Lost Maples Backpacking

This place is a true gem and I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to go explore it. It expands several thousand acres with the Sabinal river winding it's way through the canyons and valleys. I even took a swim in the river but will tell the details on that later because it's a fun little story. In attendance on this trip were Thomas and myself. Unfortunately Mykel and Elliott couldn't make it, but they were missed.

Thomas picked me up yesterday morning around 9ish and we arrived at Lost Maples maybe two hours later. We had delays in a couple of the small towns (Medina, Bandera) that we drove through, with whole towns of people crowded in the streets enjoying parades and festivals. Many folks, mainly kids, were dressed up for the occasion and made the people watching fun. Oh and Bandera is a total party town for bikers we found out. They were everywhere! It reminded me of a biker town in North Carolina that I visited once called Bat Cave. Yep, I'll have to get back to Bandera some day and check it out.

This was my first backpacking trip, but I think I did a good job packing considering my equipment. I had a small tent, almost 6 liters of water, some food, some bedding, my camera, and a few other little things. I'm thinking my pack was probably about 40 lbs, most of the weight coming from the water of course. I learned alot from Thomas about equipment during this trip and have some ideas of what I need to purchase for a good trip pack for future adventures. The pack I was using was one Mykel gave me. It was crammed full because it's not really made for an overnighter, but it's all I had. The second day it blew out and I had to safety pin part of it together. Thank goodness Thomas was carrying safety pins! He is a very prepared guy. :)

Speaking of Thomas...I think his pack probably weighed at least 50lbs. I had to work hard to pick it up and hoist it on my back. But it's a great pack and distributes weight well, vs. my pack which doesn't so much. Once I had his on my back, I could feel a huge difference. It was still heavier though and I'm glad I wasn't carrying it! Every ounce counts when out in back country, believe me.

We started out our day on the West Trail, which the Park Ranger said was a rugged leg burning trail. He wasn't kidding. It was mostly uphill with a very steep portion that had my legs screaming by the time we were at the top. We stopped at campsight D and had a little look around. It wasn't the spot though. We felt it was too close to the trail and it was mostly on a slope with lots of rocks. It didn't take us long at all to reach D, so we decided to push on to E. We still had plenty of energy left and knew we could do better. It was a good choice. We ended up in campsite E, which was tucked out of the way near the edge of the park boundary. The campsite ground was nice and level since we were on top by that point and there was plenty of tree cover.

Btw, on a side note, I'd like to mention the park was crowded for the holiday weekend. We encountered many day trippers and hikers on the trails who were some of the most friendly people happy to chit chat for a while. One person we met, Justin from Austin, seemed to be doing laps around that place like it was nothing. He had a full pack that weighed no telling how much and I could barely pick it up. Justin if you decided to look at my blog, it was so nice to meet you and we hope you will join us on future adventures. Feel free to email anytime!

Anyway, back to campsite E...

We set up camp and spent the rest of the afternoon under the trees on our homemade couch. There was a downed log that served as the back for our couch and we used a tarp, a sleeping pad, and a blanket to make a nice place to chill. Occasionally we'd get up and walk around a little and explore the immediate area. Thomas and I just hung out, laughed, talked, and enjoyed the sounds of nature around us. Towards evening, clouds started rolling in that looked like rain. Uh oh. The tent I had with me isn't the best rain tent in the world. It will keep one dry in a slight rain, but not a rain that comes down sideways. Thank goodness it didn't rain sideways, but it did rain!

It's funny because Thomas kept asking me if I thought it was going to rain. There's a little back story to this. I was telling Thomas that when I was in REI looking for a tent, the sales guy told me the one I had my eye on was a nice tent...for dry weather. He said if it rained hard, I'd be screwed. I said "Oh yeah, like it's going to rain anytime soon...so no worries." Thomas had quite the good time ribbing me, pretending to be me by talking in a high pitched voice saying "Perfect! I'll take it!

So he and I bantered back and forth on whether or not it would rain, and Thomas took great joy in singing "Ginny's getting wet tonight". So, I put the rain fly on, even though it didn't fully cover two sides of the tent, thus confirming what the REI guy said. Thomas got his fly out, but said he wasn't going to put it on because that would bring rain for sure. Well guess who got wet that night? Because it didn't rain sideways, I stayed nice and dry. Thomas on the other hand had a tent full of water. He didn't personally get wet because his tent did keep him dry without the fly, but only barely! The water pooled all around him, but didn't quite reach him. But regardless, I did have a good laugh as he poured rainwater out of his shelter the next morning.

