[Journal entry for February 5, 2015; Franklin Mountains State Park, El Paso, Texas]. North and South Franklin Mountains together form a prominent ridge that extends northward from the city of El Paso, Texas, for a distance of about twenty miles. The ridgeline is a sharp spine of lightly vegetated rock, red and tan in color, with many subsidiary peaks, the tallest of which is North Franklin Mountain (elevation 7,192 ft).

I took Transmountain Road (Route 375) west from I10 to the park entrance, paid my five dollar entrance fee, and parked at a pullout along the access road. The vegetation here is dominated by cactus, yucca, sotol and agave and is very sparse, with much of the ground bare. These plants have intriguing shape, each very distinct from the others. Many of them have recently been in bloom and their tall flower spikes, some eight feet tall, punctuate the landscape.

I take the trail to Sneed's Cory, a granite headwall in gulley that descends the western flank of North Franklin Mountain. I am surprised to find a little open water in its bottom, emanating from seeps at the base of the headwall. I climb the brilliant red rock, which is colonized by occasional bright green cactus and succulents, and stand on the ledge above it, gazing westward. The sky is clear, but the lower atmosphere is a bit hazy, with a sharp demarcation between the two.

I join the Mundy’s Gap Trail, a jeep track that crosses the ridge in a low spot. It slowly switches up the western flank of the ridge. The rocks are very diverse; I pass cherty limestone, sandstone, granite, rhyolite, basalts and a small section of serpentine, shot through with white veins. The trail runs just below a layer of red granite that has weathered into a row of beautifully shaped tor. Several other hikers and mountain bicyclists pass by, including a man with a Marines cap who kindly takes my picture. After about an hour I reach the top of the gap and am treated two very nice views: The eastern view is of expansive high arid plains with just a hint of distant mountains; the northern view if of the jagged continuation of the ridge, which though consisting of peaks that are lower than North Franklin Mountain, are very impressive, nonetheless.

I am running out of time, but decide to push on up the flank of North Franklin Mountain with the hope of reaching the ridgeline and finding a westward view. I really hustle, for the sun is getting low and the trail is now entirely in shadow. I finally make the ridge and have a nice view of the western plains and foothills of the range. North Franklin peak is still above me, but I venture no further, for in addition to the lateness of a day, I encounter a large sign that warns of unexploded ordinance. I’ve accomplished my goal and turn around.

The way down is faster, but tough, for the trail is full of cobbles that provide poor footing. I really need to concentrate to avoid falling. The last half-mile, along a gully north of the one I ascended at Sneed's Cory, is especially bad. But I reach my car without mishap. The mountains are now lit orange by the setting sun.

The park official is standing by the gate as I depart at 5:15PM. I guess that the park closed at five. I’m sorry to have kept him waiting, and also relieved that he did not lock me in! I stop at the State Line Bar-B-Q on Sunland Park Drive in El Paso on the way back to my hotel and enjoy a platter of homemade sausage.

About three hours.