Feb 22, 2018 — The Guadalupe Mountains have always felt like an awesome place to hike, likely because of my love for lush and interesting desert mountain ranges, and this traverse of Guadalupe Peak, Shumard Peak, Bartlett Peak, and Bush Mountain solidifies my love for these mountains. Most of this hike is on established trails, but the long section that is not (the part linking Guadalupe to Bush) is not easy. Expect your legs to be torn up if you don't have pants, and do your best to stay on the absurdly gorgeous cliffy ridge, not only because it has incredible views, but also because that will ensure you avoid much of the unnecessary bushwhacking of which I subjected myself. The traverse might be a little slow-moving because there are only hints of a trail, but it's very enjoyable.
Start on the well-traveled Guadalupe Peak Trail and once you get to the summit, enjoy the views of the ridge you'll be doing all the way out to Bush Mountain. There might be a way down from Guadalupe's north ridge from the summit, but I decided to head down the more obvious east ridge and double back to avoid potentially Class 5 terrain. With decent route planning, tthe entire route won't exceed Class 2. From the ridge under Guadalupe Peak's summit, continue toward Shumard, then Bartlett, and onto Bush, trying to stay along the rim as often as possible. Bartlett Peak is likely the steepest and has some dirty rocky sections, but it's nothing crazy. From Bush Mountain, find the official trail that leads south along the opposite side of the canyon. You'll get views of the traverse from here all the way until you meet up with the Tejas Trail. Take this back down to the Pine Springs Trailhead to complete the loop.
I didn't put a ton of photos for the route up on the Guadalupe Peak Trail, or the route down along the Tejas Trail because I've documented both on other hikes.
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