We Got Guts!

Day 17
Hueco Tanks State Park to Guadalupe Mountains National Park

I left Hueco Tanks State Park when the gate opened at 8:00 am, I got back onto rt 62/180 and headed for Guadalupe Mountains National park. The ride started with some fairly easy hills and slowly got to a high point for the day of 5,394 ft. from there I rode down the road to Cornudas, Tx - about the halfway point of the day. This is where we found an oasis of sorts in the middle of nowhere, Mays Cafe.

My dad and I stopped for lunch here and were very surprised to find a very nice restaurant with a gift shop. The food was awesome, I had the Cornudas burger... a burger with the works including green chili's... it was out of this world good!!! Dad had a club sandwich which looked equally appetizing. I tried the onion rings while he had chips, theses were potatoes cut into ribbons and deep fried, both were very good. The decor was amazing, the table legs were dressed in jean pant legs and boots. The sign in back of the counter said "Cornudas,Texas..population 5 plus one dog", and when you are there you can't help but believe it's true! If you ever happen to be Near Cornudas you must stop in.

From there I rode to the low point of the day - 3,617 ft. in Salt Flat, and yes it looks just like it sounds, very flat and white for miles around! I thought the worst climb for the day was behind me, but I could not have been more wrong, the last 15 miles ended up being a 2,207 ft climb into Guadalupe Mountain National Park, with a headwind trying to keep me from my finish. I arrived and set up camp in stronger winds than I had while riding, the winds were so strong I had to put rocks on the edge of the tent to keep it from blowing over (after chasing it down the hills into the cacti once fist!). After camp was set up I set out to make dinner....dehydrated spaghetti. It was actually pretty good, I split it with my father and turned in for the night.

Normally I would end my blog post here, but not this time, this was a night of absolutely no sleep. You could hear the wind howl over the top of the mountains and within moments it would hit my tent. Every time the wind gusts came down the canyon the tent would buckle and lay flat on top of me, for the first time in my life I wished I was 40-50 pounds heavier, I really thought I was going to be blown away. Not only did I have my weight and all my equipment in the tent, but I also had 6 large rocks on the outside helping to hold the tent in place! The night consisted of pushing the tent back upright every couple of minutes so that I did not roll or blow away. I hope to never have to experience that again!!

The Garmin information for the day is as follows:(and remember you can hit play and see speeds and elevations as they relate to the map!)

Day 17 Hueco Tanks State Park to Guadalupe Mountains National Park by wegotguts at Garmin Connect - Details