Pedernales Trip report

I've now been to Pedernales Park twice. The first time was a day hike, and the second time which was this past weekend, was an overnighter in the primitive camping area. I was a little disappointed that there weren't many wildflowers in the area where we were, but we did find a beautiful patch the next day while out boulder hopping. The cool streams of clear water and small water falls more than made up for the lack of flowers.

The walk from our car to the designated camping area was rather short...maybe three miles.
There were plenty of people out and about on the trails but many people stayed to camp. We found a nice spot though and weren't bothered by our neighbors. We sat down and rested under the trees for a bit and started to settle in. It was so good to get into camp.

After resting up and downing some calories we went to a pretty little waterfall and waded a bit. The water fell into a crystal clear shallow pool and there was another area in the stream where water poured out from the ground. It was such a nice spot.

We walked back to camp and Thomas started up the stove so we could cook our freezer bag meals. One dish had chicken, mushrooms, rice, peas, carrots, and peppers. The other meal was a pretty decent version of sesame orange chicken. Both dinners turned out pretty tasty. Those hot freezer bag meals are a genius idea and I've been having fun putting them together.

After our meal we lazed around for a while, read some, and then turned in for the night. The whippoorwills were calling to each other and the katydids sounded off one after the other sometimes seemingly right over my head which was cool. In the distance we could hear the roar of the falls. I had no trouble falling asleep in such peaceful surroundings.

The next day we played on the boulders and took lots of pictures of the falls. The river was rushing swiftly and there were some pretty good rapids in several places. You could feel the power and energy of the water when close to it, which was exciting. I'd love to see what the falls look like under flash flood conditions. There were signs all over the place warning people not to swim, wade, etc...and to be prepared to leave the area quickly. Apparently the flooding is always sudden when it happens and the water rises many feet very quickly in a boiling rage.
So yeah, I'd like to see that...from a distance of course.

It was so good to get back out in nature for a longer stretch. I was able to finally re-connect to the natural world and not worry about anything. I can't wait to get out there and do it again!