Hiking in Carlsbad Caverns National Park

This was hike 1 of 3 planned.  It was intended to be a warm up for the hikes to come.  But, this hike was more difficult than planned.  The trail along the creek bed is poorly marked and infrequently used.  We saw no other hikers on this trail.  After the initial decent and easy trek to the canyon floor, the trail turns left or right.  We choose the southeast track along a...