Of the "tough" peaks that we have done so far, Guadalupe Peak ranks as one of our favorites.  We had planned for heat, wind, rain, and even the chance of cold temperatures at the top.  To our surprise, it was a cool day with a warm sun and a gentle breeze.  

We started early to avoid the heat, however I will state that the hike up the first set of switchbacks (at 7am) had us sweating hard and wondering how hot it would get.  The switchbacks up the first ridge are steep and rocky, but they eventually crest the ridge and wrap to the other side.  It you have the advantage of an early start, you will enjoy the shade on the backside of the ridge.  From here, the trail becomes more gentle and meanders up to another ridge.  After the second ridge, the trail reaches a beautiful high-mountain pine meadow.  Through this section, the trail is gentle and has few rocks.  Shortly, we reached the climb up to the last ridge (more switchbacks), and then on to the summit (even more switchbacks).  The final stretch to the summit was the only portion that approached a climb in any way (though still not difficult).

The summit offers a wonderful panoramic view.  Neighboring peaks, salt flats, and small canyons are all visible.  These are shown below.

The trip down was uneventful but beautiful.  Based on what we heard about the hike, we took a LOT of water (4 liters each) and drank about three on the hike.  We used Camelbacks, and they were great in allowing us to slowly sip the water - we NEVER got thirsty.  Our total hike time was 6 hours and 15 minutes - including 30 minutes at the summit.  The hike left us with a great deal more energy than Humphreys Peak (enough to hike Carlsbad Caverns).