Backpacking Caprock Canyon

Sean and I led a 4 day / 3 night backpacking trip to Caprock Canyons State Park as a post Fall semester trip.  Sean had proposed this trip, and I had been to the park before, so we were well prepared.  We also had three people - Brad, Andrea, and Will - who had just finished guide school part 1 come on the trip as 'shadow guides'.

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Sean and I finalized the menu on Tuesday, and then Brad and I did the food buy while Will, Sean, and Andrea pulled gear.  We spent $315 on our food buy (8 meals + snacks), which was really good considering that our budget was $500.  This comes out to just $2.63 per meal per person!  Once we returned I worked on sorting, repackaging, and labelling all the food while Sean went to some far-away store to buy more backpacking fuel and the others finished the gear pull.  This made me the meals expert throughout the trip.

We met Wednesday morning at 6:15am to divide the group gear, tents, and food into 15 approximately equal-weight piles.  Of course, the piles with dromedaries weighted more, but this is unavoidable and at least the dromedaries were empty sometimes!  I also made an effort to separate the meals such that everyone's packs would decrease in weight at about the same pace.  I picked the pile with the smaller dromedary, dried apricots for Friday's lunch, bagels for Thursday's breakfast, tortillas for Wednesday's dinner, the smaller first aid kit, extra baggies, and a rain-fly.

The participants arrived around 6:30am, and we hit the road at 7:10am.  We stopped at Subway for lunch about half-way.  The entire drive, not counting the lunch stop and a few gas stops, took around 6.5 hours.  Since Sean and I were the only authorized drivers, we each drove our vehicles the entire way.  At least Sean towed the trailer!  It wasn't that tiring, and the scenery was interesting enough since we were almost completely on 2 and 4 lane back roads (many with 75 mph speed limits).  I got really comfortable passing slow moving vehicles on 2 lane roads at high speeds on this trip (which is pretty crazy considering how nervous I was the first time I did it on the Guadalupe Mountains trip just a few weeks ago).  We took the older Suburbans, which at points did not seem to appreciate going 75-80 mph.

We arrived at the park around 3pm and checked in at the visitor's center.  Here we learned that we would have to return each day to check in for our camp site each night.  This was awkward and frustrating since this was supposed to be a backpacking trip!  We decided to come back the next morning (Thursday) from the Wild Horse site and check-in for our North Prong primitive site, and then hike in and back out on Friday night to check in for our South Prong primitive site.

We ran a shuttle to the Wild Horse camping area, left some of the dromedaries (mine had leaked all over my bag - thankfully my dry bags and zip-lock bags had protected everything except my fleece and rain gear - I was really thankful I had decided to put my sleeping bag in a big dry bag at the last minute when I was packing), and hit the trail around 3:30pm from the Canyon Rim trail head near the Honey Flat camping area.  We hiked a relatively flat 4.76 miles on the Canyon Rim trail and the Wild Horse trail before ending our hike at the Wild Horse camping area.  We arrived shortly before it was completely dark, and everyone set up the five tents while Sean and I prepared our dinner of mango, black bean, and mandarin orange tacos along with sliced cheddar cheese.  This dinner was really good, but could have used a bit more filling for the tacos.  After dinner we heated water for tea and hot chocolate while the participants did the dishes.

After no one claimed to have any empty space in their 3-person tents for Sean and I, one group admitted that they were fitting four people into their tent so Sean and I realized we'd have a tent to ourselves.  It always works best for the guides to share a tent, since we tend to wake up earlier than the group every morning to start cooking.  It was a nice luxury to have a 3-person tent for just the two of us.

There was only one other site occupied at the Wild Horse camp, and its occupant had a few horses.  We heard these horses throughout the night, but more annoyingly, a rusty windmill woke us repeatedly during the night with its loud creaking.  I had a really strange dream that night too in which I was sitting in Emily's office back at Gregory Gym after apparently not remembering anything about the trip that occurred after the first night (but apparently having made it through the entire trip and drive back safely).  I was throwing up and really sick, and they were trying to figure out what was wrong with me.  Strange dream that seemed really real at the time.

Sean and I woke up at 7:40am on Thursday and quickly heated water for our breakfast of bagels.  We woke the participants shortly after 8am.  We ate breakfast, and then dealt with that night's camp site registration and setting up the car shuttle at the South Prong parking lot while the participants packed up their remaining gear and took down the tents.  I ended up with a full large dromedary since my smaller one was left behind (since it was leaky).  I was fully prepared for this heavier load to make the day's hike miserable, but it actually did not end up being bad at all!  We finally left the Wild Horse camp around 10:30am.  We talked with the 'shadow guides' before the hike began, and put them in change of the guiding starting from the beginning of the hike (and ending at the end of the next morning's breakfast).

