2002.12.29 - The day after Christmas, my fiancée Carol and I headed out for Slaton, TX (just South of Lubbock) to visit her grandparents as well as the rest of her family that would be meeting there (numbering about 60 in all). Before we left, however, I came up with plans to climb to the highest point of Texas, Guadalupe Peak. Though it is in my home state, this area is at least a 9 hour drive from Fort Worth, so I figured that this would offer the perfect opportunity to break a long drive into two manageable pieces.

After spending several great days visiting with people that I don't get to see that often, I got up at 02:00 and got on the road for the long, dark drive ahead of me. I drove for 4 hours and rolled into the Pine Springs campground with just enough time to get my gear together before the sun actually came up. The hike itself began from the Pine Springs Trailhead at 07:40 in the morning. The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous; although the pollution in this area is an extremely hot topic, the particles in the air are great at scattering the Sun's rays and producing a myriad of beautiful colors. Personally I would like to see cleaner air in the area, but as long as the situation remains the same, I strongly recommend Guadalupe's morning show to anyone willing to see it.

The 4.2 miles up to the summit was fairly uneventful. There was some minor snowcover along a good part of the trail which had become hardpack after being trampled, slightly melted and refrozen over the last few days. The footing was fairly sure except for two places where I encountered water-ice. The portions of the trail on the lee side of the mountain were completely dry and free of wind, while the rest of the hike was in sustained 25 mph winds. The temperature was right at 32°F while ascending, and since I kept moving the entire time, I felt fine wearing shorts and my Mountain Hardwear Windstopper Tech Jacket.

I gained the summit after just under 2 hours of hiking, and in fact, I was the first one up that day. With the wind, my shorts quickly became inadequate, so I put on my insulated windproof pants, so that I could feel my legs again. It always gets to me when people tell stories of how they made it to the summit of X Peak with sustained 77.6 mph winds. I'm not a good judge of windspeed over about 25 mph, so I won't even venture a guess of the summit conditions. I will say, however, that upon my return, I visited the Ranger's Station, where I was told that the winds at the top were probably ranging from 55-65 mph on a day such as this.

After a short while, a man named Don from Kentucky joined me on the summit. We helped each other with photos, so I no longer needed to set up the tripod I was carrying. ;-) After having a snack and signing the register, I decided to head back down. I got to spend about 45 minutes on the top of Texas, which was quite a bit longer than I have spent on any other mountaintop. I can definitely see how non-outdoor people might interpret what we do as crazy; hiking hours and hours for a few moments on the summit does seem a little strange. To the people that say those things, though, I simply say try it yourself. The personal reward in gaining a summit by your own effort is a feeling completely unto itself. Each time that I climb / hike I learn a little bit more about my own strengths and limitations; the outdoors provides many people with a unique road to self-discovery.

The descent went by quickly and unremakably. I paused a few times to take pictures and also to talk to people who were now coming up, and even met some fellow highpointers. The people whom I told about my dream of the Winter 50 thought I was absolutely crazy, and they're most definitely right. :) I returned to my car just before the total hike time reached 5 hours, and could then put 3000 vertical feet and 8.4 miles into the logbook. One down, and 49 to go; Winter 50 has begun!