Carlsbad Caverns - Yucca Canyon

 

Meet Yucca Canyon, in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This is the view from the mouth of the canyon, and it turns to the left as it climbs.

The ranger told us the road to the Yucca Canyon trailhead was impassable, but since we had done all the other available hikes in the park, we decided to check it out for ourselves. We figured we could just add the two-mile dirt road to our hike if necessary. Yucca Canyon Trail is marked as 7.7 miles one way (to the national park border); we knew we weren't going to be able to go that far and back in one day, so our plan was to go about 5 miles, then turn around.

The sign at the entrance to the dirt road said "not maintained for low clearance vehicles" but we decided to see how far we could go before having to turn around. (That's always a bit stressful for me; it helped having previously read a couple reviews of the hike that while sedans shouldn't try going down the road, larger vehicles would probably be okay.) My favorite person used his awesome driving skills, and we made it to the trailhead in one piece!

It was a beautiful day for a hike, and the trail was more well-marked than we were led to believe. It started with a steady climb up the canyon, crossing the streambed a few times, and going around a few bends. With each turn our view changed, but all of the rock formations were incredible.

Have you noticed what item Wayne left in the hotel room? Fortunately, I had a spare bandana in my pack so his head didn't get sunburned. After about 1 1/2 miles, and several switchbacks, we reached the top of a ridge. Looking back showed how far up we had come.

The view looking the other direction showed us next year's adventure - Guadalupe Peak - off in the distance, part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

On the other side of the ridge we discovered more canyons stretching off into the distance. Somewhere out there is Slaughter Canyon.

Although it had leveled out, and we were taking a slow pace, at the three-mile mark our blistered toes told us we shouldn't go any further, so we headed back to the car. 

All along the views were gorgeous. It was about 20 degrees cooler than Saturday, which was very nice. Most of the way there was a gentle breeze. And all along the way we saw beautiful tiny wildflowers, and even a cactus or two! All in all, we had a delightful time on this year's Memorial Day hike.