TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

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MtHurd
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by MtHurd »

I just did GP and El Cap two weekends ago. At a medium pace it will take you 2.5 hours to summit GP.

On your way down just before the horse ties, drop down a steep slope and angle over towards the escarpment. Stay close by the escarpment the entire way. The first summit of El Cap is a false one, even though someone put a metal box summit register similar to the one on GP. Keep on going south until you reach the end of the line, you will find the real summit. I didn't time it, but it's probably 1.5 hours to the summit, maybe an hour if you don't waste any time. It doesn't look that far but with the rough terrain, bushwhacking, and false summit, it takes longer than it looks.

For the return, you can either re-ascend the way you came down, or angle over and try and hook up with the trail a little lower.

I'll post pics tonight.

It will be VERY windy in March most likely.

One more thing, wear jeans, otherwise you will tear your legs up. There is no trail to EC. Occasionally you will find a short section of trail or a game trail, but most of it is straight up bushwhacking. It was probably a first descent as I saw no other signs of a rappell.

O, and I did bag the 50ft. pouroff. It turned out to be 90ft. 60m was just barely enough.
dmteatime
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by dmteatime »

Thanks for your replies. This is a great community.

Do you think a beginner could handle the bushwhack to El Capitan? My girlfriend has never done anything quite like this. She is in good shape though.
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myfeetrock
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by myfeetrock »

Awesome! I need to do this traverse some day. Guadalupe use to be my annual trip when I lived in Texas. I miss it. Here are some pics from when I proposed to my wife in 2005.
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MtHurd
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by MtHurd »

dmteatime wrote:Thanks for your replies. This is a great community.

Do you think a beginner could handle the bushwhack to El Capitan? My girlfriend has never done anything quite like this. She is in good shape though.
I took a beginner 2 weeks ago. He handled it ok. It really all depends on the person. I personally like bushwhacking, others hate it. Bring leather gloves along with jeans. Occasionally you have to sit down on a rock and slide down a bit. The limestone nature of the Guadalupes is rough. March is usually pretty warm, so I would take a gallon of water each. We had 3 liters and drank it all.

The roughest part of the bushwhacking is at the very start. You'll know pretty quickly whether to proceed or not.
Last edited by MtHurd on Wed Feb 01, 2012 1:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by myfeetrock »

Here's one my picture. My best time on this summit was 2 1/2 hours round trip.
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MtHurd
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by MtHurd »

Your second pic from right to left: El Capitan (8th highest in Texas), Guadalupe Peak (highest), and Shumard Peak (3rd highest).
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MtHurd
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by MtHurd »

El Cap from the turnoff near the summit. Your goal is to get to the escarpment as fast as possible.

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Huge cliffs along the way. Take a look off if you dare.

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Nearing the GP EC saddle. EC false summit is the taller peak in the center.

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Looking at the false summit as we are approaching.

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From the real summit of El Cap looking out to the southernmost point.

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Looking back at Guadalupe Peak from the summit of El Cap.

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El Cap from below on the Williams Ranch road.

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Williams Ranch and Guadalupe Peak.

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Bill Cummings
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Re: TR - Guadalupe Peak and El Capitan

Post by Bill Cummings »

Also nice in GMNP are:
- Devils Hall Trail
- Hunter Peak climb
- Permian Reef Geology Trail (get a trail guide if you're into geology).

Also, if you have some extra time, head on over to Hueco Tanks State Park near El Paso. It has some great bouldering and generally nice rock scrambling:
http://www.amazon.com/Hueco-Tanks-Climb ... 208&sr=1-3
Bill "Blind Willie" Cummings

"God loves you just the way you are. But He loves you way too much to let you stay that way." --"Junebug"
"You can't argue with the truth when it comes up and bites you on the buttocks." --Peter Lang
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