Sometime during the night an animal sniffed all around our tents. I'm not sure what it was, but it was kind of scary hearing an animal right outside my tent only inches away from my head. It most likely was an armadillo, but I was too scared to look! It could have been a wild boar for all I knew. It made a ton of noise digging around the ground and sniffing heavily. I was glad it moved on eventually and I could settle back down.

The next morning we broke camp and hiked back to the car to change into our day packs. We moved the car to the next parking lot and took the Lost Maple trail which is on the East trail. We followed the East trail loop for a few miles of amazingly gorgeous Texas Hill Country. We climbed 1.5 miles of steep terrain to a look out point that gave a breath taking view of the hills and valleys. On the last part of the loop is when I earned my new nick name "Navy Seal" because I jumped in a deep spring fed pool to retrieve a geo cache. Thomas thinks I should start signing the geo cache logs with that handle. I might just do that. :)

The cache was located about eight feet under water, almost under a big boulder in a bottle that was anchored to the bottom with a huge rock. I had to strip down to bra and underwear for this retrieval. The water was great though! It was cold and perfect after all that hard hiking through rugged territory. And because the Sabinal river is spring fed, the water was clear. However, it was dark down below next to that boulder and a little scary! I kept thinking I was going to meet up with a nice big snapping turtle through the moss...which there was a lot of. I just wanted to get the cache up to the surface and struggled with that huge frickin rock it was tied to. I didn't notice that all I had to do was unclip the cache from the rock and didn't have to heave the rock out too. Duh! I felt so silly when I realized my mistake.

After returning the cache to it's hiding spot, I had a great swim in the deepest clearest parts of the water. I tried to coax Thomas in, but he would have none of it! Too bad, the water felt great! I got out, dried off, and dressed just in time before a few of the parks visitors found their way to the area! That was probably one of the more daring things I've done in a while.

We hiked the final part of the East Loop, and made it back to the car in good shape. We would have hiked the west loop and maybe outer loop too, but time was an issue at this point. Our motto is leave wanting more, and we did. We'll get back to Lost Maples soon and maybe make it a two day trip next time. Enjoy the photos!

Our campsite is in the trees shown top center. This was a small hill I walked down to get a little look around the area we were in. I went into some of the brush and photo'd the butterfly shown below.
This is what it looked like from our vantage point while sitting on our make shift couch. Looks like rain don't you think?
My REI two person tent.
Thomas's solo tent. He won't be using this one much longer though. It's old and he needs something lighter.
Thomas relaxing before we made our make shift couch.
Just a view from near our campsite.
Next morning...wet gearPooled up water in Thomas's tent.
Polyphemus Moth Caterpillar. The adults wingspan can reach five inches!
In this shot it looks like Thomas is about to walk off an edge.
But as you can see, it's just a steep downward trek. There are plenty of these steep ups and downs in Lost Maples.

Woo Hoo, it's official!

Gonna go back packing in the Lost Maples for a little over nighter next weekend. I'm so excited because I've never done anything other than a day hike. Now the big question of the day...what to pack? I will need plenty of water, a small tent, a sleeping bag, and food that doesn't need cooking. I think I'll fill my pack tonight with stuff and walk around with it all this week to get an idea of what I'm in for. Anybody want to join us?

Bee Suck Hollow pictures!

