neat cave. awesome you pretty much have the mountain all to yourself. Beautiful Springs! obviously Smith is the most appealing but also interesting there is another spring so nearby... i guess that is what doesnt come out the first one, plus everything else under the mtn maybe... those desert pond springs are often hard to guess where it fills from.. may be loose soil in the middle it fills from a crack at the bottom even.. Excellent Video thanks for taking us with you
Guadalupe Mountains is almost always empty. Except for Guadalupe Peak itself. I believe that Smith flows back underground and reemerges at Manzanita. Or that is the thought. Smith spring is so nice with all that shade. It is a really pretty area. Thanks for watching.
The springs area is beautiful. It is now on my list, so thank you for this. I bet this spot is awesome in early November. I initially had only planned to go out to the Guadalupe mountains a couple of times, hiking the best looking trails, but I believe I'll end up doing all of them eventually. Looking forward to more videos!
Thanks for watching guys. I'll have a couple out within the next week. And then some linger ones out within the next month. We need to get together somewhere local over the winter. I am working on watching y'alls last videos right now.
Wow! Smith Spring is really beautiful! Thank you for sharing it with us. Now I'll have to make it a destination the next time I'm able to get out that way.
I've seen some good size ones. But nothing like that. That has to be a really old tree. Constantly watered. Like the size of a 70 year old Live Oak or something. Pretty amazing.
Just out of curiosity, did you get a chance to check out McKittrick Canyon? I went last year & it really is "the prettiest place in Texas" during the changing of the leaves. 🙂
I was able to do it again on this trip. It was beautiful as ever. Leaves are starting to change already high up the mountains in the drainages. I saw a couple trees in the canyon that had very slight color change. Wish I had a chance this year to make it out for fall color. For everything I've done out there, I've never made it out during those magical couple of weeks.
They do discourage it. In fact up until this trip I had always been told it was against the rules. This time I was told they recommend you dont. Really all the water sources in the park are near a trailhead with water. So there really isn't a need to use the springs. But you could if you really wanted to.
Sadly and typical for many people that visit America's Wildlands, about 2 years ago, a small group of oil workers went up to the Spring past the barrier and yanked down one of the bigger trees in the spring, altering this unique ecosystem and damaging it. I have yelled previously at groups of people to get out of the spring as well. That Madrone Tree is the second largest in Texas. The largest one is in Big Bend National Park.
Oh I hadn't heard that. I can imagine people not understanding or caring about how fragile the environment around the spring is. That's unfortunate because it's a super peaceful area. The two times I've been there it was just me or me and my wife. So luckily I haven't experienced other people messing the area up. Thanks for watching. I appreciate it.
@@CameronHall88 , My girlfriend and I were hiking up to the spring about 40 minutes after their group had left the ranch house. We gave them time so we could have our own space. About 5 minutes from the spring, they were hiking back down and claiming they could never find the spring. Acting weird, I knew something was not right. Once at the spring, I noticed the damage right away. Now more sunlight is entering the spring which as you know, over time will alter this fragile landscape. I could tell you about the church group that was damaging the spring as well. I have been hiking these mountains for almost 30 years and the damage I have seen done in the past 5 years is sad. I love watching your videos and I enjoy the love and respect you have for these mountains but social media has led to many problems when it comes to protecting our National treasures. I know you are in no way responsible for the actions of other people with your videos, but it is just a sad state we are living in when so many people wish to destroy that which is beautiful, simply because they can. There are many interesting places nearby that only a few old timers, like myself and the locals know about that you would enjoy. But I try to keep those places a secret as I know what the inevitable result would be. Keep teaching your kids right and sharing your love for the outdoors. I, in no way, mean any disrespect with my reply.
No I didnt take your comment negatively. I totally understand what you mean. I struggle sometimes with wanting to make videos or keeping the backcountry to myself. My first trip to GUMO was about 15 years ago but I really started going regularly about 4 years ago. And in that small amount of time I've seen a huge difference. Guadalupe Peak trail is tough for me because there are just too many people. I dont even plan to stay at Pine Springs anymore because it's full more and more often. It's weird. But like you said, there are still lots of places that people dont go and dont even know about. I dont know all the secret places, but I do know where I'm likely to not find people. Those are the places I'm planning to visit more this year. Special corners of the park.
