Tuesday, Nov 1 Guadalupe Mts

Tuesday, November 1

64 degrees this morning.  Beautiful sunrise as we head out to the McKittrick Canyon trailhead, a few miles' drive.

 We see several deer along the way.

This will be about a 7 mile hike and we sign in on a register at the trailhead.  It begins going through desert and turns more green as we head into McKittrick Canyon. Though we are the first to hit the trail this morning, we will be passed by a few folks within an hour or so.  At one point we find a lady from Ontario, who passed us, paused on the trail watching a pair of deer groom each other.  As we join her, another couple from Texas comes along.  The deer seem fairly used to people and we all move on, letting them continue their morning ablutions.

 Lots of agave along this trail, from tiny fist-sized plants to some nearly four feet in diameter and three feet tall. Known mostly for use in production of tequila,  the sap is also used as a sweetener.  The leaves' fiber is also used in making twine.

The elevation rises, but rather gently, as we stay near the bottom of the long canyon. Gradually we begin to see maple trees which are changing color.  This is about as much "Fall Color" as you will see in Texas!

We leave the main trail to reach "The Grotto" - a cave with many chunky stalagmites and stalactites. There are some picnic tables nearby so we stop for a drink and snack.

From the grotto we take a short trail to an old abandoned stone line cabin.  There is some water with reeds nearby and there are several muledeer enjoying this spot.

The main trail continues on for miles into the mountains, but we decide to turn around here.

On the return we stop by the nearby Pratt "Lodge", built back in the early 1930's by Wallace Pratt, an oilman who fell in love with this area.  He purchased other land and eventually donated the buildings plus 5,000 + acres to the National Park Service, which became the basis of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  Interesting that the two buildings there have flagstone covered roofs - probably well insulated! A few other hikers are resting here on the front porch, so we stop and chat for a while.  They are from Philadelphia, Missouri  and New York.  There used to be a pool near here, but from what we can see the "river" that ran here is mostly gone - at least at this time of year.  Still, you know there is water available because of the trees and grasses.

I love this photo Greg took.

Though this was a longer hike, it was much easier than the Devil's Hall. We were thankful that it was a cloudy day, with some breezes so temperatures stayed comfortable!

We returned to our campsite for some R&R!  Greg chatted with a neighbor who was traveling to every state's highest point. A retired social studies teacher from Minnesota, he has been to 46 of the spots, some of which, he says, only members of the Hightoppers Club go to because they are otherwise so insignificant. Guadalupe peak, the highest point in Texas, is nearby.

We also chat with a woman who is traveling from Colorado to Spring, Texas for a wedding!  Her husband didn't want to come, so she is on her own.  She fills us in on some of her favorite spots in Colorado.  She is familiar with Spring as she taught in Houston for a few years and now has a son living there.

No sky picture opportunities, as it is pretty cloudy again tonight.