Only 30 miles from Carlsbad Caverns, so it’s definitely a good idea to do both parks at the same time. Guadalupe Mountains seemed more like a hiking park to me, because I didn’t see any available scenic drives. So hiking is exactly what I did. The temperatures were in the upper 90’s, so I planned to get there early in the morning to beat the heat.
Starting at the McKittrick Canyon trail, I had not planned on hiking the entire 4.8 mile round-trip. I was afraid it would be too hot before finishing, so my goal was to hike until it started getting hot. But the weather turned out to be a perfect overcast and breezy morning, so I hiked all the way to the old cabin and back. The path was mostly flat, and consisted of packed gravel and rock. Although, sometimes the rocks were so thick that it was difficult walking through them. There were a couple of creek crossings, along with several dry creek beds. It was a very scenic trail with a tall cliff on one side, and a mountain view on the other side. I enjoyed the different variety of trees which appeared to have red bark. The only downfall was the rattlesnakes that could have joined me at any time. Another reason to be thankful for the overcast is because it kept the temperatures in the 80’s, and therefore kept those nasty snakes away. Did I mention I hate snakes?!
The first hike turned out to be more like 6 miles, according to my Fitbit. So I picked one more short hike before ending the day. The Smith Spring trail was another nice trail, but more challenging than the first trail. Starting on either side of the loop resulted in an incline to the spring. Which is why the bench in front of the spring made for a nice resting spot.
