SignOut Guadalupe Peak Hike

Over several weeks, Daniel and I had been discussing ideas for opportunities for capturing brand images for SignOut while doing something fun, living out our brand -“signing out”.  We eventually agreed on a multi-purpose hiking trip with the purpose of enjoying an adventure, capturing branding imagery and other assets and team building. Daniel has always nurtured his zeal for adventure with various trips and destinations throughout the year and this one was mostly his idea as he’d picked out the highest elevation in Texas, Guadalupe Peak. He was already good friends with Josh McDonald, who is a seasoned hiker and someone we wanted to experience this with.  Josh M. worked with Josh E., who is a young, upcoming photographer and felt he’d be a good fit for us. So, we put together our little team, started planning the details, set a date and got things into motion.

The morning started out with Josh E, Josh M, Daniel and I loading our provisions and supplies into Josh M’s Jeep and taking a brief series of pictures and video clips of introductions and discussion of the upcoming adventure in my driveway with Josh E. at the camera.  After about 20 minutes of picture taking and more talk, we headed out on a long, 600 mile journey out west toward Van Horn, Texas. It was a sunny day with temperatures in the 70’s in Houston as we rolled down I-10 that morning.

We barreled down the road with excitement and optimism about our upcoming adventure up toward the highest peak in the state of Texas. It was my first big hike with any real elevation, so I wasn’t sure exactly what was in store for me. We fortunately however had a very experienced hiker in Josh McDonald, our SignOut brand ambassador with us leading the way and driving the Jeep to our hotel destination in Van Horn.

Along the way, we planned to get a late breakfast in San Antonio and we felt the need for some authentic San Antonio fare. So, we searched our phones and found a great neighborhood taqueria on the northeast side called Caracheo’s, where we satiated our hunger with some real deal breakfast tacos.

We got back on the road and continued our long drive westward. Over the next several hours, we talked, napped and observed the Texas landscape slowly transition from relatively flat land adorned with a variety of greenery to a progressively more hilly and drier climate the further we moved west.  As we saw the rocky terrain and cactus take over the outside scenery, I observed deep blue silhouettes of mountains gradually develop against the sky.

After a few gas station stops along the road, we made our destination for the evening in the small town of Van Horn and checked in to our motel. We dropped off our bags in our rooms and went out for dinner in town. Through dinner, we discussed what the next day may look like for weather and got a clearer picture of what to expect on our adventure from our seasoned fellow hiker, Josh M.  The photographer, Josh E. also helped guide our goals of capturing imagery and good content as we nailed down what we hoped to accomplish while we were there. We all went over the next day’s itinerary and settled on wake up and head out times as we went back to the hotel and got some sleep.

The next morning arrived quickly at around 3:00 a.m. as I rose slowly, but quickly became energized with excited anticipation of the adventure awaiting about an hour north at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We got ourselves together quickly, checked out of the motel and hit the road cruising north into the dark, cool morning by about 4:00. The fog was heavy and darkness enveloped the Jeep as we cruised along. We arrived at the National Park after about an hour and a half, parked, got a quick snack in and strapped on our headlamps and backpacks. We surveyed the signs leading to the Guadalupe Peak trail using the light from our headlamps and quickly found ourselves following Josh M. heading up the trail at a surprisingly fast pace.  After several minutes at a pace a bighorn sheep would have trouble keeping up with, I realized I wouldn’t be able maintain too much longer. We all agreed to take a quick break and I noticed all of us but Josh M. were heavily winded. As we stood together on a small, flat area of rock breathing, Josh E. surrendered his breakfast, which he’d eaten in the Jeep about 45 minutes earlier.

We became concerned about Josh E’s ability to continue after this, but he chose to tough it out and continue on. We all agreed to slow our pace quite a bit and started to look out for each other a little more as we continued up through the dark on what seemed like a never ending, primitive staircase.

