Guadalupe Mtns NP - McKittrick Trail

Today was an 8 mile round trip hike on the McKittrick Trail. It was 4 miles out and 4 back along the same trail. About halfway there was a stone cabin built in 1931 for Wallace Pratt. It was built from native flat stone for the walls and even the roof was stone. It had a living area 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There was a guide stationed at the house to give a tour and explain the history. The Pratt family donated all their land to the national parks service to help expand the park in the 1960's.
We then hiked another mile to the grotto. This is a rock formation that they explained was similar to those in Carlsbad Caverns, just above ground. It is a small cave under a rock cliff that had many formations from the ceiling and ground, just like the caverns.
The last mile of the hike was up to a hunters cabin built for the local hunters to stay in when out for extended hunting expeditions. Since it was built for just the hunters, it was not nearly as nice as the Pratt family 'cabin'.
Then we followed the same trail back to the trailhead and into the town of Carlsbad for a BBQ dinner.Read more