Best Hikes of 2018 So Far

My last blog and this blog have both been rehash blogs for a good reason. I had plans to visit several west Texas state parks this summer but I have sustained an injury that is aggravated when sitting for a long time. My travel has been limited to just about nowhere. Hopefully, I will be back at 100% by August. I have gotten in a bunch of hikes this year so I will list the best.

10. Quanah Hill-This is a cool little park located in Weatherford, TX. Nice trails with lots of elevation change and clean.

9. Eagle Mountain Park-Located on the northwest side of Fort Worth. This park is just a nice nature park to hike.

8. Eisenhower State Park-A surprisingly good trail system at a park located in Denison, TX. The beaches and cliffs were great.

7. Mount Nebo SP-Located in Dardanelle, AR, this was a surprisingly neat park. The summit trail around the top is a must.

6. Chickasaw National Recreational Area-Located in Sulphur, OK, this park is all about waterfalls. I love me some waterfalls.

5. Bastrop SP-Located in Bastrop, TX, this was a park I have wanted to go to for a longtime. Although it was foggy he park did not disappoint.

4. Petit Jean SP-Located in Morrilton, AR, this was another must see park for me that lived up to all the hype.

3. Enchanted Rock SP-I returned to this park for the third time. I got to finish the park and it was as good as the first two trips.

2. Caprock Canyon SP-My second visit to this park located in Quitaque, TX. Even fog could not ruin the colors of this beautiful canyon.

1. Mount Magazine SP-This state park has the highest point in Arkansas as its peak. Located in Paris, AR, it has some great cliff views.

This was a hard list to create and I think I left off a good hikes at Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin and Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano. I have at least five never been before hikes planned in the fall so this list might change by the end of the year.

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Bastrop State Park

I have finally made it to Bastrop State Park. I have been to seven Austin area state parks but never had a chance to go to Bastrop State Park. The timing has not made it possible to visit this park. I found a trail race near the park and I was not going to miss my chance to hike Bastrop State Park. The park is located in Bastrop, Texas about thirty minutes east of Austin. The park in recent years has been devastated by floods and fires. The majority of the park was burned down and then a couple of years later flooded and left about half of the park under water. I am visiting the park three years after the last major natural disaster and the park is rebuilding itself. I was told it would take about 80 years for full restoration.

I arrived early in the morning and it was cool and very foggy. I did not think I would get good pictures in this type of fog but I was told to go through with the hike. The person described the park in this fog as “majestic” and “enchanting.” He was spot on. The park was beautiful in the fog. The views were incredible and even though you can still tell that the park had be through natural disasters it still was spectacular. The different tree colors, the red dirt, the elevation changes and the regrowth of smaller plants made this park a must see. The park for me lived up to all of me expectations and more. This park also had some interesting CCC features.

This was hike 24 in my 52 Hike Challenge Explorer Series. It will definitely go down as one the best and most memorable hike. Of course, I got lost in the fog. It was a good built in excuse. I would have gotten lost on a bright and sunny day. I added an extra mile and a half to the hike and it was well worth it.

The next park was a quick ten minute drive down the road.

The Art of Getting Lost

I have a gift of getting lost in places where there is no reason of getting lost. I prepare and plan and read maps prior to any adventure. This weekend was the ultimate of being lost multiple times even though I played it about as safe as I could.

My first safe play was passing on a hike in which I would not finish until sunset. It is not a problem but I would have to drive in the dark with no use of my phone to give me directions. I avoided the danger of getting lost on the roads.

Now for getting lost. I go to Enchanted Rock SNA early to beat the Easter weekend rush. The problem is that I could not get a trail map. Being overconfident of my navigation abilities and memory, I try to hike my route using my mind. Bad idea, I got lost in ten minutes and ended up where it started. I am a smart guy so I decided to hike my route reverse because I would less likely get lost. My plan worked until the end of the hike. The trail disappeared and I was looking straight down a cliff with a bunch of boulders. I was lucky two nice guys lead me through the boulder field to the parking lot. I got lost and never left the trail. Plus I added an extra mile plus to my hike.

The next day I took full opportunity to get lost. I should have known this one was coming. It was early morning in a thick fog. I decided in all my infinite wisdom to hike Bastrop State Park. The full write up will be later on Bastrop. I was going to the scenic overlook. The whole park was scenic. The fog was everywhere and I missed my turn and hiked the wrong trail. The trail lead to an overlook but not the one I was looking for on the map. I saw another trail that looked awesome and luckily that was the correct trail and I was lost no more. It added over two miles to a fantastic hike.

Last day of my lesson of getting lost was epic. I was running a 10K trail race and flying through the course. I was wondering why I was running for about 12 minutes and did not see anyone. I then saw a few runners in the 33K and 66K race. Well crap, I was lost again and this time I paid to do it. I once again never left the trail but I made a huge wrong turn. Three miles later I “found” some volunteers. I ended up doing 10.4 miles for my 10K. Needless to say I came in last.

The funny thing is I had a blast being lost and meeting good people and seeing more than I bargained to see. If you want to get lost and have some fun, just follow me.