After chasing around to three muffler shops in El Paso and phoning a few more repair facilities the ugly truth became apparent – the repair was not going to happen here until Monday at the earliest. Not wanting to sit around waiting we opted to head for Carlsbad Caverns National Park – we could visit them on Sunday before they closed their elevators for three days of repairs. A short hike at Guadalupe Mountains National Park before we left Texas would break up another long day of driving.
Not a whole lot of different scenery – just different ranch land, cattle and mountains in the distance! Close to Guadalupe Mountain I did see a rather odd sign (but missed getting a picture of it) right as we approached this area. Had to laugh when I realized it was “Watch for Blowing Dust” rather than one of the more usual warnings!
At Guadalupe Mountains National Park we were met with a locked gate and either security or a ranger turning people away due to the Federal Government shutdown – the National Park Service is not considered essential services. The hike we had planned was accessed from the Frijole Ranch entrance (that was not manned) so we parked outside the gate and proceeded on foot. Frijole Ranch originally was a cattle ranch owned by two brothers, then a farm and orchard owned by the Smith family (as well as the center of the community) before becoming part of a larger ranch for sheep and goats. There are 5 springs within 3 miles of the ranch house – a very valuable location! The spring at the house (Frijole Spring) puts out 6 gallons a minute – plenty to supply the house, maintain a cool spring house for perishables and irrigate the farm & small orchard.
The trailhead for Smith Spring Trail is just behind the original house and outbuildings. As we rounded the buildings and got close to the orchard area we startled some mule deer. They slowly exited the orchard, crossed the trail and moved off into the scrub staying just a bit ahead of us. Charlie managed a picture just before we began our hike on the paved walkway. Imagine our surprise after rounding a corner and finding a small pond! Previous residents had dammed Manzanita Spring to create a swimming hole – must have been popular in the summertime.
The pavement then gave way to bare earth & rock with some gravel for the rest of the hike – a loop to Smith Spring then back to the house.
I used my hiking poles so the hike wasn’t too bad – they are a great help in keeping my balance and getting over rough areas. We generally followed a small ravine up towards the spring gaining about 400 feet in elevation from the house. Charlie would drop behind to take pictures then catch up and pass me until the next time to take pictures. Sometimes he would get too far ahead and wait for me – and take my picture as I caught up to him! That is pretty normal for us – he has long legs and is sure footed while I have short legs and can trip over air. Here you can see the area we would hike up and a look back at the house. The pink cactus was an unexpected bit of color.
We stopped for a few minutes at the spring and had a drink – probably should have carried more water. It was very different than the surrounding area – cool and shady from large trees and the shadow of the rocks above. It is the highest point we reached and the view was amazing.
The rest of the trail was much easier – literally a walk in the park! I think it took us about an hour and a half for the 2.3 mile trail itself and another twenty minutes each way between the trailhead and where we parked. Pretty good length and difficulty for our first hike on this trip – my knees and ankles didn’t complain and I didn’t fall – success!
Based on the locked gates we found at Guadalupe Mountains we were not expecting to see Carlsbad Caverns the next day. It was just getting dark as we arrived at our campground for the night and the staff confirmed that the park was closed and made suggestions for other places to explore.
Click here to see more pictures of the drive from El Paso to Guadalupe Mountains National Park and our hike in the park.
The Travel Adventures of Cheryl and Charlie 