I was unable to find much info on this hike before we did it so i thought I would give a report for anyone else who may want to try it.
Started at Pine Springs and went up over the hill to Mescalero campsites. The trail was as good as the Dodson trail in BB in respect to the quality. Some rocks on the trail but you could get by with looking up occasionally. The few campsites at Mescalero are really nice with the remainder being pretty good. Took 7 hours total including a nice long lunch at the top of the first climb of the day. The trees were in full color change so the walk down the creek was worth the whole trip.
From Mescalero we walk to Dog Canyon for water. The view from on top of Dog Canyon was unexpected. I never pictured in my mind how nice the view of rolling desert hills and the west side of uplift would be. I had done Mckittrick canyon before and expected this hike to be somewhat the same but it wasn't. The trail was alright until we started down towards Dog Canyon. It was washed out and I had to stop everytime I wanted to look around. This part was worse than anything on the Dodson. Dog canyon was full turning maples so once again, the hike was worth it. To this point I had use about 1.25 gals of water. I used 2.5 cups of that water on oatmeal and dehydrated food.
The hike out of Dog canyon to Marcus was hard because I had 2.25 gals on my back and I was feeling it. The trail up was steep, much like going up Juniper canyon in BB but a little shorter. Going down to Marcus campsites was much worse. 2/3 was alright and NPS had been there recently fixing some of it, but the last 1/3 was full of fist size rocks that rolled under your feet when walked on. Made for very slow walking with a heavy pack. The campsites were all somewhat exposed and I noticed for the first time that the wood beams outlining the campsites had metal eyelets to be used to tie your tent down. We had the BEST weather I have ever had there so we did not have to use them.
The hike form Marcus to Bush Mt. was incredible. The trail is not easy to follow because it doesn't get much use. We never lost it but I did walk blindly a few times until seeing a carien or NPS marker. This trail goes by a great cabin beside the Cox tank. A person can see why they built it there by how beautiful the area is. The trail before the climb back up had old flint shards all around and made you imagine what other travelers had been there.
The climb up to the mountain is steeper than the Blue Meadow climb on the Dodson. The trail is rocky and there aren't any real switchbacks. It was just like climbing 14ers in Colorado except you have air to breathe. We did it in 2 hrs with the growing views below us pushing us on.
Once on top, the hiking is still very difficult due to our legs being tired and the trail being it poor shape. The final push to the top of Bush Mt. is best described as a goat trail. It is steep and there a dozen or so large steps to climb up. But once again, the views at the top made it worth it.
The campsites at Bush Mt. were used the least in my opinion. There are two below a 10 foot clift which are well protected but they were uneven. We found an old Palasky firefighting rake and used it to smooth out our tent spot. Watched the sunset 2 mins from our tent and watched the sunrise 4 mins from our campsite. Well worth the hike.
Overall, if the weather is good, this hike is as good as the Dodson loop without the South Rim views. The changing color of the trees was nice, but nothing is like the South rim. I had enough water for me. I never saw any wet springs so you must carry what you need. I was glad I had heavy wieght and tall hiking boots for the rocky trails. Only saw the same two guys twice the whole time we were on the trail except near the ranger stations.
It is all about the weather at Guadalupe NP. My last hike there we had a front blow through and it gave us a 15 degree night at theTejas campsite. Another time we were in Pine Springs with 90 mph wind gusts (according to the weather station in the permit office). Take plenty of clothes layers and Crown.