Finally pics from Bee Suck! Don't forget you can click on the images to see them larger. It's worth it. Trail head. There were some nice shady places on this hike.
About to head into deep cover for a while...
Deep cover..Mykel about to disappear through tunnel ahead of me.
So lush. That's the Leon river.
Parts of the trail were treacherous and I wouldn't recommend bringing small children. This is me pointing the camera down to my right. It's a drop off that is at least 30 feet to the bottom. The trail here is sloped not level! The soil and rock are very loose. It was bad enough dry, but I can't imagine anyone trying to get across this section while muddy.
Another view of drop off section. I still can't believe how dangerous this part was. It would be so easy to lose your footing here and fall with nothing to stop you!
Ok, last perspective on the dangerous part. This is Mykel behind me. Notice how her left knee is bent? Yep it's a slope alright, and that's a steep incline to her right. It only gets worse as she starts coming up to where I'm standing.. All that under foot is very loose soil and rock. Nope, I would not let a kid walk this trail. The green on the right hides the gully below.
A tangle of trees. Some parts looked like this, where it was all jungly and viney looking.
I call it a horse apple. I don't know what others call it.
Horse apple that looks like it exploded.
We climbed up out of this and were most definitely off trail! The blue bottle marked our spot for our climb back down after walking on top of the ridge for a while.
Up on top of the ridge (off trail) we had to navigate through many patches like this.
Still off trail on top of ridge
A long way down
More on top
Black turkey vultures riding thermals over valley below. Close up of black headed turkey vulture. I love it when animals pose for the camera.
Huge ant. I'm uncertain of the species, but it was about 3/4 of an inch long!
Blue skies and green trees. I liked the color from this view point.

Little savannahIt was hard work cutting down these trees, but we did it! Just kidding. :)
The wall. This is part of the Belton Dam. Some mural huh?
A different perspective
Close up
Even closer
Far away. This was the last part of our hike before heading back to the car

Yesterday's little walk about

We walked a short two miles on a suburban trail that was pretty nice. It was a typical back yard trail with huge houses up in the hills on either side of the small valley we were in.

We saw a herd of deer moving through the trees above us, quietly at first, but then they got spooked as we got closer and they started to dash. I love watching deer run through the forest, especially when they are not quiet about it.

The geo-cache we found sucked and I got bitten or stung by something on the leg. What fun!

An artist worth mentioning...

Tim Reynolds. Check him out!

Hiking at Bee Suck Hollow

I forgot to write up my hike log for last Sunday. I'm slipping.

So we went to Bee Suck Hollow which is out at Lake Belton. This was a GREAT hike! I got so many cool pictures but they are all on Mykel's camera. Once I get them from her, I'll put them up.

We didn't use a map on this one, but explored all over. A fun little adventure it was. The wildlife we saw or heard was a nice bonus. A large buck ran out in front of us across the trail and that was exciting. We saw a nice black headed vulture perched on a dead tree. We heard a bone chilling screech from some kind of large bird. We saw a tremendous catfish down in the Leon river. We saw tiny little frogs in a stream that were positively adorable(I love frogs). And I saw two sleek and shiny reddish brown lizards that were small and squirmy. Strange little things, but cute!

So, the trails were beautiful. Much of it was spent going through green tunnels in deep shade which was lovely. We seem to be enjoying a lot of those lately. However, a good section of our hike we ended up off trail. We climbed up the steep slope through very dense forest and hill country scrub to the base of a cliff, which we followed along pushing our way through trees and climbing up and over rocky outcroppings. That was pretty hard core. We ended up on top of the ridge or plateau and found a peaceful place to rest in the shade.

This was a hot day according to the weather man(100 degrees)but the heat didn't bother us while out in the sun. I think we are getting used to it. The very last part of the hike we had a good hill to climb in full sun, and it felt great! I don't know the elevation, but it was a heart pumper.

One more note worthy thing. I found out yesterday that my best friend's dad built those trails with his hippy friends back in the day. She has been all over those trails as a kid. Cool. I want her to come out there with me sometime. :)

I love blogs

Several of my friends have blogs now and they are sites I frequent. It's so entertaining to read about their lives and such, and sometimes inspiring too. I have many humerous witty friends and am happy for the entertainment their writing brings.

"Pink Momma", if you are reading this I want you to know your blog is one of the funniest I frequent. Jeff, if you are reading this...you need to get with the program dude and update your blog! Trina, your blog is really great too and I enjoy seeing and reading about the kiddos. "Atheist in a Mini Van", I love your new blog and can't wait to read more!

Cheers everyone,
Me

According to Hot or Not...

I'm an 8.6 on a scale of 1-10. Are these people BLIND?

I've said it before...

Our own Barton Creek Greenbelt is such a fine treat of a hike. The cover is lush and the breezes are refreshing. The hills we claimed were scenic and put us in some amazing surroundings where we found some fun caches. Gotta love that!

This was a through hike and came close to the six mile mark. The trail wound it's way through tunnels of green and the surroundings sometimes felt like a fairy tale forest to me. At times the clouds would cover the sun and the effect of deep shade was notable. I liked it...alot.

