Hiking
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Poking Around Campsite H | Lost Maples State Natural Area
Since our hiking mileage wasn’t large, maybe six miles or something, we took several breaks during the hike to campsite H. We got behind a slow group of hikers on a very narrow trail, stopped to check out a clematis, and refilled our water at the last place before climbing up the bluff. It was the furthest campsite out at the park and I thought maybe we’d be alone….which of course was dumb of me to think. The campsite is up a bluff and we took the long way around to see what the rest of the trail in that area looked like. Unfortunately we were mostly socked in with…
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Along the West Trail & Dry Can Creek | Lost Maples State Natural Area
Missed a post? See these: Along the Sabinal, Hale Hollow Creek, The View, and Monkey Rock. I had thought that perhaps when we left the main area of the park and embarked on the West Trail that we would leave the crowds behind. There was a slight incline as we hiked up the trail which I thought might deter folks, and for awhile we didn’t see anyone. Then we saw one family, then another, and another until we knew this was not going to be our time for peace. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by going to so many natural areas and not seeing a soul, or very few at least.…
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The View | Lost Maples State Natural Area
After leaving campsite A the East Trail climbs steadily for maybe a quarter to a half mile before plateauing on top of the ridge (which I wouldn’t really call it a ridge, definitely let’s go with plateau…hence plateauing). The climb itself isn’t difficult, just steady, and since I am a slow hill climber and because my nose loves to run when I’m climbing a hill, I take my time. Up top we were rewarded with sweeping views in all directions. The trail itself stays level on top for maybe a mile, probably a smidge less, before descending down towards the West Trail and Can Creek. There wasn’t a whole lot…
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Hale Hollow Creek | Lost Maples State Natural Area
Hale Hollow Creek branches off the Sabinal River near Campsite A and heads west through the northern portion of the park before running into private property. We didn’t walk that far down it, but to kill some time before setting up our tent and waiting on our friends we decided to explore the creek bed a little bit. Maidenhair fern line the walls of the creek, some in better shape than others. Virginia creeper provided a nice contrast in color along the way. Even the maidenhair fern were providing some fall colors throughout the creek. We are fairly certain this is an orchid, in particular I think the chatterbox orchid.…
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Monkey Rock | Lost Maples State Natural Area
A couple of weekends ago we went to Lost Maples State Natural Area which is located in Vanderpool, Texas, a town west-northwest of San Antonio and south of I-10. Along the east loop, not far from campsite A, we found a sign delineating something called Monkey Rock. A middle aged couple were coming from the opposite direction headed towards the rock too, and I asked them if they had been before, to which they replied they hadn’t and were just as curious as us. The sign didn’t specify distance or anything else so I had no idea if we were in for a hike up the bluffs or what. Instead…
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Trail Happiness
A little unfocused…. there, that’s better. Last weekend: hiking, husband, friends, wind, wine, Goldfish cracker, shooting stars, monkey rock, fall colors, overcast, afternoon sun, throngs of people in the middle of nowhere, wildflowers in Fall, spring water, lost in thoughts. Soon I’ll be wrapping up our hike in Washington state, showing you the beautiful sights of Lost Maples State Natural Area and a few other things around here. But for now, I am mellowing out here at home, doing things around here and looking forward to a weekend with family. How are you? (Don’t forget to drop by Sprout Dispatch this week and see what is going on!
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Up Top | Enchantment Lakes & Wenatchee NF
Climbing up Aasgard Pass was slow going, taking us about three hours to get up to the top. For the first third of the trail cairns marked the path somewhat clearly. I was leading, and somewhere near the middle of the climb I started having difficulties following the trail as the path became more scree-like instead of boulders. It didn’t help that there were smaller cairns that sometimes lead in different directions. A couple of times we slid a bit, causing us to halt in our steps and steady ourselves. Around the two-thirds-of-the-way mark I heard sounds but couldn’t see anyone. I looked up and to the left and found…
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Colchuck Lake | Enchantment Lakes & Wenatchee National Forest
At the junction of the Stuart Lake trail and the trail that leads to Colchuck Lake we stopped on a rock to take a break. The walk from the Mountaineer Creek had left the shade of the forest and began winding its way up the side of the mountain. Overall not difficult but the heat was rising. Despite the northwest having a reputation for being rainy and cloudy, we came during a week or sunshine and temperatures upwards of 100* in the valleys and 80s and 90s in the mountains. We sat eating a snack, fending off a sneaky chipmunk and then meeting several groups of hikers, including two women…
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Eagle Rock Loop 3 | Ouachita National Forest
Did you miss Day 1 & Day 2? After leaving the campsite by the river the next morning we had about 9 miles left to return to the trailhead we started at two days before. It was overcast and looked like potential rain but at least it kept the heat down. There were going to be a couple of river fords that day as bounced back and forth across the river. The river in this section was already narrowing but was still flowing faster than the creeks we’d passed the days prior. At this crossing we meandered up and down looking for a possible rock-hop to avoid taking our boots…
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Eagle Rock Loop Day 2 | Ouachita National Forest
Read Day 1 if you haven’t already…. We woke up the next morning around 6 a.m. Dawn had already broke and the sky was getting light. Some of the other hikers had begun to rouse before 6, knowing it would take them longer to get ready and drink their coffee that morning. We were hoping to make maybe 12 miles that day in order to ease our mileage for the third and final day so we wouldn’t be leaving the forest so late for our four to five hour drive back to DFW. The ups and downs of the previous day were mostly over; the topo map showed mostly level…