On this occasion, Jessica and I were visiting family in El Paso, Texas. We had left the Grand Canyon for about two weeks. I asked Jess if we could go backpacking in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The National Park that boasts the highest mountain in Texas! I had booked our Backcountry Permit on Recreation.gov and we set out after our breakfast.  We somehow managed to forget one of our sleeping pads so we stopped at a Big 5 Sporting Goods and Kylmit came to the rescue!  Once our little problem was resolved we drove down the interstate to the park. When we checked in for our Backcountry Permit at the Visitor Center we were met by an old co-worker of mine from my time in Rocky Mountain National Park.  We soon embarked on the trail, headed up to the top of Guadalupe Peak.  The mountain is the highest point in Texas!  As time went on we climbed higher up higher and higher, the vast and seemingly never ending landscape only expanding more and more around us.  The National Park still had some Fall Foliage and we stopped to take some photographs with the colors in the background.  The lighting was becoming softer and we were getting closer to our camp.  Guadalupe Mountains National Park has established Backcountry Campsites and we stayed at Guadalupe Peak Camp.  One we set up our tent Jessica and I made dinner.  I shared some of a Pinnacles Foods Company meal. A meal I had discovered on a recent trip I took to the Manzano Mountain Wilderness in New Mexico.

Jess tried some of the freeze-dried deliciousness and was blown away! We soon went to sleep listening to the quet of the Chiuanian Desert. The next morning Jess wanted to sleep in, so I headed to the summit of Guadolupe Peak for snrise. The air had a perfect chill to it, the sun slowly illuminating the landscaoe around me. I made it to the summit just in time for the rays to break over the horizon line and the forever stretching landscape. I took some time to photographg the moment and took it all in. I had the summit to my self but I wished Jess had gotten up to epxeriance such a beautiful moment. One that I have become hyupotized by and avidly chase as oftgen as possible. Once I had taken it all in, I walked back to camp. When I arrived Jess was already packing camp. The sun was up and the landscape was warming up. She smiled and after some breakfastv we headed back down the mountain. passing some groups of people and even coming acrossed a freshly dirtied pair of exercise pants someone had disrpecefully discared on the side of the trail.

Once down we went to the Visitor Center to check out the giftshop. We grabbed some Gatorade and started our drive back to El Paso Texas. We spent the drive back remiciing about the beaitufil advetnure! When back in El Paso, we tried a new coffee shop (Savage Goods) before meeting back up with fmailly. That evening we shared our experiance, photographs, and stories with our familly.

-Sky