6 Days in GUMO

[Picacho]

Just my two cents.  Expect the temps to be HOT!!!  The actual temps won't be too hot, but when you combine a sunny day with the heat reflecting back off of the limestone and the steep and rocky trails, you will drink a lot of water. 

Thus, my suggestion would be to go with your original plan of driving over to Dog Canyon.  You can reload your water supply over there and the elevation gain is less than either Pine Springs or McKittrick Canyon.  If you stay out in the hills too long, you will have to carry a tremendous amount of water.  3/4 to 1 gallon a day per person would be my suggestion.  The drive out to Dog Canyon is very nice and Dog Canyon itself is a nice place with few people.  The ranger over there is very friendly. 

Now if you like bushwhacking, let me know and I can give you some suggestions.   

By the way, I love the Wichita Mountains.  If you want to get in some good rugged bushwhacking in that will definitely prepare you for the Guadalupe Mountains, bushwhack out to point 1928 in the Charons Garden Wilderness.  You will be guaranteed to find zero people and lots of interesting scenery way back in there (take a topo map and know how to use it).  If you don't want all that much bushwhacking, climb Twin Rocks, Mt. Lincoln, or Granite Mountain.  This are excellent climbs that aren't too far off the beaten path.  It is possible you will run into 3rd and 4th class stuff though. 

O and at a medium pace, you can do Guadalupe Peak in 4 hours up and back (you'll probably want to add an additional 30 minutes to hang out on the summit).  Therefore, a climb of Guadalupe Peak and a drive to Dog Canyon won't be a big deal.   

[dkerr24]

Thanks Picacho for the tips!  I kept checking wunderground.com for the GUMO area, and the temps I've been seeing seem very moderate, even a bit chilly at night.  I wondered about the heat on the trail with no shade.

I'll be carrying about 1.5 gals of water for each day up in the hills, so I'll stay out only 2 days at a time, then return to base camp to resupply water.

I'll be headed out there early Sunday morning.

Speaking of the Wichita Mountains, I've been to the Charons Gardens area a number of times.  I usually take the trail up Elk Mountain.  I always seem to lose the Charons Gardens trail heading south from the Elk Mountain parking lot.  I get about halfway to the other end, and the trail just peters out in the rock fields.

[Picacho]

By Tuesday, the temps in Carlsbad will be in the low 90's.  1.5 gallons a day is plenty so you should be ok with that.  If you leave by 5 a.m. for the summit of Guadalupe Peak, you will save yourself a lot of water and you will have a good sunrise.  Bring a headlamp.  You can probably get by with 2 quarts if you just do Guadalupe Peak and back the same day and leave early. 

If you have extra time, the Permian Reef Trail is a good one.  It will give you good views from the north rim of McKittrick Canyon. 

The Guadalupe Mountains also acquired some more land containing gypsum sand dunes.  It's the second largest gypsum sand dunes next to White Sands New Mexico.  This might be a good place to get the sand dunes and the Guadalupe escarpment in some pics.  You have to ask the rangers for the key to the gate. 

Brings some sturdy stakes as the tent pads can be very hard (hammer is nice when you are at base camp in Pine Springs).  They are also very dirty so a ground cover or tent footprint is a good thing to have. 

If you do find the trail all the way to the southern trailhead in the Charons Garden, it is a good one.  Treasure Lake at the south trailhead is very scenic. There is also a trail all the way to Crab Eyes which is a really cool trail to hike.