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Trails at the Bull Creek Greenbelt

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Last weekend, Catherine and I went out and adventured on our new bikes. The bluebonnets in bloom, the creeks filled with water, and the sun shinning ever so brightly…to us, this was the official start of Springtime in Central Texas.

The Bull Creek Greenbelt is located right off Capital of Texas Highway (Loop 360), starting from Spicewood Springs to RR 2222. This is a great trail if you’re looking to get away, but it’s not too far from the city limits of Austin.

On our travels, there were some overgrown areas, but nothing too thick to warrant you to get off your bike and use a machete. Also, wear quick dry or water shoes because you will need to cross water. The trail is a mix of dirt, rocky terrains, and small ledges with a beautiful trek along the creek. Keep your eyes open because trail markings are limited.

If you decide that you want to take a break, have lunch, what have you…feel free to take a dip in the many watering holes along the creek. On the weekends, you won’t be the only one who relaxes in these oases as it’s crowded with hikers, swimmers, families, and other bikers.

All in all, this is a great trail for beginners and intermediate riders. You can’t go wrong. Hope you guys enjoy the Easter weekend…we hope to see you out on the trails.

Directions

Directly off of Loop 360 and Spicewood Springs Road, you’ll find the trailhead on the right.

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Novara Torero 29er

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

As a novice, I found that it was an easy (and satisfying) transition going from my “Wal-mart Special” Mongoose Snare 26″ to a brand new Novara Torero 29er.

I bought this awesome mountain bike at REI today expecting to spend a little extra for components and adjustments. Come to find out, REI helps you make the necessary adjustments that you’ll need absolutely free. The best part is that they provide a 60 day/100-200 mile free tune-up to make any other adjustments you may need. I was sold.

This bike is an incredibly smooth ride with quick getty-up. The gears shift like butter, and the 29er geometry allows for outstanding maneuverability and longlasting momentum (and being 6′ 2″ and 240lbs that is hard to find). Right when we got back home, Cat and I took it out for a causal spin. I now I’m excited to take this out on the rough and tumble trails of the Greenbelt.

The only thing that I might consider tuning (or making an upgrade) is the front shock. People have said that they’ve bottomed out when taking heavy jumps. With my large frame, I can see this being a problem in the future. Looking at my grease markings on a causal ride this afternoon, I can see that I reached 1/2 inch from the top of the shock. But, for $649 you can’t beat this deal with a stick (a 29er for under $700 is awesome).

All and all this is a great bike, and I look forward to tearing up the trails here in Austin. As for my “Wal-mart Special,” I will be making some necessary adjustments so that Cat use it. Her “Extra Special Wal-Mart Special” will now grace the porch and be the loaner.

We both are excited to start the 2012 season with our new bikes! See you on the trails!

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Review: Vibram Five Fingers

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

You may have seen them walking around town. They look weird. The people who wear them look weird. But you have an uncontrollable urge to just touch them. That was my experience when my clever mother sent me a pair of Vibrams Five Fingers shoes, marked down at REI, in the mail one sunny afternoon.

Here were these brand new shoes (“Are they really shoes?” I thought to myself), that were bright green, fit perfectly to my feet, and had a very thin sole. I was just like all those gawkers; I was horrified and obsessed with the idea of running around town, mountain, trails, and streams in my “bare” feet. What I was about to find out was that this wimpy looking shoe was more than it looked; it was all soul.

I use these shoes everywhere, and everywhere I go I get long stares. However, I am beginning to believe that this is the way we were meant to experience the world. There have been many studies about how walking on our bare feet can be beneficial for out foot health, but what impressed me most was my own healing. About three month before I tried these shoes, I sprained my ankle pretty badly playing ultimate Frisbee. I couldn’t get it to heal properly and kept twisting it (which is very common with this type of injury). I stretch and walked the foot as much as I could, but the joint was still fragile. Then I started wearing my Five Fingers. The thing that surprised me most was how fast my ankle grew stronger and the puffiness of the joint (that people said would never go away) regained its original health. The healthy movement that these shoes encourage cut my recovery time and helped me regain my old flexibility.

