Guys,

I've been all the trails and places noted, and a few more. Those are some tough hikes (of course i'm 56). Also, check the wind forecast. It can blow you off the mountain!

- guadalupe peak and back down is no big deal 2.5 hours up, 1.5 hours down (you will see other folks). you hit some nice forest the last third of the trail, the camp ground doesn't provide much protection from the wind.

on these hikes, you may not see anybody
- pine top to dog canyon is pretty aggressive: you will need more than 1 gallon of water and you're gonna be very dry when you get to dog canyon - very very dry
- pine top to the bowl and back down (whether you back track or use bear canyon) you will need at least 1 gallon of water and again you will be very dry when you return
- pine top to bush mountain and then anywhere is more than one day (2 gallons of water)
- mckittrick canyon to dog canyon is doable but it is a full day and you will need a gallon of water (the other direction is easier). there will be a LOT of people until you hit the vertical (just past the grotto - i think a disappointing grotto)


- all of these trails have a lot of up and down and are a tad tougher than they appear on the maps
- devil's canyon is flat and easy but rewarding... again many people but nice stuff


after all that negativity let me add this...
go to bush moutain, get off the trial and go west until you reach the escarpment which is awesome

PLEASE let me know if my advice was misleading!!

Q

Thanks for the advice Q. Don't worry I won't go light on water. I'll probably end up carrying a gallon just to be safe.
Right now I have work on Friday so the earliest I could leave would be about 4 PM and the drive is a good 10 hours. I could probably be their and ready to go by 10 AM or so on Saturday, all of Sunday and part of Monday. I'd kinda like to get out in time on Monday to do the drive back home in one push but I'm will to be flexible. I could always bail out on the last day or take an extra day off.

Edited by Cameron on 11/03/2012 12:04:38 MDT.

Appreciate the advice Q. As to the difficulty, I believe all of us have put in long days over rough terrain and am not particularly concerned about it. For water, I've regularly gone out with 3L/day, I just make sure to hydrate heavily beforehand so I can carry less. I'm sure most people are more comfortable with 4-5L though. Thanks for the pictures and trail description - very excited to see it.

Ok, haven't heard anything from Eugene, but that all sounds fine with me. I was planning to just head out Friday AM and and hang at a campground that night. I'm not sure we ever really decided on the route, but that's something we could probably slap together real quick.

Andy as long as you have a good map I'm good with finalizing the route last minute. My chances of being their for the whole trip may be diminishing. I was thinking I could take off all of Monday and possibly Tuesday. Now it looks like I might have to be back home on Monday night but we'll see.

Sweet deal, yeah I have a good topo. Well, let me know when you figure your schedule out. If another weekend would work better we can try for that. I'm pretty easy.

Can't believe I just saw this. Too bad we're supposed to take out scouts on a McKittrick Canyon-Ridge-Dog Canyon overnight this weekend. Doubt if I could do the 15-20 miles a day either. Probably for the best, I think I tore up my left knee playing tennis weekend before last, and crashed my mountain bike and messed up my right calf. Should start acting my age.

If you're in Houston, you should just fly to Midland next time on a cheap Southwest flight. If I'm healed, I'd pick you up and drive you over.

I can get up to the campground Friday night and hike Sat. I'll email.

Well? How did it go? Any photos?

Talk to us please!!!

q