Devil's Hall with the boys

This last weekend I headed out to Guadalupe Mountains National Park with M and his boys for a Veteran's Day hike. Guadalupe contains the highest peak in Texas as well as some world-renown geological specimens from the Permian Era. In the fall, people migrate there in droves to see the only fall colors around this region. Most people head to the more famous McKittrick Canyon but we were hitting M's favorite place - Devil's Hall.

Last week a local newscast aired an interview on location they did with M in Devil's Hall and since then the place has had more El Pasoan foot traffic than ever before! So I guess mass media really does still work.

I have done this hike many years ago but I barely remember it and half of hiking is the company you keep, so this trip would be fun.

The forecast was a bit dismal for my south Texan bones... windy (50mph) and cold (high of 50). I dressed as warmly as I could, brought extra stuff for the kids in case they're as wimpy as I am, and still froze my ass off. Even with the hiking, I was cold. (blood flows to muscle, leaving fatty tissue to stay cold.... read: my ass, my thighs)

We started hiking after lunch so that the weather was a bit warmer. However, we were hiking in a canyon so we also had no sun.... brrrr! Thank you weather gods for the absence of wind. The Guads are known for their incredible wind storms.

The hike started off sunny...

However, we were headed into a canyon and
would soon lose our light and solar-warmth

We did see lots of great fall color. This isn't New England fall color but when one or two trees are brilliant red and surrounded by white rock, it really stands out. Most of the time I couldn't photograph the color due to the shadowy canyon light.

Bright red big-toothed maples were everywhere

Texas Madrone berries added great color, but
taste awful!

White is a color.... There were several
yuccas blooming along the trail. They
bring in the bats and moths. Yay!

There were other kinds of color too - brilliant purple
colored all the rocks from Ringtail urine - probably
purple from eating berries

After a bit of trail hiking, in which the boys took turns looking for cougars with binoculars and spilling water on their shirts, we headed into a rocky wash to hike for a mile to Devil's Hall. This is what we like to call "kid nirvana"....

Jumbly awesome rocks to climb on!

And climb them, they did!

At one point, in the narrow rock-strewn canyon, I heard rustling in the bushes high overhead. I shushed the boys (have you ever tried to shush 10 year olds? its not an easy task) so we wouldn't scare off whatever animal was up there. Turned out to be a deer family of 4 eating an afternoon meal. They stared at us; we stared at them. Once the boys had a good look at the deer in their natural habitat, we were off for more rock climbing.

Towards the end of the hike, the trail goes up what's known as Devil's Stairs. These are fun but the odd way they tilt create a dizzying optical illusion.

One runs to the Devil's Stairs while the other surveys the path

Posing for photos for dad

After the Devil's Stairs, the canyon narrows even more. M and I walked in front of the boys, allowing them time to be alone with nature, and time for us to jump out and scare them from behind our hiding places.  :-)

Also gave us time to pose
for our own pictures

The canyon narrows down to almost a slot canyon.... if we were on the Colorado Plateau we'd call it a "slot canyon" but we aren't so we call it "Devil's Hall"!

M enjoying geology and fall colors at the
mouth of Devil's Hall

Devil's Hall is the end of the trail. I guess you could bushwhack up a few more yards but not with kids... Another day perhaps. So we turned around and headed back out. We saw the deer in the same spot as where we left them. I even found the boys' lost binoculars in the same spot they left them... All in all, a good day out in the wilderness, a good 4 miles of fall color, a good time!