Pedernales Falls SP Pedernales Falls Trail

I am back at Pedernales Falls Trail and this time I went further upstream.  Just to get this out of the way, I got lost on the way back and had to follow the horse trail to the main road.  I used a compass to go in the right direction and from the main road I hiked back to the parking lot and trailhead.

The falls were flowing with more intensity than the last time I was here.  I decided to go to the obvious picturesque spots then headed up the river.  I was happy that there were few people out today and got all the pictures I wanted.  It was a midday day middle of the week hike so I did not expect to see many people.  As most know I love waterfalls and I just kept following them further up the river.  I would have kept going but the sound of thunder and a cool breeze with darkened clouds cut my hike short.  It did not rain but this area is prone to flash floods and the river rises fast.  I did get to parts of the park I had been to before and it was a great hike.  The park gets better every time I am here and it did not disappoint.  My favorite picture of the dayFour armadillosTrying out new settings on my camera phoneMy favorite beach spotSky was changingClear water and darkening clouds

I have one more day in the Texas hill country before returning home. I visit another park I have to but a different park.

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Pedernales Falls State Park Twin Falls Hike

Two years ago a went to Pedernales Falls State Park to go see the Pedernales Falls.  I was very impressed with the falls and at the time the best waterfalls I have seen up close.  On the trail map there was another trail leading to Twin Falls, I did not have time to go to that trail.  I returned to the park a few months later for the single reason to see Twin Falls.  I, of course, got lost but hiked up the Pedernales river and had a great time. Third time’s a charm and I found the waterfall this time.  I cannot believe I missed the turn last time.  The hike was about a quarter mile and there was Twin Falls.  The trail leading all the down was closed but I got to the scenic overlook.  I was back to the trailhead in thirty minutes.  I decided to head back down to the Pedernales river and hike it again.  The river was packed with people by the Trammel Crossing trailhead so hiked down river and had some peace and quiet to get a few good pictures.  I ended up getting just two miles but it was a nice hike and finally got to see Twin Falls.Twin Falls view from the overlookPedernales RiverTrammel Crossing is under waterHiking buddyTexas Hill Country

I stayed in the park to get another hike in and also visit another local state park. I love being in this area of Texas.

2017 My Top 10 Places Hiked

My last blog of the year is a review of the best places I have hiked this year. I was going to do a list of top ten hikes but I could not narrow it down to a good twenty. Plus the order would change as I was thinking about which hike should be placed on the list. I decided on places because it was easier but not easy. The top ten was not too difficult but the order was very hard. I did about 60 hikes this calendar year and they were spread out the entire twelve months. I had to compare the recent fresh in my mind place with a place that was hiked ten to eleven months ago. The ten places I have chosen, I have or will hike multiple times. Two places I have hiked but not blogged about yet. The ten places cover three states, a national park and a wildlife refuge.

10. Cedar Ridge Preserve-Minutes away from home and is one of the most scenic areas in Dallas County. 

9. Hot Springs National Park-This quaint cozy park has some great views. 

8. Pedernales Falls State Park-The Texas hill country is all over this list.

7. Pinnacle Mountain State Park-The second Arkansas park and a summit hike.

6. Enchanted Rock SNA-The park is more than The Rock. Hidden gems everywhere.

5. Lost Maples SNA-A nature made amphitheater with great trees, waterfalls and views.

4. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge-This place has everything. Summits and waterfalls.

3. Caprock Canyon State Park-Home of the official bison herd of Texas. Plus canyon views.

2. Colorado Bend State Park-Gorman Falls is amazing but that is just the start.

1. Palo Duro Canyon State Park-The second largest canyon in the USA.

These top ten places that I have hiked in 2017 maed this a memorable and fantastic year. Next year I hope to have a totally different list of places.

