So now is one of the times of year I like to work in one of my favorite pastimes-hiking. I guess it's not so much the hiking I enjoy but the being outdoors in nature. Walking and the outdoors is my personal form of meditation. You will probably never catch me sitting around with my legs crossed, eyes closed, and my index and thumb fingers pinched together chanting ohhhmmmmmm.
So, back a few months ago as I was scouring my Austin Hiking guides I came across the 16 1/2 mile Good water Loop Trail in Georgetown, Texas. It was listed as one of the Austin areas most overlooked trails. I like hole in the wall type places so this one intrigued me.
Our goal was to reach the Crockett Garden and Falls located on the trail loop.
We only managed to hike about 4 miles of the rocky trail. Hiking over rocks and hills is a bit different and more gruelling than a flat path. Aside from some blister issues in the last mile from Summer and me doing more sightseeing than keeping my eye on the path where a huge rock step jumped in front of me and threw me to the ground we had a great day. Of course the two men, Toby and Bo, trudged on without even wincing even though I'm sure Bo's paws were raw from the rocks and Toby..well, I don't know because he's always pretty tough until the ride home where he promptly falls asleep after every hike we go on.
Most the trails we hike are open but the the first couple of miles of this trail are shady...oh, and if you have the pesky Cedar tree allergies that Austinites swear you will have when you move here, this trail would not be the one to hike. Cedar trees line the whole trail. By the way, we are going on our 4th year of being here and have never experienced the allergy...or any allergy for that matter....
About a mile down the trail you get a birds eye view of Lake Georgetown...
For another mile the trail takes you along a bluff on the edge of the lake...
The trail was very rocky indeed...
We finally got to the head of the falls and the old homestead site. Summer checking out the rocks in the stream....
Here are the remains of the old homestead that once stood....
We could hear the falls as we came upon them. We were excited about seeing them but what we saw was not exactly what we expected to walk all that way for. In their defense I had this feeling that they were probably more impressive when there is a little more rainfall....
On the way out of the falls area I came across this tree with a cool diagonal pattern. Summer also found a small cave....
We tied Bo up to a tree for some rest and we sat down in front of the falls and ate our lunch. Peaceful...
Some misc. pics from our day...
Needless to say I got my hiking itch filled for the week.
Sigh....no falls.
ReplyDeleteI've been hiking and camping on this trail for more than two years by now, but never actually made it all the way around the lake until this May, when a couple friends and I did that hike (26 miles). It was a perfect day, especially for May in Central Texas. The water was flowing at the waterfall, all the birds were out, and the blackberries were ripe in the field! Too bad I have to wait till school starts again for the weather to be that good again.
ReplyDeleteIf you have to go to one part of the lake but can't see it all, I'd recommend the far end at Tejas Park. At that part it's more a river than a lake, and really looks like the area did before all the development, or even like some of the parts of central Europe that many of the immigrants here (Czech and German) came from. I hear stories from alumni about all the traditions surrounding the river back from the '30s to the '70s. To go out there with some good friends and a beer or three (shh) on a sunny afternoon makes me feel connected to that history that is often overlooked nowadays.