We hiked about 4.66 miles before reaching North Prong primitive camp.  We had lunch about 3.5 miles into the hike, around 12:45pm.  Lunch was massive, as it consisted of a half block of cheese and a half block of sausage for everyone.  As hard as I tried, I could only finish half of my half block of cheese (and spent the remainder of the trip attempting to finish the other half).  After lunch we continued onto camp, arriving around 2:30pm.  The hike became prettier near the end of the day as we hiked deeper into the canyon and were able to see many of the red rock formations.

We set-up camp, and then I led some people that wanted to go off-trail exploring on how to disperse our off-trail impact.  We ventured to some tall rock formations, at which point we realized the trail from our camp actually led exactly to where we had wanted to go.  Oh well - it was still a good learning experience for the participants to learn how to hike off trail while minimizing their impact.  We scurried up a small red rock hill, and sat and enjoyed the views.  My leg did not like the descent from the hill though, so I went back on the trail to camp with a few of the participants.  Once back at camp, we noticed that the participants who had stayed near the tall rock formations had climbed really high on some.  Not only was it potentially dangerous, but Sean noted that it also seemed like they were likely having an affect on the foundations.  I felt bad that I had not considered this.  Sean sent Will and Andrea to try and get them to come down.

Once everyone was back at camp, some of us began playing cards while others took naps, read books, and chatted.  I played spades and spoons for a few hours.  Eventually the 'shadow guides' cooked the quinoa dinner, while Sean supervised.  Dinner took a while to prepare, but it was tasty.  I'm personally not a fan of quinoa, but I forced myself to eat two small bowls.  The walnuts were a good addition, and I would probably add more in the future.  There was some leftover quinoa at the end, so we bagged it up.

The next morning, Sean and I woke at 7:30am and found that a rain puddle had formed near our heads during the night.  Sean's down jacket and down sleeping bag had gotten wet, as had my synthetic sleeping bag.  We got up and prepared water for our oatmeal breakfast.  The participant that had the brown sugar forgot about it, so we did not have brown sugar.  No one missed it, so perhaps we can leave it behind in the future.  We aimed to leave camp by 9am, and got rather close.  We did our daily group circle stretches, and then began our hardest day of hiking (still only about 4.39 miles).  From the start, we climbed a steep trail up to the John Haynes ridge.  The day remained overcast and misty until shortly after lunch around 1:30pm.  The John Haynes trail was rougher than most of the other trails, but the views were pretty even with the overcast, hazy weather.  We stopped for lunch before a steep climb.  Lunch - which was tortillas with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, and dried apricots - was very popular.  This was a meal we did during the Guadalupe trip, and it has easily become my favorite backpacking lunch meal.

After lunch we hiked a bit father on the John Haynes Ridge trail, before deciding to take a short 0.3 mile each way detour to a Fern Cave.  This 0.3 mile stretch was probably the hardest of the trip!  The climb down to the cave was steep and the trail seemed to have eroded substantially in some sections.  We probably should have left our packs at the detour point, but we left them about 0.2 miles down the trail.  My knee was not happy with this descent, and really did not like when a rock gave way beneath me and led to me falling about 3 feet into mud (thankfully, I had my rain pants on at this point).  The fern cave was cool though.

The last bit of the hike from the detour point to the South Prong primitive camp required some steep descents.  Especially since it had been raining earlier in the day, some of these descents were difficult.  There was one point where the rock was so steep and smooth that many of us opted to sit and slide down the rock.  The trail was also difficult to follow at points, so some of the descent might have been more difficult than planned since I'm not sure we were on the actual trail at points.  None the less, we reached camp around 2:30pm and quickly set up our tents.  This time Sean guyed out the rain-fly near the broader end of our tent, in case it rained again.  We also tried to air out the tent since there was still a lot of wet residue from the rain puddle that morning.  Then Sean, Brad, and I hiked 1 mile really quickly back to my Suburban and we drove to the visitor's center to check-in to our final camp sites.  Apparently our reservation had been for the South Prong tent camping sites by the parking lot (and not the South Prong primitive sites that we had instead set up camp at), but they moved our reservation to the primitive sites.  However, the primitive sites were more expensive (since less people were allowed per site), so I had to pay the $16 difference with my credit card since we had no other forms of payment with us.  Emily is going to handle the reimbursement once the Christmas break is finished.  We each refilled a dromedary bag and moved both vehicles to the South Prong parking lot.  Then we made the 1 mile trek back into camp.  Once back at camp, Sean and I started cooking our final pasta dinner with chicken, soy-based bacon bits, sundried tomatoes, peppers, and spices.  This was another meal we had on our Guadalupe Mountains trip, and it was just as delicious this time!  After dinner we heated some hot water and then called it a night.

