Introduction

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in a remote wilderness in the far western edge of Texas, and until last year, it occupied an equally remote recess of my mind. Despite the fact that I had lived in Texas for over 40 years of my adult life and had visited many of America’s great National Parks including Carlsbad Caverns, which is actually situated in the Guadalupe Mountains, I barely gave Guadalupe Park a thought. It was just a shaded green spot on a road map.  Judging from the Park Service’s annual visitation statistics, I had a great deal of company in the large numbers of other people who gave no thought to Guadalupe Park.  In 2008, Guadalupe ranked 50th in the country’s 58 National Parks with a total of 163,000 visitors compared to 3 to 9 million for the most popular National Parks such as Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains, which tops the list.  The 8 stragglers that ranked even lower than Guadalupe were Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Congaree, Great Basin, Dry Tortugas, North Cascades, Isle Royale, Gates of the Arctic, and Kobuk Valley. The reasons for Guadalupe's poor ranking probably include its remoteness from large cities and the lack of accessibility of its interior by car. All of the best features of Guadalupe Park can be visited only on foot. For example, the easier Devil’s Hall and McKittrick Canyon hikes are at least 4 to 5 miles round trip, and the popular hike to Guadalupe Peak (elev. 8,749 feet) is over 8 miles with a 3,000 foot elevation gain. The hike to the Bowl, a part of the conifer forest in the high country, requires 8 to 10 strenuous hours with an elevation gain there of 2,500 feet. This rugged and remote wilderness area is clearly not for the casual visitor or the physically unfit.   Since I am neither of these, I am sorry to say that it took me over 40 years to discover that Guadalupe Park is one of the best-kept secrets in the National Park system.

Only recently, after discovering a picture of a Texas madrone in a book of Texas trees, did the Guadalupe Mountains begin to reveal themselves to me.  I had never seen one before, and  I was captivated by its beauty.  I wondered how such a beautiful tree could grow in a place that I had imagined to be a desolate wilderness. I was even more surprised when a friend handed me an issue of Texas Highways magazine that featured McKittrick Canyon in Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  The article described the canyon as a destination for viewing brilliant autumn colors in Texas. Most people think of traveling to New England or the Great Smoky Mountains to see autumn colors.  Who would imagine looking for autumn leaves in a west Texas wilderness area?

At long last, in November of 2009, I departed for the Guadalupe Mountains with my wife and companion, Mary Ann.  By that time, I had absorbed as much information as I could about the Park—its natural features, places of interest, trees, shrubs, wildlife, recent history, and ancient geological history. When we finally arrived and walked within its borders, the Guadalupe Mountains were soon transformed from a shaded 2-dimensional spot on my road map to a rich and surprisingly beautiful 3-dimensional landscape. In time, and with a twist of imagination, I was finally able to see the Guadalupe Mountains in a more expansive 4-dimensional view by incorporating knowledge of the Park’s rich history in both recent and geological time.  This view of the Guadalupe Mountains was a revelation that now occupies a permanent place in my memory. It is a remarkable window through which I can now see and understand more clearly our ever-changing environment and our relationship to it.

My experience in the Guadalupe Mountains prompted me to record my journey in writing as the first installment of what I hope will be a series of “Walks in the Park”.  Part one covers my walks through two National Parks, Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad Caverns.  Although I am presenting the book here in blog format with pictures and links, the writing was conceived in the older tradition of book, chapter, and page.  I often recall my grandmother, an avid reader who seldom traveled, quoting the familiar Emily Dickinson poem,

“There is no frigate like a book 

to take us lands away”.  

Come aboard the ship with me and enjoy the voyage. I can promise that there will be no shipwreck (unless Google crashes), but you may come away with a different point of view.

To read in blog format (recommended), click   FIRST CHAPTER

To read the entire document in a portable file, click here for PDF, then click "Download"

(Caution...you won't see as many pictures)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to Mary Ann, Ralph, and Katherine for their detailed reading of the manuscript and their wise and helpful editorial comments.

Copyright © 2010 by Richard L. Kitchens. All rights reserved.

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