I plan on doing this again soon on my own. I think I will also tackle the "Hill of Life". I wish I had brought my camera this time around. It's sad that I missed so many cool photo opportunities. Oh well, next time I go I'll take pics.

You haven't seen me in a while...

Today's Hike and a Sweet Cache

We went to Pedernales Falls today and hiked one of the trails out there. I don't know the name of the trail, but it may be called Trammel's Crossing. The beginning of the trail had us walking down into a valley for a good ways. This was the ascent we would have to look forward to at the end of a six mile hike. I was told it was a five mile hike, but my pedometer read over six. Once down to the river bottom, we crossed Trammel's Crossing which can be hazardous, especially if the water is rushing. Today there was no rushing water, just a bunch of wobbly rocks to navigate over. It was fun!

On the other side of the crossing was a good ascent that lasted for a while before leveling out and becomming flat. We walked for several miles on top. There were maybe two more good climbs before the final descent and then final climb out of the river bottom on the way back to the trail head. This is where I fell to one knee after slipping on shale like rock going down a steep incline. That little mishap cost me a gouged knee that bled pretty good for a while. I didn't feel any pain, only blood trickling down my leg into my sock as I walked on. Another memento I bring home. *GRIN*

Our resting place in an old settlers' grave yard proved to be most enjoyable. It was in forest cover and the breeze coming off the tops of the hills over our supine bodies felt amazing. We all lay in silence for the longest time while taking in the sounds of a symphony of insects. It was a most enjoyable experience.
The cache at this place was also a great one. I took pictures of it and left a lock of my hair there locked up in a diary. The diary was so cool! I was flipping through it and came across a small dreadlock that belonged to none other than Mykel. She left it there in 2004. It was funny finding it, and Mykel knew it was there but never said a word. To think I almost didn't look inside the diary for fear it would be blank. I'm so glad I was compelled to look.

I felt renewed on this trek. Even while out in the sun it was great. I generally hate hiking in the sun on a hot day, but the humidity was lower and there was a slight breeze which made it feel just right. Our next adventure takes us to the Barton Creek Greenbelt on a 7 mile straight through trek. I can't wait!
Trammel's crossing. We had to go over the rocks to the right of the picture. We even had a little helping hand from some of the waders who were already in the water. How nice of them!
Looking up river or down? Not sure.
Out in the sun.
A settler's grave
Resting spot. Mykel hunts for snacks.
Special Effects!
Back of Monarch travel bug. This thing was so cool and it was heavy too.
Front of travel monarch
Some of the cache contents. I took the little blue car button.
The diary.

My latest obsession

So I think I've about lost my mind...sorta. I decided a few days ago that I am going to convert my garage into a music/recreational room complete with drums, guitars, games, and maybe even a ping pong table...if I can sqeeze it in. Of course this means I'll have to sound proof so my neighbors don't hassle me, and I'm sure my husband will be happy for the sound proofing too. In addition to keeping everyone happy by not disturbing their peaceful existence, I have acoustics to think about. All that sound has to go somewhere right? But for now, I think insulating has to be my priority. I can work on acoustics later.

Incidentally, I figured it would be a while before I could get a decent drum set because they are so costly. I spent time looking around on the internet and yeah...just don't have the funds for that right now. Just when I was starting to feel defeat, I had a bright idea. I have a friend named Jamie who has a kick ass drum set (with double base drums)! She has been keeping them set up in a storage unit and when she feels like playing she just goes and opens up her unit and plays. I remembered her mentioning that she can't afford her rent, so I'll make a little proposal...

Yes! Jamie is going to keep her drums here! Now I really need to buckle down and figure this sound proofing thing out and quick. I did some internet research and so far it's looking complicated and costly. But surely there are plenty of ways to sound proof a room...I'm thinking heavy blankets, foam pads, carpet, etc...

I called the police department to ask about the laws and if it's even legal to play drums in my garage in a residential area. It turns out the officer who answered my call has been a musician for about 30 years and he gave me advice on the subject. He said to turn myself in now...because I'm obviously insane. Yeah whatever...I knew this already. It's nothing new. The nice policeman said basically no matter what time of day it is, if my neighbors call and complain, I have to stop the noise..er I mean music. Bummer.

