Western Oaks Trail, Dick Nichols Park 9/19/15

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Hike: Western Oaks Trail, Dick Nichols Park – Austin, TX

Weather: warm, mid 80s, humid

Hikers: Ian, Court

Length: 3.07 miles

We did a short hike in the morning to test out Court’s new pack, the Deuter ACT Zero 45 +15 SL.  I also took the opportunity to use my Exos 58 again with a few adjustments from last time.  Mine rode much better with tighter shoulder straps and a better packing job.  Court had a few kinks to work out, just like I did on my first test.  She’ll get it dialed in before Lost Maples though.  We are working on finding a good way to split the gear.  My pack will be a bit heavier at around 16 or 17 pounds as of now, with Court’s coming in at just over 12.  Food, water, and fuel will add a bit, but I’m pretty happy with our base pack weights so far.

This trail was ok.  It is pretty far south in Austin, off Davis Lane.  It is pretty flat and has a main trail that is crushed gravel and fairly wide.  There is a different trail that parallels the main trail that goes deeper in the woods, which we took most of the way back.  Not a whole lot to report, as it is pretty much a neighborhood trail, but it was nice to get out in the woods to test the new pack.