My thighs were already feeling the effects of a precipitous climb up step after steep step, each varied in size and height. The colder temperature became very ideal at this point to my increasingly sweaty situation and I decided to shed my jacket and stuffed it into my backpack.

After around one and a half miles climbing up the steep-stepped trail, me and my thighs were relieved to find some areas leveling out. With the new, varied trail elevation found along with the eased pace, I found myself feeling pretty optimistic about reaching the peak without too much physical pain.

As the sun continued its rise, the surrounding mountains began to appear as dark giants silently watching behind the shroud of fog. I was taken aback as I could now begin to have an understanding of the depth and scale of mountains and deep valleys surrounding us. Passing by some very deep drops, I began to try to get a better view of this as I continued on upward, but my vision was still obscured by low hanging clouds.

After about what was about half way to the peak, we entered an area of heavily forested trail that reminded me more of east, rather than west Texas. This was after around two hours of hiking that we approached the ponderosa pines.

Everyone in my group soldiered on all the way towards the peak in spite of stomach issues, thighs and calves feeling taxed, and aching feet, as I had (don’t try this in cheap shoes). Josh M. let us know we were about a mile from the peak and this reinforced my resolve despite my blistered heels.  As we got closer, the path became more defined by larger rocks that required some actual climbing and careful foot and hand placement. I was moving carefully and slowly at this point, making sure my feet remained on steady ground as I progressed. The wet, foggy conditions made the bare rock surfaces even more tricky and potentially dangerous.

Vision from high upon Guadalupe Mountain was still obscured by the surrounding fog, but I knew ground level was nowhere close. After about three and a half hours of hiking, we reached the summit of the mountain, where we decided to take a seat, rest and refuel on our hiking food and drinks.

Because of the fog, we didn’t get the amazing views from the peak, but I was feeling a sense of accomplishment as we’d made it.  At this point, the wind was hitting us at a full gust, cold and with droplets of rain, as the sky threatened to drop much more at any minute. We sat huddled against stones and small scrubby bushes to shield against the cold.

After about twenty minutes, we decided to make the long journey down. Along the way, we began meeting other hikers heading on up. Everyone was really courteous and several asked “How much further do we have to go?” I had fun coming up with a variety of answers as I continued on down the trail. 

As we went along, we were rewarded with the sun peeking through the clouds and the dispersal of the surrounding fog. I could now see the deep canyons and was able to take in the enormity of the surrounding mountains and began to understand just how high we’d climbed. I began spotting hikers appearing ant-sized on the trail far down below and saw the expanses of west Texas desert beyond the mountains that stretched to the edge of the horizon.  The sunlight defined the beauty of the rocky terrain and the amazing scale of our surroundings as we continued on and took in what we couldn’t see on the way up. I looked down upon hawks sailing around the canyon circling prey far below as we stopped several times to take in these beautiful vistas throughout our descent.

After about seven hours of hiking we made it back to the Jeep.

I was relieved to sit and rest and felt the impact on my feet and legs of what I’d just done. We took a few pictures and had a celebratory cold beer before loading back up and getting back on the road home.

Josh M. drove us home safely and was a real trooper, as he didn’t show any signs of being overly tired or needing rest.

It took me around five days for the soreness in my legs to go away and a little longer for my blisters to heal, but that was just evidence of a true adventure.

I’d recommend this hike for anyone looking for a good challenge and some amazing sights.

To hear more about this adventure up to Guadalupe Peak, check out our SignOut podcast at www.signoutco.com/signout-co-podcast  where Josh M., Josh E., Daniel and I have a candid conversation about our experiences.

The following excerpt about Guadalupe Mountains National Park from www.nps.gov illustrates the quality of this destination:

Guadalupe Mountains National Park protects the world's most extensive Permian fossil reef, the four highest peaks in Texas, an environmentally diverse collection of flora and fauna, and the stories of lives shaped through conflict, cooperation and survival. Come experience mountains and canyons, desert and dunes, night skies and spectacular vistas within a place unlike any other within the NPS.