So, I'm off to do some research. Wish me luck in my newest endeavor, I'll need it!

5 more gone

pounds that is.

Good little greenbelt hike and Adonis!

Went on a short hike yesterday along the Barton Creek Greenbelt with a friend named Nikki. We hiked close to 4 miles and it felt great, which was a good little precursor to the hike I'm going on today.

I also managed a good swim at the gym. Nikki came with me and she and I marveled at all the hot guys out at poolside. But alas she and I are heartbroken today after seeing this one guy yesterday who we thought was absolutely the most gorgeous guy we've ever seen in our lives. He was an Adonis and in one sweeping moment he took our breaths away and stole both our hearts instantly, and then in that same instant crushed them both to dust because we knew we would never lays eyes on such perfection again. Dramatic I know, but it's the truth.

So Nikki now wants a gym membership to lifetime fitness and she and I think we need to become regulars in some hope that we will be fortunate enough to lay eyes once again on the perfect man and who knows Nikki might even strike up the nerve to say hi. Me? I just want to gawk. :)

*note to self...bring camera to gym*

Learning guitar

Actually I'm re-learning. I dabbled in guitar many years ago and loved playing but at some point my interests changed and I moved on to other things. I can't believe I have forgotten just about everything I used to know and how I'm having to re-learn it all. I guess that's not such a bad thing in reality. It's challenging me and I love to be challenged.

I haven't been getting professional lessons, but several of my friends play and they are teaching me things here and there. I am thinking about hiring a professional teacher though and really learn it all. Then one day I'll surprise all my friends with an amazing solo. I hear one has to practice about 10,000 hours to be an expert at something. I don't think I'll have that kind of time, but we'll see. ;)

Southeast Metropolitan Park

Great little hike today(Sunday). In attendance were Thomas, Mykel, myself, and Elliott.

I don't think we got very many miles out of this one because it felt over so quick, but what it lacked in mileage it more than made up for in a beautiful trail with nice little ups and downs the whole way...oh and it has lots of shade! We did take the group camp site side trail and it was a nice little extra that made for a good uphill pull when coming back out of it.

There were some great views of downtown Austin in a couple of places and plenty of peaceful places to chill out and relax. This is a trail I'll be frequenting on my own from now on. There don't seem to be many people using it, which is surprising considering how well marked and maintained it is. SE Metro Park gets two thumbs up from me.

Dana Peak

Last Sunday I went hiking with my usual partners, but also brought along my friend Elliott (first pic below). I hope Elliott will accompany us again as he proved to be a worthy hiking partner.

It was one of the more taxing hikes due to the heat and there being almost zero shade. I am guessing we hiked between 5 and 6 miles, considering the trail map was almost worthless and we did get off track somewhat. In any case, it felt like we hiked 10 miles that day because of the heat. Amazing how 96 degrees can feel more like 110! Summer is definitely not my favorite time of year to be out hiking. I can't wait for the fall!
Thomas and Mykel resting on summit.
Beautiful view from my perch at the top. The breeze coming off of the lake was most welcomed by us all.

10 pounds lighter since my last weight news

This makes my weight loss total so far a little over 60lbs. I still have another 60-70lbs to lose, but I'm not worried about it. The weight has come off so easily I'm amazed. At this point it's all a matter of time and patience to finally be thin again.

I am getting closer and closer to my goal of treating myself to a wild cave tour. I could probably squeeze through the cave I have in mind now, but that would be cheating. I have to meet my goal first.

An amazing story

Where do I begin? There is some back story before I can tell the real story so I guess I'll start with that.

My daughter Caitlin moved in with her dad a year ago because he promised her a horse if she did. Caitlin moved and all was well. But things started to go down hill for Caitlin while living with her dad and she started making it known that she wanted to come back home with me. She wanted to bring her horse with her but her dad said no way, that she could only have the horse if she lived with him or if she paid him 900.00. Never mind the fact that the horse has been a wonderful thing for Caitlin and she could actually start entering barrell races with this horse and maybe even win a few.

I'm a reasonable person and I'm trying to understand her dad wanting some kind of compensation. The horse was a gift or bribe if you will. But none the less, it would be a great lesson for Caitlin to earn her own money and buy the horse. However, I feel like her dad put un-necessary pressure on her to earn the money by the end of the summer. If she doesn't, he will be selling the horse and buying a different one for his current wife. But this story isn't about a girl's Indian giving bribing father, it's about a dog.

