tranquil creekside trail. Talk to the rangers to learn about trail conditions since recent rainfalls may cause some trails difficult to pass. Hill Country State Natural Area – located near Bandera, this place is a showcase for the “hill” known to outsiders as the Texas Hill Country. We parked at the “Trailhead Equestrian Camp Area” and took a giant loop trail extended all the way the Wilderness Camp Area. The scenery is ‘mild’ to our taste but it’s definitely worth a trip if you are not going to the Canadian Rockies anytime soon. Side Trip: San Antonio Missions Nat'l Historic Park - the park consists of a number of missions and provides spectacular photo opportunity.
Alkali Flat Trail - White Sands National Monument, New Mexico The Alkali Flat Trail is the longest trail at the White Sands National Monument (about 90 miles North of El Paso, Texas). On the date of the arrival, we were tired from the long hike at Guadalupe the day before so we decided to take a stroll around the dunes instead. Before we know it, once we realized we carried enough water, the stroll turned out to be a ~5 mile loop hike. To minimize the afternoon sun, we hiked in a counterclockwise fashion (toward the right). The hike was not very strenuous. There were some elevation changes but it’s no more than traversing the small sand dunes that stretches miles all around. The trail marker indicated Alkali Flat Trail when we reached the half way mark – this flat area is suppose to be the origin of these sand dunes and a lake during the last ice age. Despite the well erected orange trail markers, it’s still a good idea to mark your car’s location as a backup. You can also use the distant mountains and the sun as a general indicator of your location. This is another one of those trails that exceeded our expectation. We didn’t think the gypsum white sand can offer such fantastic display of wilderness and beauty punctuated with pockets of vegetations, ‘hoodoos’, and absolute tranquility. We hiked before sundown and met only few people along the way. Our minds were totally blank and all worries were carried away by the sand drifts. Picture opportunity in this place is out of this world and is only limited by your imagination. Tips: For your safety, register at the trailhead. Bring enough water, wear gaiters and try to cover yourself up (head to toe). Note we covered our entire face with bandanas; this helped us to retain moisture. Carry LED lights for late afternoon/early evening hikes. We also chose winter to hike this trail. If this had been in summer, I can’t image anyone getting out their car let alone walking. Distance: ~ 5 miles roundtrip
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