We awoke Saturday morning at 7:15am to cook our final breakfast - pancakes!  Sean manned the sticky skillet while I manned the non-stick medium pot.  It was a fine line setting the stoves such that the pancakes were not burnt yet the stoves did not go out.  We both produced some pancakes that looked beautiful, and some that were beat up and/or terribly burnt.  In each case, they tasted great though (especially with syrup).  It was a fun meal to end the trip on!

We packed up camp and did the short 1 mile hike out to the Suburbans.  We loaded our backpacks into the trailer and then headed to the visitor center to let the participants change clothing and buy souvenirs from the gift shop. It felt so good to change into clean clothing!

Around 10:45am we began our drive homeward.  We stopped around 1:15pm for lunch at the same Subway we stopped at on the way.  It took forever to get through the Subway line - we spent 75 minutes at lunch!  After lunch we continued onward and reached campus at 6:10pm.  It was a long drive back, and I was getting a bit fatigued by the time we reached Austin despite drinking two energy drinks during the trip home.

We spent about an hour cleaning, drying, and restocking gear as well as filling out evaluations.  All of our gear was so muddy, wet, and dirty from the trip!  However, with fifteen people helping, it went relatively quickly.

Overall thoughts
I was amazed that my right knee did not bother me very much!  Between wearing the IT band while hiking and consistently taking ibuprofen, I kept the pain to just mild soreness and stiffness.  I experienced no sharp pain during the trip!  Going into the trip, I had put the chance of experiencing this little pain at about 10%, so I was very happy that my knee did as well as it did.

It was an interesting experience trying to step back while guiding and let the 'shadow guides' make mistakes.  I've been constantly taking on more and more responsibility when guiding, so it was a change of pace to step back.  Of course, mentoring new guides is part of the process though and will need to be something I begin to work on.  From our side, I think I would try to give a bit more of an introduction to the 'shadow guides' perhaps the night before after letting them watch us guide for a day.  My biggest comment to the 'shadow guides' was that they needed to keep the group more informed (how long are we stopping for, when is lunch, what should we do now that we've arrived at camp, ect) and take more initiative.  But considering that they had not been through guide school part 2 and this was their first trip, I think they did reasonably well.

The trip as a whole went well.  The route was perfect, progressing from simpler scenery to downright amazing scenery.  Both of our primitive camps were set in great areas.  Parts of the hike were rough, especially with the wet trails, but the hikes were never too difficult (especially considering the short distances we covered each day).  It was awkward to have to check-in at the visitor's center each day, but I would not let that keep us from running the trip again.

I used my rain pants for the first time since the South Llano trip in Spring 2014.  I always carry them on trips, but rarely use them. I remembered on this trip how nice they are though, and I bet they will be utilized more on upcoming trips.

Personally, this was a good trip for me after the Guadalupe Mountains trip.  I really struggled physically, both with knee issues and fatigue, during the Guadalupe Mountains trip.  I had some serious doubts during and after that trip about my abilities as a guide.  However, in preparing for this trip and in guiding this trip I regained confidence in my guiding abilities.  And I learned that everyone can have bad days on trips - it's more about how you push through them and keep going.

UT RecSports ran four backpacking trips this semester, and I guided all four!  I've grown so much since the first trip of this semester to Lost Maples.  My outdoor skills have improved, and I feel really comfortable backpacking now.  My guiding skills have also improved drastically.  I can thank Emily for much of this, since she was lead guide on my first trip over Spring Break 2014 and then on both of the Fall trips we guided together she pushed me to step out of my comfort-zone and fulfil lead guide roles more often.  I'm excited to see how I continue to evolve in the Spring!

