Guadalupe Pk or Humphries Pk info

[Peakbagr]

I'll be visiting family in Tucson later this year and am looking to combine a little hiking.
Would like to either fly into El Paso and climb Guadalupe Peak before driving to Tucson or fly into AZ and climb Humphries.

Regarding Guadalupe Peak...I won't have lots of room for camping equipment and looking for a recommendation for a clean motel or B&B as close to Guadalupe as possible so I can get an early start, do the hike, and then drive to Tucson. Also, trail time for "average" hiking time?

For any that have climbed Humphries, can you provide an estimate of the round trip trail time?

Thanks,
PB

 

[wally2q]

Humphrey's Peak

Took me 3.5 hours 1 way. Book says 4 for average. Keep in mind you start at 9000 feet and go to 12,500. Bring advils. There are a number of trails - most popular, and not overly busy is the one that starts at the ski-hill parking lot.

Note: depending on time of year, the summit experiences monsoon storms after 1PM. Plan on, and stick to your turn around time. I recommend 12:00 noon.

If you start early, do the Mt. Agassiz diversion. It's worth it.

the wall......

 

[g o]

both are great peaks!

guad peak is best done early in the morning before it gets too hot. you did not say what month your going, but if it is during the summer be prepared for very hot mid-day temps and have lots of water. this was one of the few hikes that i drank all the water i carried (3 liters) and still wanted more. if you have time, hunter is also a great hike and you can check out "the bowl". this is one of my favorite highpoints that i have done.

humphreys was also one of my favorites. on a clear day from the top you can see the north rim of the grand canyon, the painted desert and the verde valley. when i went (in 2000) it was illegal to hike to the summit of mt. agassiz because of a special flower that grows there. if caught by the rangers, it was a $500 fine for being over there. not sure if that is still the case but you may want to check it out. if i remember correctly i started out at about 7am and was back down having lunch at the ski lift lodge, at the base of the snowbowl road, by`mid-day.

 

[Rob S]

Just want to second Wally2q's caution about afternoon thunderstorms. This is especially true in July and August. I've hiked in Arizona on 4 different occasions, 3 times during the summer months. In July of 2000, a fierce storm at 12:30 in the afternoon turned us back from our hike in Oak Creek Canyon. An hour later, we drove thru about a foot of water that had flooded downtown Flagstaff. Not only is the lightning dangerous, but, depending on where you are, so is the danger of flash floods.

 

[Peakbagr]

Thanks for the trail info, I appreciate it.
I've done lots of peakbagging on Colorado 13ers and 14ers as well as California-Oregon high country. I always try for a very early start to avoid the early afternoon fireworks.
Will probably be out there in the hot season and will carry lots of fluids.

Still hoping to find a place to stay the night before Guadalupe if someone has a recommendation.


Thanks to all,

PB

 

[poison ivy]

I'm pretty sure Humphrey's took us about seven hours roundtrip. But my husband was hit very hard by the altitude & didn't mention it until we summited. So our trip down was extremely slow as I was carrying two packs & he was struggling with a headache. Even though he had a difficult time, Dave agrees it was a beautiful hike and totally worth it.

-- Ivy

 

[AMF]

Regarding lodging for the Guads, your choices are pretty sparse - El Paso, somewhat more than an hour west, or Carlsbad, somewhat under an hour north. Both have plenty of motel options. White City, at the entrance to CCNP, is a little closer (15 min?) but also somewhat more expensive. If your rental car has room to sleep in, that may be your best bet for an early start.

Guad Peak is easily done as a day hike.

 

[el-bagr]

As far as I know, Agassiz is still closed at timberline, due to the St Francisco Peaks Groundsel (Senecio franciscanus), a nifty little alpine plant found only on those mountains. I think they closed Humphreys' alpine zone to off-trail travel for the same reason.

 

[Jim lombard]

Humphrey's Peak

I climbed Humphrey's peak in April of 2001. We ended up losing the trail in deep snow but did summit after finding an old ski trail to a ravine. The hike took us about 7 hours round trip but in better conditions should take much less time. We wanted to add Agazziz also but were too exhausted after fighting the sticky snow all day. We had no problems with the altitude. One good thing about bushwhacking up the wrong side of Humphreys was the spectacular views of sunset crater and the painted desert. Have fun out there, Arizona is beautiful. One of my favorite hikes ever and the glissade down was a blast!

