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This El Capitan may lack the sheer vertical expanse of granite of
its taller brother in Yosemite National Park, but rising as it does
from the desert 100 miles east of El Paso, it is an impressive
landmark nonetheless. This limestone formation is the remnant of
an ancient reef which extended in a huge horseshoe for nearly 400
miles through what is now Texas. It gave rise not only to these
mountains but through the action of sulfuric acid formed by gasses
percolating up from underlying oil and gas deposits, produced Carlsbad
Caverns.
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The trail rises rapidly up a series of switchbacks from the
trailhead and you soon have this panoramic view which includes
the isolated civilization of the Guadalupe Mountains National
Park visitors center, its parking lot and a lot of miles and miles
of nothing but miles and miles.
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Along one of the more rugged stretches of trail, some of which is
blasted out of the face of a cliff, you cross this bridge over a
narrow ravine. From here, the trail drops down a bit before the
final stretch up to the top of Guadalupe Peak. This was a convenient
spot for lunch, being on the leeward side of a ridge and having
nice flat rocks on which to rest.
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After lunch, we crossed over the ridge and resumed the ascent toward
Guadalupe Peak. The rugged north side of El Capitan was visible below
the trail. From the looks of it, it would be a challenge to approach
from either side.
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