10/01 Guadalupe Mountains National Park Trip Report

October 13-20, 2001
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, CO
Crew #1 - The Handicapped Accessible Trail Work Team (by Mike Rodgers)

On Saturday, October 13th, sixteen "Trail Tamers" left Central Texas for a weeklong trip to the Guadalupe Mountains. Ten members (Derly Rivera, Mike Rodgers, Jerry Smolinsky, Jim Reid, George & Betty Mading, Randall Borsage, Evan Branum, "Anthony" Lucero, and Travis Smith) spent the week working on the accessible trail from the Frijole Ranch Trailhead to Manzanita Spring. Road “oyl" was a new experience for these members and they worked with the sticky and pungent substance all week (until the cement mixer being used to mix the concoction blew a hole in its engine).
The rest of the crew worked several days on the Manzanita Trail, then spent two days on the Foothills Trail that connects the Corral at Frijole Ranch to the Pine Springs Visitor Center and the Tejas Trail. The Foothills Trail had been washed out in several places and the crew filled in those areas with rocks and dirt carried in 5-gallon buckets. Rugged work!! Upon completion of the work on the Foothills Trail, this crew tackled the "scrub down" of the "Ship on the Desert" (our quarters for the week). The Ship was left spic and span for the next volunteer/research group.

In a different part of the park, Crew # 2, consisting of six hardy, adventurous members, spent the week camping in the Guadalupe Peak Trail campsite. Their work, scheduled for four days, was to refurbish the tent pads at the site. With their enthusiasm, organization and hard work they finished the allotted task in two days, thus allowing time to perform other tasks on the Guadalupe Peak Trail for the Park Service. This "wind blown" crew returned to the Ship on Friday after hiking the Devil's Hall Trail. We, at the Ship, were quite relieved after the group showered and presented themselves in fresh, clean attire.

The trip proved to be very successful, without injury, enjoyable to all and over 640 volunteer work hours were contributed to the Park Service. Tony Armijo and his trail crew (Jack, Roger, Javier, Juan and Eddie) along with Stoney (the mechanic who kept the cement mixer wired & glued together until the fatal boom) were exceptionally hospitable and directed the "Trail Tamers" with expert leadership. We always appreciate the courtesy afforded CTTT by the Park Service personnel, and look forward to the next trip to Guadalupe Mountain National Park.

Crew #2 - The Guadalupe Peak Trail Work Team (by George Boemerman)
The Guadalupe Peak trail team, consisting of such stalwarts as Mike Beard, Suzanne Diercks, Allan Weber, Chris Zielinski, Mark Henneke, and George Boemerman, headed up the trail to the campground on Sunday. The weather was perfect, clear, and in the low 70's; however, from time to time the wind did pick up a bit--strong enough to break one of Allan's tent poles.

Aided by Roger Murillo from the park’s trail crew, our task was to rebuild the five large tent pads at the campground. The main chore was to find enough soil to make a smooth covering on the pads. Finding soil on top of a rocky mountain kept us busy! In typical Trail Tamer fashion, we finished our assigned task in two days while also designing and building some elaborate rainwater diversions. We then did some trail work around the campground and on the main trail.

This left us time for relaxation and hikes on our own. The top of Guadalupe Peak affords spectacular views, possibly as far as 150 miles. With the wind stirring up the dust, the sunsets were awesome! In addition to being a work trip, it also turned out to be a gourmet experience. Each member was assigned to provide the evening meal one night for the rest of the crew. To be honest, we all outdid one another--the meals were great!

The hiking prize had to go to Suzanne. On our last day up there, she hiked down the mountain, around a portion of the El Capitan Trail and then back up--a real tiger! On our return Friday, we hiked down the mountain and then went back to Devil's Hall, a 4.2 mile trail in Pine Springs Canyon. It was a great experience…much like a condensed version of McKittrick Canyon. By the time we returned to Pine Springs parking lot, Roger Murillo was waiting with a pick-up to deliver us back to the Ship on the Desert to join the other crew and to partake of a well-deserved cold drink and much needed shower.