Texas – Visited November 2019

Please, let me apologize first for this post. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is extraordinary. Don’t let this first bit of furry impede you from visiting this special preserved mountain island. I certainly hope the below is corrected before you visit.

Precariously perched against the famed Permian Basin of West Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park appears most threatened in its integrity of all the parks we have yet to visit. Air and light pollution knock at its door, and this is a recent development of overwhelming intensity brought on by furious paced oil well drilling. To learn more, please read “The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans?” By Texas Monthly.

This once remote park now plays boundary host to thousands of oil wells drilled in the Chihuahuan Desert. Oil well flares for miles can be seen against the horizon, and the once intensely dark sky of Guadalupe Mountains National Park is now lit by the mars-scape infrastructure booming in the dessert. I am not going to lie; it was a gut-wrenching experience driving to the national park through the Permian Basin drilling bonanza.

Yes, I do realize I was consuming oil in the process of my commute. Hear me out, because I am not a hypocrite. Here is where the devastation originates: trash. Roadside construction trash, in incomprehensible volume, litters the highways in every single direction. The volume and type of trash that is strewn was nothing short of soul-sucking to witness. It wasn’t just your average fast-food soda cup. There were actual drill bits, five-gallon buckets with hazard warning labels, and miles upon miles of plastic debris, of every form, strewn in every direction blowing through the sensitive desert ecosystem.

How could we possibly trust the oil industry to care for our environment when they can’t even perform the most basic clean-up of their debris? In the mining industry, where I was previously employed, our facility “adopted” the highway approaching the plant. We meticulously cleaned (on schedule) all roadside debris. In truth, we understood the importance of appearances.

It was simply outrageous to myself and my children that global companies, such as Chevron, could allow visitors to travel through the area (or workers for that matter) to witness the enormity of the mess being left behind as they drill and pump ravenously. I promise, I am not exaggerating. It was the most disgusting display of lacking human regard for the environment I have personally witnessed. It was the most outrageously poor display of corporate responsibility imaginable, especially because correcting the issue is so ridiculously easy. Clean up after yourself.

To say we were relieved to arrive at the National Park, pristine in its infringed isolation, was an understatement. The experience exemplified one of the main reasons why we absolutely need to preserve wild places. We need wild spaces to exist, unadulterated by poor human choices.

Please go to Guadalupe Mountains National Park to get beyond the world, and to hike. Hiking opportunities in the park are abundant, ranging from challenging to leisurely. There is a trail appropriate for all ages and abilities. This park offers a respite in west Texas for the soul in need of diverse topography, scenic and varied hiking trails, interesting and diverse habitat, and a place to learn about geology and natural history.

 

Junior Ranger Badge:
• Animal Tracks and Adaptations
• Archaeology
• Permian Reef and Geology
• The Wilderness Act
• Ranch Life

Extra Tips:
• Please be warned, this place is very remote. Be sure to bring plenty of water. Water is available at the campground and visitor center, but it is important to remember this is a resource you are consuming from the dry desert. Also, bring ALL your own food as there are no dining facilities available at the park. The Pine Springs Visitor Center offers a very small selection of basic amenities and snacks.

• The small, but comfortable, campground fills very quickly. On holidays or other busy weekends, plan to arrive before noon to guarantee a campsite. Reservations are not accepted; groups are the exception. There are no showers, but the bathrooms do have running water and are a comfortable walking distance to the campsites.

• The recommended water allowance is 1 gallon/person/day. It is dry here, remember. Several members of my hiking party (who will not be named) took only 3 liters of water. We were in the backcountry for over 24 hours. They were getting nervous and ran out of water before making the final trek back. THERE ARE NO WATER SOURCES IN THE BACKCOUNTRY!

Remember:
It can be incredibly windy in the campground AND in the backcountry. The ranger did tell of one poor visitor who returned to their tent in the middle of the night to find it (and all her contents) had blown away. Stake your tent well and put heavy objects inside. Secure all belongings as soon as you set up to prevent them from blowing away.

Where to Eat:
Eat in your car, or on the trail, in the parking lot, or with a snail.
There are no burgers, or strong ale, bring your own, in a lunch pail.

When to Go:
You should plan your trip in mid-spring OR mid to late fall. The elevation of Guadalupe Peak is 8751 feet. The elevation of the campground is around 7300 feet, so the higher elevations are going to make it cooler in the winter. Summers will be hot. We enjoyed our trip during the long Thanksgiving weekend and found the weather to be perfect. It was dry and comfortable for hiking, but it did get a bit windy.

Where to Stay:
There are 2 campgrounds: Pine Springs Campground (20 tent and 19 RV sites), and Dog Canyon (9 tent and 4 RV sites). Reservations are only accepted for group sites.