We arrived to find the road to Frijole Ranch closed and so we parked at the horse corral and hiked the road to the Smith Spring Trail.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Guadalupe Mountains National Park: Nipple Hill
My 36th birthday. I spent the day with friends hiking in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. I was talking to a friend at work and he mentioned a rock art site in the park that I had never heard of before. The area in which this rock art site is located happens to be near Nipple Hill which is another part of the park I've been wanting to explore for some time. And so, this morning Robby, Lee and I set out in Robby's car for Guadalupe Mountains National Park and the Frijole Ranch trailhead.
We arrived to find the road to Frijole Ranch closed and so we parked at the horse corral and hiked the road to the Smith Spring Trail.
We made fast time up to the spring and shortly after left the trail to find the rock art.
It was a steep climb, but eventually we found some rock shelters and the location of the pictographs.
The rock art was faded but interesting.
After a short time at the site, we headed back down to the trail and on to Manzanita Spring.
From the springs we backtracked a bit on the trail and then headed cross-country towards Nipple Hill.
The hill was less imposing than it had originally seemed and we made a quick ascent of it.
We spent some time surveying our surroundings from the top and then headed down towards highway 62/180.
Once we arrived close to the modern highway we found the old, abandoned road-bed and followed it back to Robby's car at the Frijole Ranch road.
It was a great way to spend a birthday!
We arrived to find the road to Frijole Ranch closed and so we parked at the horse corral and hiked the road to the Smith Spring Trail.
Happy Belated Birthday...you've given me the idea to make sure I spend mine on the trail this year!
ReplyDeleteHi Eric, I am a longtime reader of your Guadalupe Mountains posts. I had remembered this post from when I first read it years back and wanted to stop back by and ask if you are willing to share any of the details or at least point me in the direction of the rock art site near Nipple Hill. I am planning to hike Nipple Hill as a side hike on an upcoming trip to GUMO and would love to explore the site. I usually get out to the park to backpack 2 - 4 times a year. I post a lot of my trips on my YouTube Channel, Ultralight Outdoors. Anyway, if you're willing to share any info you remember, I'd appreciate it. And if you'd rather keep it secret, I totally understand.
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