A Hike to the TOP OF TEXAS | Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Welcome to the top of Texas. We're in western Texas in Guadalupe Mountain National Park. This is the tallest peak in all of Texas. We've got eight and a half miles with just under 3,000 feet of gain. This national park is home to the four tallest peaks in all of Texas. Naturally, we picked the biggest one to hike. It's really not too bad. It's a lot like Wheeler Mountain in Great Basin National Park, which was a lot of fun. Although it's not easy to jump right into the incline, it's really nice knowing that we're already making our way through some of this elevation because that means it's not all saved for the very end. So that's good. Spread it out over the four something miles and it'll actually make it easier in the end. We are a half mile in and both of us are stripping everything that we brought from warmth. Moving on. In case you ever wonder why I don't always talk, it's because of this right here. This is all you'd hear. Not exaggerating. This is what we do for like six hours straight. I'd like to mention that we have not run into a single other person this entire time. It feels like we've got the entire thing to ourselves. Some of the reviews for this hike said that the fall colors were spectacular. I think we are a few weeks too early to hit that peak color. Fall hasn't quite come to West Texas yet. You just can't exactly get comfortable today. We are three miles in, 2,000 feet up, and it feels like we're almost there. It's been the same gradual incline the entire way and that's pretty nice. I want to include you all in our conversation. For the last five minutes all we've been talking about is what we want to eat. We're thinking on our trip home we're gonna get cookout again because I think that's been one of our favorite places. I don't know if it's sad to admit that but I mean it really is. It's cheap and it's good. Yeah. Talk about it maybe once a week. Yep. And it brought love back into our lives. I mean it actually did. If you have any suggestions on a flavor of shake I should try because they've got an overwhelming amount of options and I can only choose one. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, told us to go to In-N-Out. In-N-Out's a fantastic burger. Animal style is great. Cookout. Yep. All right. I just thought you want to know that this is what gets us through our hikes. We're just talking about food. Yeah. Very very unhealthy food. All right. We're almost to the top. The closer you get to the top the more unsteady the trail gets. It's not awful but definitely a little more challenging than the rest of it. I've never seen one of those before. That's awesome. That's so pretty cool. I love these things. About two hours and 40 minutes and almost four miles and a quarter. This was a fun hike. It was the same gradual incline pretty much the whole way up. Nothing crazy. Quite enjoyed it. We're running a little low on snacks but here's what we've got left. A little container of olives because I've been having some crazy cravings. A tin of pistachios, tuna, tortilla, and some crackers. Just like that time to go back down. Made it back to the parking lot. 8.4 miles took us a little under five hours. It was a gradual climb the whole way up and we enjoyed every bit of it. I'm gonna rate it a six only because it was still 3,000 feet of gain. No matter how gradual it is that's still a little tough. I rate it a five. I don't know why that's just I'm stuck on five and I don't think you can ask for a better trail. The very last little portion is maybe difficult for some but otherwise it's it's simple and well marked. Highly recommend. Notice you're receiving this notice because you have not displayed documentation of a valid park entrance or camping fee which are acquired by Guadalupe Mountains National Park. It's not like it's a ticket. I think it's a notice like a warning. I don't know. Some parks are very adamant about having your America the Beautiful pass or any kind of pass in your windshield at all times to make sure that you paid. Other parks they're just like there's the self-pay station. Nobody really cared if you paid or not. This is the first notice we've ever gotten. After one of our more enjoyable hikes we're gonna head to our last National Park only for the time being. Big bend!