I have the Vibram Five Fingers women’s Sprint, which is one of the lighter versions of this shoe. I recommend this product for anyone looking for a lighter alternative for a walking shoe on dirt trails or around the camp site. Don’t wear them too long on your first try, because your feet will get sore, and that’s how you know they work. They are a little pricey, but you can often find a returned pair for half the cost. You can buy them at your local REI, Backwoods Adventures, Fleet Feet, Luke’s Locker, Whole Earth Provision, or other outdoor and running retailers.

Let us know your thoughts on your Five Fingers shoes and where you take them on your Texas Hiking adventures!

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Texas Nature Photography: 5 Tips to Better Photographs

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Bringing a camera on your outdoor adventures is right up there with packing water, snacks, and a good pair of shoes. Documenting your experience will keep your memories fresh forever. Because many of us go hiking, biking, or camping to enjoy the scenery, it can be frustrating if your photographs do not measure up to the real thing. Here are some outdoor photography tips to help you become the Ansel Adams of your party:

1. Think Big
Remember, you aren’t confined between huge skyscrapers or desolate highway signs or annoying telephone poles. You have the whole horizon to make your magic. Speaking of that Adams guy, he knew how to show off Nature’s natural grandness. By taking a step back and examining the symmetry or asymmetry in your viewfinder, you allow yourself to translate the Earth’s natural big screen appeal into that inspiring photograph you can treasure as your memory.

2. Think Small
But watch your step! That mushroom you just smashed had great potential for a photograph. Even though the horizon catches your eye first, don’t forget to look down. Snapping pictures of your trip from different angles is one of the easiest ways to make that slide show of your trip back home more interesting. Get down in the dirt, balance on the trunk of an old tree, follow that crazy spider you found hovering between two trees. Get that unique shot that people are going to say, “How did you do that?”

3. Get a Polarizer
If you are really starting to get into this whole nature photography thing there is an important investment you need to make: a polarizer. A polarizer is a filter for your lens that is going to magically transform your washed out skies into brilliant shades of blue. This is a photography accessory that is cheap to buy and will make your photos so much better. If you don’t have one, go buy one. Now.

4. Pick Your Camera
If you are really love photography you may have a huge honking camera that weighs 10lbs, plus accessories. For day hikes this might be fine, but if you are backpacking a long way, then you may want to pick a camera that is lighter. Most of the point-and-shoots on the market these days are really nice. Get one that has a manual setting so you can shoot in more flexible lighting situations and has a long battery life. Knowing your camera is the best way to take good pictures, so practice!

5. Include People
Do not be afraid to include people in your nature photography. While some purest may argue that nature photography must only include “nature,” I think people can be a great way to personalize the view, as well as get a scale for the sights. You want to capture your trip, so capture the people who made the journey with you.

Texas hiking offers so many unique places to visit, so remember to bring your camera and snap away!

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Best Hikes for Beginners in the Austin Area

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Never been on a hike before? The thought of sleeping on the ground terrify you to your core? To you, “the great outdoors” is code for “no bathroom”? Well guess what, you are missing out.

Don’t get me wrong, going rogue in the wilderness is not how you want to start out your new beginnings as an outdoorsman/woman. Just like with any new activity you need to start out slow and gradual. Think of your first hike as your first time out of the country. Culture shock is probable. Stomach upset may occur. The people you meet on the trail may be strange (caution: hikers often look you in the eye, smile, and may be unreasonably friendly and happy (a common side effect of natural exposure)).

And you may just have the best day of your life.

We’ve had a lot of time and experience to scout out great beginning hikes for you excited newbies out there, so here’s our top three best hikes for beginners in the Austin area:

1. Hamilton Pool – Pool and River Trail
Hamilton pool is one of those well known parks that always takes visitors’ breath away. The giant waterfall would feel more at home in the middle of the Amazon than in central Texas. However, the short trail makes it an easy pick as the reward is so great. It inspires even the most beginning outdoors enthusiast to rethink what they thought of nature, beauty, and their own significance in the world (or so I’d like to think).

2. Mckinney Falls State Park – Upper Falls
I can’t even call this one in the Austin area, because it literally lives in Austin. Though you wouldn’t know it to look at any pictures of this state park, this hidden treasure cuts the travel time and the excuses in half. The upper falls trail is the easier of the two hikes that the park offers. With a wide paved trail and plenty of shady trees, this is a great hike for beginners (you can even call it a walk if you haven’t committed to being a hiker yet).