2017 Top Ten Hikes

This list will consist of only hikes I have done this year. I will also bore followers with an all time list at the end of the year because I have one more trip planned this year. Next year I will be doing less hiking and more trail running trying to move up to the 20K and 25K distances at some time next year. This year was my most active year hiking ever. I have hiked over twenty state parks and a handful of other parks. I really want to finish the 52 Hike Challenge within the year and I am on pace to finish early. I have completed 48 hikes this year and I have two months to get four more hikes done. The majority of my hikes have been in Texas but I did get into Oklahoma for a weekend of hiking. I had adventures in the high hills of central Texas. I was blessed to see all different parts of Texas from the piney woods to the hill country and also the west Texas desert and the great plains. I had a difficult time narrowing it down to ten hikes and it might change depending on the day but here it goes:

10. Tyler State Park, Whispering Pines Trail-This really short trail was visually electric.

9. Lake Mineral Wells State Park, Penitentiary Hollow-Not really a trail but it a rock climbers paradise with bouldering and lake views mixed in.

8. Pedernales Falls State Park, Pedernales Falls Trail System-it is as long as you want it be but you must go down to the falls for a spectacular view of the water.

7. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Kite Trail-bouldering over mini waterfalls, what more can I say.

6. Enchanted Rock SNA, Summit Trail-I felt very accomplished summiting The Rock.

5. Inks Lake State Park, Devil’s Waterhole Nature Trail/Valley Spring Creek Trail-This combination of trails is the hidden gem of Texas.

4. Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Little Baldy Mountain Trail-Another summit but this one combined hiking and rock climbing.

3. Lost Maples SNA, East-West Trail/East Trail-one of the toughest uphill hikes I had before #2 on this list but worth every step.

2. Hill Country SNA, Merrick Mile Trail/West Peak Overlook Trail-this was a great hike with better views. I later found out of a similar hike with even better views, need to see to believe. 

1. Colorado Bend State Park, Gorman Falls Trail-I was just so amazed at these falls. So there is the 2017 top ten as of today. I could have easily expanded to a top twenty. I have enjoyed my hikes this year so far and am looking forward to my next set of hikes and hopefully they can crack this list.

The blog will be about trail running. The trail runs and hikes have gone hand in hand on many occasions. I like going to trail races just to hike the park at times.

Pedernales Falls State Park Part 2

I was happy to be back at Pedernales Falls State Park. I like a good hike to see waterfalls. The first set was magnificent and I could not wait to see Twin Falls. I was expecting to see a mini version of Gorman Falls by the description and pictures but I wanted to see it in person. The problem with this park is that the trail maps are not accurate. There are many diverging trails not on the trail map and if you follow a trail it might be the one on the map. I had this problem the first trip and again this trip. One of the rangers gave me good directions to the trailhead but once I started to hike the map was useless. The strange thing was that I found Trammell’s Crossing which on the map should be in the sight line of Twin Falls. The good thing about this park is that even if you get lost the park is so picturesque that it does not matter.

I started down the Twin Falls Nature Trail which was less than a half mile long. I quickly realized that this trail was steep in places and had plenty of obstacles, especially if you are tall. I got to Trammell’s Crossing which was under water. I went after a good rain a few days before because I knew I was to see waterfalls for two days. I knew it was Trammell’s Crossing because the water was very clear and you could see the path under the water.

I looked around for awhile at what I thought was still the trail but it was not I am guessing. I go back the other direction and find that the Pedernales River is flowing good and the sights drew me away from my original destination. I was easily distracted by flowing water. I saw some other unmarked trails and a beach.

I did not get to Twin Falls but I had a great hike up and down the Pedernales River. I did have to find a the trail I came down on and that was a problem. I was on some jeep trail and I was guessing where I needed to go back up. I eventually made back up to the trailhead and saw a sign that might have helped out prior to my hike.

I did not discover the falls but I discover some other amazing views of the Pedernales River. I now need a third visit so I can see Twin Falls.

I think the next blog I will get out of the Austin area and actually go into Austin.

Pedernales Falls State Park

Pedernales Falls State Park is a well known state park in Johnson City, TX which is about forty five minutes to an hour west of Austin. This was a “bucket list” hike for me for the 52 Hike Challenge. I wanted to go to this place ever since I heard about it. This was the destination of the trip I was most excited about. I had very high expectations of this park and it did not disappoint. The only negative was not really a negative but the trails leading to the falls were not marked at all but there were so many ways to get to the falls it was not a problem. It took me about a half of mile to realize that I could get to the falls at any one of the unmarked paths to the falls. Once again the wind was extremely gusty but since the hike was in a valley it did not affect the hike. Another windy video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WjnGUXxyeg The falls were flowing pretty good even though there was not much rain the prior week. The bottom level had a sandy beach and long narrow falls.

