TEXAS STATE HIGHPOINT: GUADALUPE PEAK
Tx/NewMex/Guadalupe Trip

Phew! My summit shots came back from processing ok. Whenever I hand my camera to an oxygen-deprived stranger who agrees to shoot my summit shot I become apprehensive. Afterwards, I always wonder, "Is it really in the camera? Is it blurred, off center, is my head cut off?" Actually, after asking one party to take a shot, later on I'll ask another just for good measure (and maybe another).
On 15April, although the sky was mostly cloudless, temps comfortable, and visibility supreme, the winds were gusting goodly at 8749ft., my #39 state high point. With my recently acquired weak ankle (pinched spinal nerve), dancing on the summit rocks was tricky. I wanted more pics but needed to get off the peak and leeward ASAP after 1/2 hr of being blown about.
Trail Critique: Prior to climbing, trail descriptions I read used the words 'good' and 'fine.' Past the 2-mile turn, where you lose sight of the parking lot and trail head and first spy the "false summit," that's true; otherwise, this section is treacherous and lousy with loose rocks ranging from golf ball to football size. I fell once on the descent, sure that I tore up my knee to smithereens based on the pain experienced, but stood up unscathed.
After the climb, conversation with one of the four rangers behind the counter at the Visitor's Center explained in too-detail the freeze-thaw problem which, during the winter, continually spilled rocks into the sunken path. Why four of these guys were needed under roof is disturbing since, perhaps, one of them could be supervising cheap labor, plentiful thataway, to rake rocks from the trail thus maintaining it's integrity. Sure, rocks move - deal with it and ensure they don't move underfoot!
The NPS brochure claims the trail is' well marked.' For horses it was, but even those signs were few. For hikers I'd like to see an occasional distance marker. Would these render the route less rustic, or worse, displease the purists? There are more fledgling hikers on these NP trails than hotdogs. Mileage markers might help the ill-prepared to gage their ability, hopefully.
Completing Guad. Pk. took me 7 3/4 rt hrs with a 645AM start. Not bad for a flop-foot gimp - I'm just learning to hike this way. Seeing the "true summit" for the first time was discouraging; it may as well been on the moon. But, my highlight on Guad. Pk. was rounding the last rock-gnarly bend and just spying the very tip of the stainless steel AA pyramid. Cool. Achieving this high point taught me an important lesson - that I perhaps waited too long, say, to ever think about bagging all 50. At 67, for sure, the curse of aging can be a formidable nemesis in such an objective. As Roger Miller sang, "...do it, do it, do it!" So, don't stop...Keep Klimbin'.