 

[sli74]

What did you take for gear while hiking Humphrey's in April? Did you bring snowshoes? Rent them? Crampons? Ice ax? If you brought any/all of the above did you rent them from somewhere or did you bring them with you? Just trying to figure out how much gear to bring out there with me. Thanks.

sli74

 

[Jim lombard]

Humphrey's Peak

What did you take for gear while hiking Humphrey's in April? Did you bring snowshoes? Rent them? Crampons? Ice ax? If you brought any/all of the above did you rent them from somewhere or did you bring them with you? Just trying to figure out how much gear to bring out there with me.
_______________________________________________
Hi,
we brought crampons and hiking poles. Two of us had 10 point crampons but I only had my 6 pointers. It was pretty steep and very icy climbing up the ravine but the regular trail skirts around that (sort of like Boot Spur on Washington.) We could've used snowshoes but didn't rent them. Snowshoes definitely would've been useful in that mashed potatoe snow. I remember an outfitter in Flagstaff just off Rt 66 that rented some gear. Two of us had ice axes but we didn't use them. The poles were very helpful. Unfortunately the one thing we wanted to buy from the outfitter was a map of Humphrey but they ran out. We ended up using a ski area map without much success....

 

[Pete_Hickey]

If you camp at the base of Guadalupe you will be back down at the same tmie you would drive there from a Motel. IE it's a quick climb, and a long drive. The Motel 6 in Carlsbad is rather inexpensive and clean.

I did the round trip up and down Guadalupe in 3 hours, including rest time at the summit. Don't forget to look for the fossil shells in the rocks near the summit. That 3 hours was when I was in good shape, having done a Grand Canyon trip down to the river and back in less than 7 hours, a few days before.

 

[KZKlimber]

Summitt Conditions???

Anyone know what Humphrey's summit is like in Mid -April?? Is full Alpine ensemble (insulating and outer layers) needed? Or is it "spring conditions"? I'm sure the weather that time of year is just as fickle and unpredictable as Marcy or Mt Washington can be in April. It can be a blizzard or short sleeves.

 

[wally2q]

Humphrey's

Several years ago I wore crampons down the 1'st 1000 feet of the Hermit trail into the Grand Canyon - in mid April.
At 3000 feet higher, the trailhead on Humphrey's Pk was that much more "wintery".

The following year I was there in Feb., with basically no snow, and 35 deg. at the same Humphreys Pk. trailhead.

Check your forecast before you go. The weather patterns there are very predictable and uniform. A 5-10 day forecast will actually be pretty accurate - at least temperature wise.

The ski hill: Arizona Snowbowl which is on Mt. Agassiz has conditions, recent pictures, and a web-cam.

Looks like they have some snow this year!

enjoy.

the wall.........

 

[wally2q]

Humphrey's

Several years ago I wore crampons down the 1'st 1000 feet of the Hermit trail into the Grand Canyon - in mid April.
At 3000 feet higher, the trailhead on Humphrey's Pk was that much more "wintery".

The following year I was there in Feb., with basically no snow, and 35 deg. at the same Humphreys Pk. trailhead.

Check your forecast before you go. The weather patterns there are very predictable and uniform. A 5-10 day forecast will actually be pretty accurate - at least temperature wise.

The ski hill: Arizona Snowbowl which is on Mt. Agassiz has conditions, recent pictures, and a web-cam.

Looks like they have some snow this year!

enjoy.

the wall.........

 

[Jim lombard]

Humphrey's Peak

I was there on April 11th 2001. The day before we climbed up, the summit was clouded in with high winds but the day we hiked was sunny and warm with LOTS of snow. We ran out of water on the way down, bring at least 3 quarts and also bring a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as the UV down there is pretty intense. Be prepared because the conditions can change very fast up there.

 

[RoySwkr]

Motels:
I have stayed at Motel 6 in Carlsbad and El Paso, about like Motel 6 elsewhere. Also stayed at Red Roof Inn in El Paso, it is on the W side of town so in the wrong direction for the Guads.

TX:
Official park service time is for Guadalupe Peak is something like 5-8 hours, took me off the low end as I was chatting with a guy half my age who didn't bring food. Cool weather with snow at top, may take longer in heat.

Humphreys Pk:
Did it around May 1 one year, deep snow buried trail and lots of postholing so took several hours longer than it would have in summer. Snowshoes would have been useful but snow too soft for crampons. The worst part was they had told us at the Forest Service office that there was no snow reported on the trail - we could see the snowy peak from their office but thought that meant either the trail was melted or packed down. As mentioned, there were notices that you were not allowed to hike between Agassiz and Humphreys.

 

[KZKlimber]

GPS Coordinates

Would anyone hapen to have the GPS coordinates for Humphrey's Peak?

 

[mavs00]

Re: GPS Coordinates

Would anyone hapen to have the GPS coordinates for Humphrey's Peak?

Try this: Lat/Lon: 35.34°N, 111.67°W

Also, I'll include one of my favorite pics of Humphries in this post. What a great Mountain.

Enjoy