Beginning our trip at the Canyon Rim trailhead near Honey Flats campground

On the trail on the first day

Group picture on day 2 (photo by Sean)

The views become more scenic on day 2

Our group hiking on day 2

The North Prong primitive camping area (photo by Brad)

Hiking off-trail in a somewhat dispersed manner (photo by Brad)

Some of our group on the rock formations by the North Prong primitive site (photo by Brad)

Morning 3 was foggy as we hiked up the John Haynes Ridge trail

Bison near the roadway by Lake Theo

A herd of bison on the roadway near Lake Theo 

On the trail on day 4

 The sun finally comes out on our drive home

Sawnee Mountain Preserve + IT Band Knee Issues

On Sunday my dad and I went to Sawnee Mountain Preserve near my parent's house in Cumming, GA.

We parked at the Spot road entrance, and went on the 3.5 mile Indian Seats trail.  We climbed up to see the Indian Seats, which also provided a nice view north towards the Blue Ridge Mountains.  My dad is afraid of heights, so he did not want to get very close to the edge!  After enjoying the view for a while, we continued onward towards the visitor's center at the other entrance.  We never saw the rock climbing area, so I guess you have to hike a bit off-trail to get to it - and they probably did not mark it to dissuade people without permits from climbing.  The visitor's center was closed on Sunday, but from looking through the windows it seemed like it had some nice exhibits for kids.

We were surprised by how many other hikers and runners were out on the trail.  It made me happy to see people using and enjoying the preserve and its trails.  About 2.5 miles in, my right knee began hurting pretty bad again - the same pain I had been experiencing during the recent Guadalupe Mountains backpacking trip.  I took it easy, and then took some ibuprofen once I returned home.  However, when I sat and iced it I experienced some of the worst pain I've ever felt - I could not even move my knee without excruciating pain.  It got better with heat, but it was very concerning.

Once I returned to Austin, I visited the sports medicine clinic at UT.  My knee issues were diagnosed as iliotibial band friction syndrome.  The doctor said that rest, ice, compression, and elevation along with ibuprofen will help the inflammation, and that using a roller and doing stretches and exercises will also help.  However, she said I'll likely not be feeling great by the time of my next trip to Caprock Canyons.

I considered backing out of the trip, but I have been looking forward to this trip and I know the UT Outdoor Recreation program will not be able to find another guide to take my place (since they already tried when Hannah backed out of the trip for stream team about a week ago).  I'm hoping for the best, but also preparing for the worst - I'll take lots of ibuprofen, a knee strap for IT pain, and probably a tennis ball for rolling.  Hopefully I do not regret opting to go on this trip.  At least the doctor said I will not make it worse by using it, although I may be in a lot of pain.

 View from near the Indian Seats at Sawnee Mountain Preserve

Backpacking Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Over Thanksgiving break Emily, Keith and I led a backpacking trip to Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  This was a trip I proposed, so I took the lead in guiding parts of it.

 I led the pre-trip meeting on Thursday 11/20.  During this meeting we explained the trip details, and what the participants would need to bring.  At this point, the weather forecast looked pretty brutal, with most nights expected to drip into the 20s in the mountains.  We also handed out rental backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and headlamps to everyone who needed them.

Emily and I worked from 1pm to 5:30pm on Tuesday 11/25 to complete the food buy, repackage the food, pull the group gear, and pack everything.

We met at 5:45am on Wednesday 11/26, and all 13 of us left campus around 6am as planned.  We stopped in Ozona for gas and Fort Stockton for a Pizza Hut buffet lunch before heading to Van Horn for a final fuel up.  Manuel took over driving my Suburban in Van Horn.  We arrived at Guadalupe Mountains National Park around 3pm Mountain Time, and went to the visitor's center to pay our entrance fees and obtain our back-country permits.  I had planned four different itineraries in case obtaining particular back-country sites was difficult, but we easily obtained permits for our first choice itinerary.  Although we had 13 in our group, we decided to only report having 12 people in order to only take up 3 back-country sites at each back-country camp ground (since park regulations require a site for each four people).