3. St. Edwards Park
St. Edwards Park is one of the many parks around Austin’s greenbelt that doesn’t get a lot of use. This park has a ton of meandering trails, all of which any beginner could handle. These trails hug the shore of the river, offering beautiful views of the white cliffs. For a beginner, it is important to feel safe in your surroundings, and St. Edwards Park offers that security. Always close to the road and parking lot, you can always turn back if you start to get cold feet (but seriously, bring extra socks, it is tempting to wade in the cool shallows).

A few more pieces of advice before I get off my soapbox:

Leave your cell phone on silent. Take your family or friends. Take plenty of water and snacks. Bring an open mind.

And, as a ranger once told me: Don’t pet the snakes.

Happy adventuring!

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Enchanted Rock State Park

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

When I first moved to Texas, one of the first sights people told me I needed to see was Enchanted Rock. In my book, this is always the first warning sign of a “tourist trap.” If people know about it, they’ve probably ruined it, and it’s no longer worth seeing. However, writing for this website has certain obligations attached: Go where the people go, go where they don’t, and find out what’s worth visiting again. Thus, we packed up our bags and headed out for the famed Enchanted Rock.

Now you know the mindset I started in as we make the turn into Enchanted Rock State Park; It was not helped by the long line of cars that greeted us. However, two hours is a long way to drive for nothing and there was that huge “rock” set out before us. It was beautiful. It was really beautiful for a rock. It was more like a mountain, perhaps planted there by aliens after they got bored in New Mexico. The sky was brilliant blue and the yellowing land made the scene picture perfect.

And we even managed to avoid the crowds.

We took the shorter loop around the base of Enchanted Rock to get the full view of this rare geographical feature. There were rock climbers galore on almost every face of the rock, which invigorated my wish to start rock climbing again (on much smaller rocks) and made Josh bite his fingernails. Once we made it around the rock, we decided to trek up to the summit. This was where the crowds were headed, like some holy pilgrimage in a foreign land, they marched straight up the face. Unlike most tourist traps, however, this one was much quieter. The crowds were not yelling, kids weren’t screaming, dogs did not bark. They all, including us, shared in silence the beautiful spectacle around us. The huffing of lungs against the cold air was the shared song of Enchanted Rock.

Enchanted Rock really is an enchanted place. It seems like it doesn’t belong on the Texas skyline, but oddly enough, there it sits. I was wrong and here I go doing what all those “other people” did to me. If you come to Texas, there is one place you should definitely put on your list, visit Enchanted Rock to complete your Texas experience.

But this is just between me and you.

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Wild Basin Preserve

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

With social obligations the past few weekends, we have been far from our beloved Texas Trails. However, we took the morning to explore a new region, which is practically on our doorstep. Wild Basin Preserve is an area just outside of Austin on the scenic Capital of Texas Highway, (360). The focus of the park is on science education for students, but on an early Sunday morning no classes buzzed along the trails.

We started out at the headquarters (which was closed), donated our three dollars, grabbed a map, and headed out towards the waterfall. This hike is never far from the highway, as you can see it at several view points. Traffic is a bit noisy as well, but that’s the trade off for the close drive. The trail itself is very well maintained; wide with added stairs.

While the literature boasted an active wildlife presence, we only saw one bird. And perhaps it was the wrong time of year, but the foliage was all brown and mostly fallen. However, the trail was easy to walk, the cold air refreshing, and the short drive a nice change from all the miles we’ve been putting on the truck.

We’re a bit out of practice, but we can’t wait to get back into the swing of things. Maybe camping next weekend? :)

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Mountain Biking at McKinney Falls

Friday, November 12th, 2010

This weekend we are planning on taking a break from backpacking and instead stay a little closer to home. One of the great things about living in Austin is the proximity to so many great parks. One of our favorites is McKinney Falls State Park. While this park may be smaller than some, it has the diversity of trails to keep it interesting time and time again.

