The Trail Tamers are returning to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GMNP) during the week of February 13th to trim brush and perform trail maintenance on the McKittrick Canyon Trail between Pratt Cabin and the McKittrick Ridge campground.
Great News! Volunteers will the option to either camp out in the Group Campsite in Pine Springs or stay in a group dorm. The dorm has two rooms (with two beds), a kitchen, and two bathrooms and is located across the highway from the Pine Springs Campground. This is great news because it will provide a kitchen to cook and a shelter to seek if the weather turns bad.
The project will be supervised by the NPS trail crew and will include a series of projects starting each day at 7:30 AM and ending each day at about 4:00PM. Participants should be able to hike 5-8 miles each day and use loppers, hand saws, and other trail tools provided by the NPS. As always, participants should prepare for inclement weather and high winds.
Kevin Deiters is the project leader.
Participation Fee for Members: $75
Fitness Level Description: This project is suitable for individuals in good physical condition and participate in a regular exercise routine. Project components will include one or more of the following: hiking 5-8 miles each day, the trail may be rough, steep, and/or rocky, elevation change over 500 ft over the course of the hike, moderately physical work activities, and/or backpacking.
Equipment and Clothing
Tools will be provided by NPS and include loppers, hand saws, shovels, picks, Pulaskis, and McLeods.
Participants are expected to furnish their own gear, including tent, sleeping bag, day pack, water bottles, personal mess kit, and some sort of container to use for packing their lunch. Work clothes should be practical and include long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and well-broken-in hiking boots. Most importantly, participants should bring good work gloves and safety glasses.
Food and Accommodations
Meals will be provided from Sunday dinner through Saturday breakfast. Participants will share in the preparing meals and cleaning dishes. All efforts will be made to provide substantial, well-balanced meals. Please let the project leader know if you have any food allergies or preferences.
GMNP is located in West Texas on U.S. Highway 62/180. The driving distance is 110 miles east of El Paso, Texas, or 56 miles southwest of Carlsbad, New Mexico.
A map of the vicinity is available at the following link:
McKittrick Canyon Map (PDF)