Caitlin has a little dog named Sugar. They both love each other! But sadly, Caitlin was feeling pressured to get her horse here, so she decided to sell the dog to a close friend of mine. Caitlin reasoned that she would still get to see the dog often and that it wouldn't be so bad. Well the transaction took place and Caitlin felt pretty sad without her little dog. I knew Caitlin loved this little dog and was already missing it, probably more than Caitlin herself realized.

Well the first day my friend had the dog, the dog ran away! My friend Jen was visiting a friend of hers in an apartment complex that is close to IBM. She let Sugar down for a potty break and Sugar decided to make a run for it. Sugar has never done anything like this before so we figured she was trying to get back to Caitlin.

Imagine how awful Jen felt having to tell me what happened. She knew Caitlin would get very upset and was right of course. Jen and our friend Riley spent hours looking for the dog and chasing after, etc... to realize that it was hopeless. Once I learned what had happened I also spent some time looking for Sugar. We all felt we would never see her again and were so sad. Caitlin and I cried and cried. Caitlin cried for her dog, I cried for Caitlin . She was so miserable and worried. It pained me.

Well here is the amazing part. We found Sugar! We were in the process of putting up flyers when I decided to talk to an apt. manager about posting flyers in her complex. She said it wouldn't be necessary because they had our dog! Sugar decided to go up to a man who had a little dog and generally wouldn't leave them alone. Even when he went inside with his dog, Sugar camped out by his door. The man finally picked her up and brought her to the office and asked what to do with this little dog. Another man over heard and said he would take the dog and hold on to it for a few days to see if an owner showed up.

The apt. complex where Sugar was being held, is actually where a really good friend of mine lives. So it's all quite amazing. I strongly felt we would never find Sugar and am astounded we did. Austin is a huge city and the dog could have wandered off miles from where she was last seen. Thank goodness she didn't. You never saw such a happy reunion!
It was totally obvious by Sugar's body language and facial expression that she was so relived to be back with her true master. This little dog licked Caitlin's face and pawed at it as if she couldn't believe it herself that she was back home.

In weight loss news...

I've mentioned before that I'm losing weight but wasn't sure I was going to make it very public in case I failed and didn't lose what I intended. Well I met my first goal. I've lost 50 pounds since around xmas time and am still losing. It's coming off ever so slowly but at least it is coming off. There is so much adventure I want and can't have it until I get in excellent shape. Rock climbing, wild caving, etc...are all on my list of things to accomplish within the next year. Wish me luck and iron will.

Sucks when the mind is ready but the body isn't

So I decided hiking was for me this weekend and was getting excited, but then I woke up this morning with asthma and that was that. So I'm sitting here bored to tears and wanting to go go go, but I like to breathe so I have to sit quietly. Hmph.

To Hike or Not to Hike...that is the question

So my hiking buddies are heading to Colorado Bend this Sunday for an 8 mile trek. Should I go? That is the question for the day. On one hand I think I should go and at least do part of the trail, but then do I want to wait around by myself for my buds to finish up their hike? On the other hand, I could stay in town and do my own hike in Zilker and still get a decent work out.

I hate to miss out on a good 8 mile trek but considering how hot it will be, I'm a bit nervous about heat exhaustion. I think I should train a bit more before tackling those long milers this summer. Doing them in the spring is one thing, but in high heat and humidity it's a different ball game.

Ah but the torture doesn't stop...

Apparently heat exhaustion wasn't enough...now add chiggers to the list of insults. I didn't notice the bites until yesterday, but they were not so bad, just tiny little dots. But today they are awful, itchy, red welts and are popping up all over my body. I showed the bites to the doc yesterday and he said there isn't much that can be done. Time is the best cure.

But I'm not the only one in misery. Thomas, Jen, and Mykel all have bites too. Yes my friends, Comanche Bluff will kick your ass.

Heat Exhaustion Trail (Comanche Bluff Trail)

So I went hiking as planned this past Sunday and felt pretty good, despite getting zero sleep the night before. I knew when I last wrote on my blog that the hike would be a tough one, but I had no idea just how tough. I figured I had done so well on all the others, that I would get through it okay. Wow was I ever wrong!