The main trail is a paved loop stretching the length of the entire park. It is a great path for walking, but for biking it is rather short. The other path is a rugged trail that requires hikers and bikers alike to cross the river. Sometimes the water is too high and treacherous to cross, so calling ahead is always a good idea. However, this trail is much more interesting on a bike. If you start by the homestead, you can cut off all the tight curves that meander through the forest (leading you in circles and practically come back to the trail head) before you head away from the river. The trail has some nice elevation, nothing too tough for a good mountain bike, and gives you a break from the main crowds that flock to the water’s edge.

Finding a park or natural preserve near your house is a way to interact with the outdoors when you don’t feel like putting a lot of miles on the car. Having a favorite park that you can always go to makes playing in the outdoors easy.

Get through the Friday work day and breath a sigh of relief. The weekend has come again. TGIF and praise God’s Holy Trousers (can you tell I’ve been watching a lot of Wallace and Gromit).

Now go have an adventure.

Tags: , , , | Posted in Mountain Biking | 1 Comment »

Lost Maples Weekend Backpacking Trip

Monday, November 8th, 2010

While Lost Maples State Natural Park may be a mouthful to say, the view literally took our breaths away. The dramatic vistas are filled with isolated canyon ecosystems and are only accessible by trekking up steep sections of trail. However, it is worth every step, every bead of sweat, and the masses of people that swarm this rare Texas preserve.

We decided to time our visit with the change of season in these cooler winter months. The “foliage forecast” called for bold colors from the low lying maples and live oaks that populate the canyons. However, we seemed to be too late for the lower elevations which had already dropped their leaves, and too early for the higher elevations which still boasted rich green foliage.

Nevertheless, it was absolutely beautiful. The mixed forests only offered half of the beauty, for the landscape on top of the ridges were elegant in their simplicity. The forests gave way to fields of tall grasses and open skies. After we hikes about two miles to one of the primitive camping areas, we picked the best spot in the house. Perched on the edge of the forest, our view let us see the sun set behind our backs and rise early in the morning for no one but us. There was no highway noise, no airplanes, and only a few people. It was perfect.

The next morning we decided to hike another two miles to one of the two designated “viewpoints.” However, after our campsite view it was not very impressive. Not only were the trails steeper, but the ridge was mobbed. Perhaps when there are more colors would it be worth going up there, but there are less crowded parts of the park that similar views can be found. Hiking back, we took the service road to see some new country and found solace (plus a very large lizard).

The drive home was very beautiful; the road winding between small downs and a gorgeous river. This was my favorite trip thus far. The next two weekends should be prime foliage viewing if you want to see the red and golden leaves of the Texas maples. Hop in your car before it’s too late!

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Inks Lake SP Photo Blog

Sunday, October 31st, 2010

Inks Lake State Park is now one of my favorite Texas State Parks. The trip had an ominous beginning (and no, it was not because we arrived on the heels of Halloween), but because we didn’t get to the park until after dark fall. We had reservations for a primitive campsite which was a mile and a half walk in, so we asked the Ranger how well marked the trail was–she didn’t seem to know the trail very well, so we took a risk and went for it. With headlamps blazing and our heavy mag light fully diffused, we walked the spooky trail.

Around the first corner we were faced with three sets of eyes in the low bushes. We quickly scuttled by, not wanting to disturb whatever we had awaken, when we were again startled by what appeared to be a rooting armadillo under the trees. The trail was very well marked, with reflecting dots on the ground and glowing arrows on trails signs, so we made it to the campsite in under an hour. However, there was a particularly scary tree branch that startled us both. Damn those branches that grab the unsuspecting hiking underfoot.

In the morning, we hiked most of the trails that started from the Pecan Flats area. They looped to the edge of the park border, across winding hills and rock fields, and were absolutely stunning. There was no one out on the trails, and we felt like we were the only people in the world. This hike was much rougher than most of the Texas State Park trails, but the length keeps the crowds away.

After we left the long loop and headed back towards “civilization,” we finally got to see the promised lake. The waters were dark and cool, matching the cloudless sky we were blessed with. We were too tired by the end to go swimming (as we had to hike out the rest of our gear), but next time I think we will definitely bring our swim suits.

With the chilly autumn air coming, it is such a pleasure to be outside in the Texas Hill Country. Hope y’all get a chance to enjoy this last October weekend with some hiking and camping somewhere in this beautiful state.

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