TRAILS
AND TRIALS
T AKING ON H UNTER P EAK
by Jeremy Gonzalez
T
his is not the account of three
seasoned mountain climbers
who dominate hiking trails with
ease. This is the account of three regu-
lar guys who hiked up Hunter Peak in
the Guadalupe Mountains National
Park with minimal experience and sup-
plies.
Our adventure began at daybreak.
We drank some coffee, threw some
breakfast burritos on the dash and then
took off to the Guadalupes from Fort
Stockton.
Driving to the Texas-New Mexico
12
border was a serene and talkative trip.
We coasted under the open skies listen-
ing to the Fleet Foxes as our traveling
theme music, and also to motivate us
for the day of hiking.
There was a chance of rain and
lightning, so we removed climbing the
popular Guadalupe Peak from our day
plan. After checking in at the Pine
Springs Visitor Center and chatting
with the kind lady at the front desk, we
finally settled on hiking Hunter Peak at
8,369 feet of elevation.
The Guadalupes are their own
Cenizo
Second Quarter 2017
breed of beautiful. Approaching a
mountain range that shoots up out of
flat horizon is an amazing sight in its
own right.
The three of us stood at the Frijoles
Trailhead looking like a rock band
whose tour bus broke down in the
desert. My brother Nate wore a red
bandanna tied around his head, my
best friend Kenny had our only back-
pack strapped on tight, and I was wear-
ing my black “Indiana Jones” hat
dipped toward my brow.
We kicked off the morning making
tracks down the Frijoles Trail over to
the Bear Canyon Trail and the two
trails had no mercy on our adventur-
ous vibes. That once-relentless attitude
within our wolf pack quickly began to
fade.
We all became a little worn, a little
weathered, but we continued up the
steep switchbacks. A mule deer looked
down on us from the edge of a cliff as
our continuous talking disturbed the
natural silence of the National Park.
The increasing altitude immediately
took its toll on poor Kenny, who has