First of all, the trail pretty much sucked and I doubt I'll ever go back on that one again. It was very overgrown and poorly visible in many areas. We even hit a dead end before we could pick it back up again. Second of all, there was so much poision ivy on the trail there was no way NOT to touch it or step on it! I'm highly allergic to the stuff and knew I was going to pay later if I couldn't get Zanfel on in time.

At some point we ended up on a cattle trail thinking it was our trail. It was in tall grass and reeds with poision ivy slapping at my ankles, legs, and torso. Sometimes the ivy would hit me in the face or the neck because we had to duck down alot, and twist through the brush. I hated it and my moral was starting to slip.

Ok I'm done bitching about the lousy trail and PI and am moving on to the rest of the story. We made it to the turn around point after what felt like forever to me. We sat there for about an hour and rested (see pics). It was a nice spot to do so and the breeze felt great. We also saw a huge wild turkey while sitting there at the picnic table. This turkey sighting was my second for the day. The first turkey I saw was a juvenile walking along the freeway when I was on my way over to Mykel's place! That was something.

A short while after we left the resting spot is when the trouble began. I was starting to notice a lot of tingling in my body. I didn't know at the time what was causing it, but wasn't feeling particularly bad at that point and kept pushing on. I got to a bridge with a very steep hill on the opposite side that I had to climb because there was no avoiding it. I wasn't looking foward to it either but made myself go up without stopping. What a mistake. I crashed hard after getting to the top of that hill and pretty much collapsed. The tingling grew to become very intense, and my body was rushing all over. I'm not kidding when I say it felt like I was having a very strong orgasm that was peaking but never subsiding. It was actually very unpleasant because of the intensity and I couldn't stop it. In addition to that, I felt dizzy, faint, weak, and my breathing was fast and shallow. All I could do was lie there and moan. I had no clue what was happening to me and it was getting scary.

I was being pushed by my hiking partners to get up and keep going, which was pissing me off. I don't think they realized how bad off I was...heck even I don't think I realized it at the time. As soon as my heartbeat went back down and I felt somewhat normal again, I did get up and try to go further to get them off my back lol. Immediately as I got up and went a couple more steps, my heartbeat raced back up to an alarming rate again, and I thought I was going to pass out from the dizziness and weakness. Also that damn orgasm that peaks forever feeling was getting stronger. I dropped back down to the ground and was pretty much sprawled out in the middle of the trail. I flat out could not walk any further. I did manage to drag myself back into a small shady area off to the side of the trail though and that's where I stayed for sometime. I think I may have passed out briefly at one point and Jennifer said I was certainly disoriented.

Thankfully there was a parking lot not far away and I was able to make it there and wait for the car to be brought around. I didn't get to finish the hike though. I did 7.5 miles total and had to stop almost 2 miles short of where we started out. I was lucky I didn't have to go the rest of the way. I went online today and looked up all of my symptoms. I had heat exhaustion with the beginning signs of heat stroke(which can be fatal if not treated immediately). I also hyperventilated.

So here is what I took away from the experience:
*I need a larger camel back because the one I have is obviously not enough on a long hike in the sun (I did run out of water towards the end).
*I won't go on a long hike if I didn't get any sleep the night before.
*The next time I'm told the hike is going to be rough, I'll think twice before going.

The combination of not enough water, no sleep, humidity and hot sun, is why I crashed the way I did. These are the pics I did manage to take from the first part of the hike:

Plaque at one of the many bridges tells about the haunting of this bridge. If you click on the thumbnail you'll be able to read what the plaque saysJen reading about the haunting of the bridge shown in the background.

The Friendship Bridge. This is not the same bridge shown above. Jen tells a quite animated story
Our resting spot at the turn around point. There were a few picnic tables to sit at. This is actually a primitive camp ground and is obviously not used much. You have to backpack in to get here.

Uggghhhh So Behind!

So I haven't actually hiked in what seems like weeks. I am going on Sunday though and am sure it's going to be a bear, since I feel like I'm out of shape again. Miss a few weeks and I feel like I stepped backward instead of forward. Oh well, at least I'm getting back to it and this Sunday will tell me for sure just how much of my hiking stamina I lost.

In other news....

My two teenage daughters moved back in with us and everything has been crazy busy since. I might as well paint my car yellow and black and hire a dispatch!