Guadalupe Peak Texas Hiking Information and Map

Years ago, my dad wanted to drive through Mexico to the Yucatan Peninsula with our family car. Who would have thought that two days into the trip near Mazatlan, we would get hit by a hurricane that would wipe out all the roads south. We decided to try to salvage some of the trip by sightseeing the southwest states. On our way to Carlsbad to see the caverns, I was impressed with a distant peak. I didn’t know its name; this was well before I was thinking of state highpointing. Highway 180 worked along the base and a sign pointed to a trailhead for Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. That sounds fun my brother and I thought as we passed, trying to drive a bit further before night fell. We ended up camping an hour away, along the side of the road behind some big bushes. Around 3 a.m. I decided to go back and hike the trail before sunrise. My brother couldn’t join me as he was mysteriously ill, probably food poisoning while in Mexico. The trail to the summit was nice, no problems finding my way in the dark with no map or knowledge of the area. I reached the summit in time to see the sun rising and the full moon setting. Somewhere on the hike I thought about hiking the highest peak in every state. It never occurred to me to do every state, even if no mountain existed. The hike down was uneventful although it was interesting to see the topography of the area. When I got back to my brother and dad, my brother was in really bad shape. We quickly packed up and got to the hospital in Carlsbad. They put an IV in him as he had lost most of his bodily fluids. There he stayed for 24 hours being treated for the virus shigella.

Guadalupe Peak - Texas Highpoint