Texas Archives - art by bernadette

On what was supposed to be my last day in Texas, we drove the 2 hours to Guadalupe Mountains National Park to do what might be the most challenging hike of the week.

We did the Devil’s Hall trail, nearly 5 miles, with an elevation of 6,400’. Guadalupe Mountain (adjacent) is the highest point in Texas, at 8,751’.
The trail started off relatively easy, then switched to a wash, where we scrambled over large boulders, until reaching near the end. I decided not to attempt the final scramble around a tree, crossing over rocks in a stair formation. It probably wasn’t that difficult, but I was near the end of my energy, and we still had to go back over all those boulders, which grew larger in my mind as we returned. We had a bit of a challenge when we missed a trail turn on our return. I track my hikes with Alltrails, and the result where we walked around looking for the correct path looked like an Etch-a-Sketch drawing! 😆

El Capitan at Guadalupe Mountain Nat’l Park – what you see as you approach the park

Devils Hall trail sketched on site

Another Devils Hall trail sketched on site

Near the end of Devil’s Hall trail ( where I decided to stop!)

After our hikes, I was glad that I had prepped for the higher elevations by doing longer hikes with additional weight in my pack at home. I had no problem with altitude sickness, and our hikes were under 5 miles each, so not too challenging.
The next morning, at 3 am (!) my flight was delayed, so I had an extra day in El Paso. We spent it around the city, and enjoyed a delicious birthday lunch with Eric and his sister. So a days delay return to home turned out to be a lovely celebration. 🥰

A recent trip to El Paso, Texas, allowed me to temporarily escape the final blasts of our northeast winter. This is where Eric, a dear friend and neighbor, spends his winters. He grew up there, and was a great tour guide and generous host. I got to see landmarks and history and there was so much to learn. The sketches so far are from the places we went hiking.

Coming from NE Pennsylvania (elev= 900’) I was concerned about altitude adjustment. (El Paso elev = 3,760’) So before leaving, I went on slightly longer hikes and even added a few pounds to my pack. That seemed to do the trick, and there were no issues with altitude.

Our first hike was in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces, NM, just over the border.
An online description: The Organ Mountains are a steep, angular mountain range with rocky spires that jut majestically above the Chihuahuan Desert floor. They range from 4,600 to just over 9,000 feet, and are so named because of the steep, needle-like spires that resemble the pipes of an organ.
Coming from the Poconos, the first views of these were awe inspiring.

We did a 3+ mile hike on the La Cueva trail, a great introduction, with deep blue skies and a cave to explore. Stopping to sketch made the hike take longer, but I could’ve spent all day here!

La Cueva/ The Cave

art by bernadette

Expressing life with sketches. Inspiring you along the way.

Tag Archives: Texas

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Organ Mountains, New Mexico