Friday, September 25, 2015
Hike: Lake Georgetown – Goodwater Trail – Tejas Camp TH, Georgetown, TX
Weather: clear, HOT, mid-90s, 100+ heat index
Hikers: Ian, Court
Length: 9.41 miles
Summer refuses to leave Texas. The high was only supposed to be 93, but in the sun it got up to 102. This did not make for an easy hike. But we put our heads down and powered through. This is the 3rd section of the Goodwater Trail I have hiked. Court has done two. This section was exposed and in direct sun about 80% of the time. There was only one good wooded part and the rest was in wide open prairie with tall grass.
breakfast
We first started from Tejas Camp and took the trail that was directly in front of the trail head sign, which one would assume is the correct trail. Well, one would be wrong. This was actually a hunting trail that dead ended into a deer blind about a half mile in. So we re-traced our steps and found the actual trail behind the campground on the other side of the parking lot. After heading the wrong direction on THAT trail for a short distance we finally figured it out and headed down the path we had originally intended to hike.
finding the trail
The trail paralleled the river for a bit, but never got too close. We are still waiting for El Nino to pick back up this fall so it has been very dry and the lake is once again very low. We finally got to the woods and gained some elevation with a couple of decent lake views.
exposed trail in the baking sun
Court’s “Van Gogh wheat fields” pic
getting to the woods
into the woods
The woods were short lived and we were back in the beating sun for a while. When we got back to some shade it was time to take a break and we sat down and ate some lunch. We were both pretty beat already and decided to call the hike a little early and head back the way we came. Court was really tired at this point, so I took on her pack as well for a little while.
hot tub on the trail…yeah that’s normal
much needed break
two packs, no problem
There were lizards and grasshoppers galore and we also saw an armadillo rooting around just off the trail. Armadillos are strange little animals.
This was certainly a hard hike, especially for Courtney. Some days your body just doesn’t cooperate. I enjoyed it, but I think we are both extremely ready for cooler weather. On another note, our Enlightened Equipment Accomplice double quilt came in the mail and we now have our gear list officially complete. We have non-hiking plans the next two weekends, but then we are going to Lost Maples for our first real backpacking overnight. Very excited.
Armadillos rarely come out in the daytime. Good picture……..
Mom
I hope you are able to hit Lost Maples when the color is good. It is a nice spot, for sure. At one point several years ago while I was in gradschool in Texas, my best friend (who is from Junction) and I made several trips out to that area, trying to find the highest point in the Hill Country. We finally decided that Rocksprings itself was the highest point (we did not have GPS back then). He always wanted to go back up to his ranch near Junction and shoot stuff but I made him go with to Lost Maples a few times too.