The water was very clear. I was surprised by the clarity of the water. It looked downright drinkable. The clear water exposed the different levels and layers of rocks below the surface.

I trekked up the next two levels of the falls and found a rock beach and steeper falls and the water was rushing down at a good pace. This part of the falls was awesome, it was so exciting getting up close and personal to the water. The sounds of the roaring waterfalls and the wind was an epic soundtrack to the views.

Seeing these falls made this trip well worth the travel.

This was an awesome two day trip to the hill country. I made plans to return and have already returned for another two day that also included another state park. I was just so impressed of what the Texas State Parks have to offer. I was absolutely speechless after this trip. My next trip was up to the northern part of the hill country at a park I have wanted to see but got rained out the first time around.

 

Miscellaneous Hiking Post with a List

I know the this post was suppose to be about the waterfall Texas state park in the middle of the hill country but I am changing it up. I have been googling, reading other blogs and looking at my social media for what hikes are out there that I might want to do. I would like to conquer Texas, for the most part, but there are so many places in the surrounding states that I want to hike.

The point is that I have been to 23 Texas State Parks, 13 Nature/Wildlife Preserves/Parks, 3 National Forest, 2 Arkansas State Parks, 1 Oklahoma State Park and 1 National Park and it seems like I have been nowhere. The best part of the problem is that I find more places to hike and more places I want to see.

In Texas alone I found out about the Lone Star Hiking Trail. This is a thru hike in Texas just north of Houston covering 96 miles. There are an additional 32 miles over crossovers and footpath only trails in which the length ends up being 128 miles. It is also the longest wildness footpath in Texas and the only long distance National Recreation Trail in Texas. I am saying I will hike the entire thing but parts of it would be nice and who knows completion might be possible.

I also have a fascination of summit/ peak hikes. I am a dayhiker for the most part so they would to be able to be completed in an out and back day hike. It is possible, I have done a 12500 feet above sea level hike that started at around 9000 feet above sea level in a half of day. In west Texas there are a couple of places with 8000 foot peaks which would be the highest in the state. I would like to hike all of them. I am not talking about 8 peaks in 8 days but over time getting to the summit of all of them would be nice.

I also have unfinished business in Arkansas. I need to get to the summit of Pinnacle Mountain but I also want to see the waterfalls of Petit Jean State Park. These two are my must sees in Arkansas but I also want to do some hiking in Hot Springs National Park and Lake Catherine State Park. The pattern of mountains and waterfalls continue in my post.

I have not forgotten about Oklahoma either. There are two must sees and a revisit. The revisit is Turner Falls Park while there I did not get in any hiking or get many pictures. The two must sees are Chickasaw National Recreation Area and Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge. Once again I want to be on the mountain tops and see the waterfalls.

I read a bunch of list that people want to do i.e. Bucket List or 40 before 40 list. First I am not planning on kicking the bucket anytime soon and secondly I am closer to 50 than 40 so that is out of the question. So I am making a 15 by 50 list for myself. A big part of the list is embedded in the above post but I will list them out not in any particular order.

1. Hike to the Mount Scott Observation Area
2. Hike to the Guadalupe Peak
3. Hike El Capitan
4. Summit Elk Mountain(WMNR)
5. Summit Pinnacle Mountain
6. Summit Mountain Top Trail(HSNP)
7. Hike to Cedar Falls(PJSP)
8. Hike the Canyon Loop Trail(Caprock Canyon SP)
9. Hike the Lighthouse Trail(Palo Duro Canyon SP)
10. Hike the Rock Garden Trail(Palo Duro Canyon SP)
11. Summit Old Baldy(Garner SP)
12. Complete Crystal Cave Trail(Garner SP)
13. Complete East Trail(Lost Maples SNA)
14. Find the Twin Falls(Pedernales Falls SP)
15. Hike to the Moss Lake Trail and back on the Echo Canyon Trail(Enchanted Rock SNA)

My list is not particularly difficult and it will not change after I complete each hike so people do some don’t. I will do another when I am finished or 50 whichever one comes first.

Next blog post will have words about waterfalls and pictures of those said waterfalls.