We decided on Cedar Ridge Preserve as our destination. This is a really great network of trails…just be sure you follow the signs and not the park map. The particular map in question sent both Luc and I over hill and over dale before we quit trusting it and just went with the signs and our instinct. Let me explain, it’s kind of funny.
We show up, park the car and hop out to get our bearings. We are sitting in a rectangular parking lot; see the trail head and it looks like the trails go off to the right here. We picked the longest one because we both like a challenge, and we set off. Cedar chips on the main trail, so far so good. Within a few minutes we spot some horse tracks (soft ground) and it looks like they follow our trail. We notice as we look ahead that the trail is pretty brushy. I tell Luc that it may not be like Austin trails and that they probably haven’t done any trail maintenance over the winter. We press on.
As we go on, it occurs to me that the cedar chips have stopped… and the trail ahead looks a little more narrow than it is currently. The horse tracks stop at this point. Hmmm. We press on. At this point we are a half mile in and we are having to dodge brush and branches as the trail continues to narrow. I convince Luc that we must be on the right trail, because it is the right direction in relation to the parking lot. We have also set out in one direction and haven’t varied so we must be on the right trail. I also convince him that it is indeed still a trail. ;]
So we dodge brush and must be about a mile into this preserve when we come up on a ridge that overlooks a neighborhood to the right and a lake off to the left. Not as scenic a picture as the park write-up sounded but still, not bad. At this point my mind is reeling because we must be on the path but this definitely doesn’t look like any park trails I have ever been on… it feels like I am a kid again exploring in the woods…well off the beaten path! Luc and I check out the overlook and then decide to press on with what looks like a trail heading down the ridgeline. Turns out this was probably just a runoff “trail” and we were just following nature’s trail making handiwork. About halfway down the slope I look ahead and spot someone rustling in the trees, “off” the trail so to speak… I know, I know… more “off” the trail more than we already were. I don’t think Luc sees the guy and in my quick deductive reasoning I determine that we need to sit here a second and give the poor guy a minute. He was actually imitating a bear in the woods as the old saying goes. Again, see me if none of my “old saying” references ring a bell. ;]
Can’t people figure out when they need to do this sort of thing and handle it before they head out onto a public trail network? Well this guy obviously needs some time so Luc and I survey the area and decide that we see another “trail” and head down it. It’s another natural runoff “trail” and takes us off in a different direction but at least it gets us away from the very outdoorsy Mr. Bear. Again, the trail doesn’t seem to be maintained very well and we end up heading for any opening or anything that resembles a trail making sure that we are heading back in the general direction of the parking lot. After at least a mile of overlanding it, we burst back onto the original trail and head back toward the trailhead. Luc tells me that he likes hiking in Austin better because the trails are wider. Funny kid.
Back at the trailhead I took a closer look at the trail signs on the ground (completely ignoring the park map at this point) and see that the trails go off in another direction entirely. Great. Luc is a little reluctant but I convince him that this time will be better… hoping that I am right. We ended up on a beautifully maintained, wide and scenic trail and were immediately glad we came. We hiked one of the larger loops that headed down toward a pond with cat-o-nine tails and started seeing other people on the trail… and they weren’t taking nature breaks. Really nice trails here and we head back up a trail toward the real scenic overlook.
As we go on, it occurs to me that the cedar chips have stopped… and the trail ahead looks a little more narrow than it is currently. The horse tracks stop at this point. Hmmm. We press on. At this point we are a half mile in and we are having to dodge brush and branches as the trail continues to narrow. I convince Luc that we must be on the right trail, because it is the right direction in relation to the parking lot. We have also set out in one direction and haven’t varied so we must be on the right trail. I also convince him that it is indeed still a trail. ;]
So we dodge brush and must be about a mile into this preserve when we come up on a ridge that overlooks a neighborhood to the right and a lake off to the left. Not as scenic a picture as the park write-up sounded but still, not bad. At this point my mind is reeling because we must be on the path but this definitely doesn’t look like any park trails I have ever been on… it feels like I am a kid again exploring in the woods…well off the beaten path! Luc and I check out the overlook and then decide to press on with what looks like a trail heading down the ridgeline. Turns out this was probably just a runoff “trail” and we were just following nature’s trail making handiwork. About halfway down the slope I look ahead and spot someone rustling in the trees, “off” the trail so to speak… I know, I know… more “off” the trail more than we already were. I don’t think Luc sees the guy and in my quick deductive reasoning I determine that we need to sit here a second and give the poor guy a minute. He was actually imitating a bear in the woods as the old saying goes. Again, see me if none of my “old saying” references ring a bell. ;]
Can’t people figure out when they need to do this sort of thing and handle it before they head out onto a public trail network? Well this guy obviously needs some time so Luc and I survey the area and decide that we see another “trail” and head down it. It’s another natural runoff “trail” and takes us off in a different direction but at least it gets us away from the very outdoorsy Mr. Bear. Again, the trail doesn’t seem to be maintained very well and we end up heading for any opening or anything that resembles a trail making sure that we are heading back in the general direction of the parking lot. After at least a mile of overlanding it, we burst back onto the original trail and head back toward the trailhead. Luc tells me that he likes hiking in Austin better because the trails are wider. Funny kid.
Back at the trailhead I took a closer look at the trail signs on the ground (completely ignoring the park map at this point) and see that the trails go off in another direction entirely. Great. Luc is a little reluctant but I convince him that this time will be better… hoping that I am right. We ended up on a beautifully maintained, wide and scenic trail and were immediately glad we came. We hiked one of the larger loops that headed down toward a pond with cat-o-nine tails and started seeing other people on the trail… and they weren’t taking nature breaks. Really nice trails here and we head back up a trail toward the real scenic overlook.
Once done there we decide that we probably needed to head back. The trail loop we were on was a couple of miles long with several climbs up and down a ridgeline and with all the hiking we did on the “natural” side of the park, we were both about done. Along the way we passed several groups who obviously looked at the signs and not the park map… and what do you know, there goes Mr. Bear along with several of his hiking buddies in the opposite direction. No doubt trying all their hiking gear out before going on an extended hike elsewhere.
On our way back down we were about a mile from the car and came upon a sign that had both Luc and I laughing. Thinking but laughing. The sign said that this was a “poisonous snake habitat” and that the Preserve “recommends” that you stay on the trail to be safe. Luc and I had pretty much been on every hill and ridge of that park “off the trail” before we finally found the real trail network…only to come up on this sign. See? Thinking but laughing at the same time. Luc asks me “ Hey Cap’n”, (he calls me captain, or cap’n as it were), “do you think we passed by many snakes on our hike?” I tell him that I am sure we passed hundreds. He then asks “can we call this an adventure then?” I say, sure, we can definitely call this an adventure.
Hope everyone is having a good week. Catch you later.
bb
Hope everyone is having a good week. Catch you later.
bb
2 comments:
Sounds like you both had quite an adventure! Glad to see you two got together for this outing. I know it was fun for you both.
Love, Grandma/Mom
Absolutely wonderful! Got more than a few smiles from your ol' mom.LY
-babo (via email)
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