What a great hike! My first 3000' gain hike in probably a year, and my first state high point in probably well over a year! Feels good to increment that tally by one. Time to get more serious about it again. I think this was state high point #29 for me? Gorgeous day - we were supposed to summit the day before (12/26) but they were forecasting 20 mph sustained/40 mph gusts at the peak, and a wind chill of 9°F. No thanks! So we did Carlsbad Caverns during that weather and did Guadalupe on 12/27 instead! Busy trail, and we made fantastic time. A year of getting back to running has really helped me out, which I'm so thankful for! Just such a cool hike. I'd never been to this part of Texas before. I'd love to come back and do some of the other trails, maybe backpack the backbone/ridge trail? Very cool experience.