Hideaway Outdoors

Over the Easter weekend, intrepid voyager Jacob Copple and I decided to try our hand at canyoneering in Guadalupe National Park. For those not in the know, canyoneering according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the sport of exploring canyons (as by climbing, rappelling, or swimming).” Over the two days spent in the park, we would experience this definition to its fullest.

After getting some impromptu directions from some friends over at the Outdoor Pursuits Center, we decided to attempt a canyon that has been notorious for giving backcountry groups trouble in the past. But in spite of the horror stories, we thought we might have a leg up on the other groups since gear had been left in the canyon to make our traveling easier. After driving about one hour outside of Carlsbad and setting up camp for the night against an old oil rig, Jacob and I set out into the canyon on Easter Sunday.

The view at the beginning of the descent was beautiful, and it would only get better. Some of the most surprisingly large limestone walls I have ever seen in the area were beginning to pop up all around us. We located the previous groups’ rappel ropes and began to descend deeper and deeper into the canyon. In total, our mileage for the two days was only ten miles. The difficulty came from the utterly uncooperative terrain that we dealt with for the duration of our trip. Giant boulders littered the riverbed divided by gnarled plants that tore at the skin of the unlucky individual who decided to wear shorts (me). It was hard to let that bother me though, considering the surprisingly beautiful scenery acting as a pleasant distraction.

We made it to our first camp about 6 miles into the canyon and settled in for the night. The forecast had turned out to be completely incorrect, which luckily for us meant clear, starry skies. From the next morning, we plotted our course on the map to take an eastern canyon back to our start point. Something we learned on the way out: ascending out of a canyon is more difficult than descending into a canyon. The boulders, cacti, bushes and water pools were still ever-present, except this time we had to go up and over them. After weaving through our numerous obstacles, including an interesting Tyrolean traverse (horizontal rope traverse over a gap), we made it up and out of the canyon.

We were very grateful to have the OPC’s advice on this trip and it would not have been possible without the ropes and equipment they had left in the canyon from previous trips. I would not suggest this trip to a novice backcountry navigator, but for those looking to push themselves technically and physically in a beautiful, remote location, you are hard pressed to find a better spot. We are sore and cut up from the canyon (not to mention I almost stepped on a rattlesnake), but I don’t think either of us were expecting to be as awe-inspired as were from this canyon in the Guadalupe Mountains. Full topographical maps of the canyon are available in the Guadalupe Mountain quadrangle; feel free to pick one up from Mountain Hideaway. And as always, for more information on this canyon or anything else on Hideaway Outdoors, feel free to comment on the blog or shoot us an email!