Reimer’s Ranch – Lower River Trail 4/30/17

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Reimer’s Ranch – Lower River Trail and Turkey Loop

Sunny, breezy, mid 70s

Ian, Court, Biff

3.9 miles

A cool front came through on Saturday night and dropped temperatures back down to more hiker-friendly levels, so we headed out to Reimer’s Ranch again to check out some new trails.  Court was also testing out another pair of shoes (La Sportiva Bushido’s) before we head to Colorado next week.

First, we made our way down to the Pedernales River and the beach.  The water was extremely warm and we made a note to come back when it’s 100+ degrees and go swimming.

Then we followed the Lower River primitive trail, which was much more well maintained than the last trail we did here near the main rock climbing area.  The trail went along the river for a mile or so and we watched the vultures and hawks float along on the thermals above the trail.

There were also several lizards out basking in the sun and one of them allowed me to get quite close for some photos.

The trail then climbed back up to the plateau and we transitioned onto the multi-use trails that cater to bikes as well as horses, though we saw neither.  The Texas Firewheels and several other flowers (Brown Bitterweed?) are still in full bloom.

About halfway through the Turkey Loop section, we realized that our shoes were full of spear grass and Biff was starting to get poked as well, so I picked him up and carried him a little way until the trail cleared out again.

After a short rest and water we took the interpretive trail back to the parking lot.  This trail paralleled the Lower River Trail, but was higher above it on the plateau and had markers every quarter mile or so detailing different plants and wildlife of the area.  The county has done very well with this park since taking it over several years ago and we still have some more trails left to explore.