By Richard Coltharp
El Rito Media

SALT FLAT, Texas – Being at Guadalupe Peak feels like you’re on top of the world.

But you’re only on top of Texas.

Yeah, I know. Some people think it’s the same thing.

The peak at Guadalupe Mountains National Park is 8,751 feet above sea level, the highest point in all of Texas. The park itself is barely in Texas, sitting just below the New Mexico state line, about 26 miles southwest of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and 191 miles southeast of White Sands National Park. It’s much closer to White Sands as the raven flies. But while ravens, hawks and other birds can make the flight, commercial aircraft and your personal vehicle cannot fly as the raven due to the restricted space of White Sands Missile Range.

The isolation of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, however, is part of its appeal.

The dominant feature of the mountains is El Capitan, which rises breathtakingly out of the Chihuahuan Desert, visible for miles.

Trail travails

There are 20 different hiking trails of widely varying difficulties to experience the breadth of the park, which was established in 1972.

But it was the hike to the peak that drew me to Guadalupe the morning of New Year’s Eve.

It seemed like a great way to ring in 2025.

I knew the 8.4-mile Guadalupe Peak Trail would be tough, long and tall, but as someone who walks a mile or two daily and hikes the desert mountains around Las Cruces two or three times a week, I wasn’t too worried.

On the trail, though, something interesting started happening a mile or two in: People started passing me. Some at only a slightly quicker pace. Some much faster.

Then I realized the difference. Most people were using hiking poles.

That had to be the only reason they were out-hiking me.

It could not have anything to do with the fact they were, on average, 35 years younger than me.

Could it?

Perhaps, more specifically, it was because their knees were so much younger than mine.

Quickly though, my fragile ego was distracted by the incredible views and terrain on the trail. Mile by mile, you’ll see different rocks, dirt, trees and mountains.

The day we went was perfect. Much better than New Year’s Eve three years ago, when we attempted the same ascent, only to be forced down by relentless rain.

Weather is a huge consideration on this hike, and a reason winter is generally a good time to do it.

The summer can be unbearably hot. Spring can be unbearably windy. Fall and winter are generally better, but beware of how quickly the weather can change. And how different the conditions are throughout the hike. The peak itself is almost always windy, sometimes dangerously so.

A key piece of the weather is the sun.

Make sure you protect yourself from the sun, but also take note of when the sun will be out.

When I went, Dec. 31, was one of the shortest days of the year.

And our relatively late start (10:37 a.m.) meant we hiked the last mile in the dark.

To quote an AllTrails reviewer, “Hiking in the dark sucks.”

That is true, no matter how good your head lamp or iPhone light.

During the hike, we met people from all over: California, Austin, Ireland, Sweden, Dallas.

Everyone was in a good mood and helpful. Although one person we met about a mile below the summit was completely inaccurate when he said, “The hardest part’s behind you.”

Important data

Since I learned about this hike years ago, I’ve been trying to learn the answer to the big question: How long is the round-trip hike?

Answers have been as varying as the terrain on the route itself.

A recent answer, from a couple I know who hiked it in October, was six hours.

That was my working benchmark. A real-world, real result from someone I know. If they could do it in six hours, so could I. (I forgot to factor in they are 25 years young than me.)

As we were hiking up, a young lady coming down said she’d made it to the top in two-and-a-half hours. OK, that’s about a five-hour round trip. Maybe too quick for me, but six is still realistic. (I ignored the fact she said she was 25; I’m 61.)

We had also scoffed at the park ranger’s estimate it would take us eight hours for the round trip.

Near the end of the hike, we also scoffed at the published mileage estimates of the round trip, which were typically 8.1 or 8.4 miles. Our smart watches, and those of a few fellow hikers, counted the trip at more than 10 miles.

The hike also gains more than 3,000 feet in elevation from the trailhead. And it gains those feet steeply in most cases. The steepness is more noticeable on the way down, at least for my knees. And extra tricky in the dark.

In the end, our scoffs at the ranger were justified.

We indeed completed the hike in less than eight hours. Seven hours and 58 minutes, to be exact.

The thought occurred to consider hikes to other states’ highest peaks.

New Mexico’s Wheeler Peak, not far from Taos and Red River, is 13,167 feet. Humphreys Peak in northern Arizona is 12,633 feet. Kings Peak in Utah is 13,528 feet.

So, next year, for New Year’s Eve, we’ll be hiking Woodall Mountain, the highest peak in Mississippi.

Woodall Mountain is just an hour away from Elvis Presley’s birthplace in Tupelo, which will make a nice side trip.

Oh, how tall is Woodall Mountain?

It checks in at a lofty 806 feet.