Hence, our itinerary ended up being:
Wednesday (2.3 miles): leave GRE 6am, drive to GMNP, obtain back-country permits, hike 2.3 miles on Smith Springs trail, overnight at Pine Springs (reserved group camp site)
Thursday (4 miles + 2 miles): Backpack 4 miles from Pine Springs camp (elevation 5822 ft) to Guadalupe Peak camp (elevation 8160 ft), set up camp, hike 1 mile to Guadalupe Peak (elevation 8751 ft), hike 1 mile back to Guadalupe Peak camp, overnight at Guadalupe Peak camp
Friday (3.1 miles + 3.9 miles): Backpack 3.1 miles from Guadalupe Peak camp (elevation 8160 ft) to Pine Springs camp (elevation 5822 ft), drop trash, pick up water and supplies, backpack 3.9 miles from Pine Springs camp (elevation 5822 ft) to Pine Top camp (elevation 8081 ft), overnight at Pine Top camp
Saturday (9.3 miles + optional 2.0-2.9 miles) : Day hike on Bush Mountain Trail to Blue Ridge Trail to Tejas Trail, with optional extension to Hunter's Peak via the Juniper Trail and Bowl Trail, overnight at Pine Top camp
Sunday (3.9 miles): Backpack 3.9 miles from Pine Top camp (elevation 8081 ft) to Pine Springs camp (elevation 5822 ft), drive back to Austin

After getting our permits, we realized that if we set up camp quickly, we could go hike the nearby Smith Springs trail before sunset.  I was worried about the gate being locked at the end of our hike (especially since the gate only had an 8am opening time, but no closing time, marked on it), so I pushed our pace throughout the hike.  The hike was also a bit rockier and rougher than some of the group imagined, as most of us did not change out of our car clothes and shoes for the hike.  We finished shortly before sunset and the gate was fortunately not locked when we left.  After the hike we cooked chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, grilled cheese, and crackers for dinner at our Pine Springs group spot.  We ran out of bread too quickly though, and it also took a long time to toast sandwiches with only one small skillet.  It was good that we reserved the group site though, as the entire camp ground seemed to be full by the time we were cooking dinner.

After dinner Emily, Keith and I had a guides meeting to discuss the next day.  We decided to wake at 6am, wake the participants at 6:30am, serve breakfast at 7am, and try to hit the trail by 9am.  We opted to skip the Devil's Hall trail, which would have added 2 miles to Thursday's hike.  Then Emily and I met without Keith and she encouraged me to speak up more with my ideas and not be afraid to be wrong.  After all, it's my trip - I did most of the planning so I know the trip better than anyone.  I tried to take this to heart for the rest of the trip.

The first night was pretty cold.  It got close to freezing in the Pine Springs camp ground, which made deciding to sleep without the rain fly on the tent a bad idea.  It wasn't terrible, but I did wake up many times due to the cold.  I began getting ready around 5:50am, and worked with Emily and Keith to prepare our bagels (half were pumpkin flavor!), yoghurt, and granola breakfast.  We packed our food for our next lunch, dinner, and breakfast into 3 bear canisters, filled 7 dromedary bags half-way, and divided the group gear into 13 piles.  Then we instructed everyone to select a pile and pack that gear into their pack.  I ended up with a half-full dromedary bag and a first-aid kit.  I also carried a topographic map and our trip discontinuance forms (in case anyone decided during the hike that they did not want to continue).

We left camp around 8:45am, but we probably did not leave the trail head until 9:15am.  A ranger checked our back-country permits in the parking lot before we began.  I signed us in on the hiker log, and then led the group up the 4 mile trail to the Guadalupe Peak back-country camp site.  We opted to take the horse trail up, which added 0.9 miles but climbed less drastically.  I'm not sure whether this was actually a good idea - if I did this backpacking trip again I might consider taking the hiker trail up (although it is much more brutal - most people say the first mile is the worst).  I tried to take a moderate pace up the mountain, only stopping when I was really out of breath.  The group as a whole was really strong, and many probably did not need as many breaks as I did.  Emily said I set a good pace though.

We reached the Guadalupe Peak back-country site around 12:45pm.  One couple had just finished setting up their site, so we claimed the three sites around theirs.  We opted to eat our lunch of hummus, pitas, and sun-dried tomatoes before setting up our tents.  We decided to leave for the 1 mile hike to the peak at 2:30pm, so most people rested after setting up their tents.  Our group had five tents for 13 people - 3 3-person tents and 2 2-person tents.  People moved slowly when it was time to leave for the peak, so we did not actually end up leaving until 2:45pm.

The outside of my knee was still hurting from the morning hike up, so I had Keith lead the hike to the peak and I went last.  The climb to the peak was difficult for me because my knee was hurting and I constantly felt out of breath.  However, it was worth it!  Everyone enjoyed taking pictures and exploring.  Since it was windy and cold, we opted to hike down before sunset.  My knee was seriously hurting, so I lagged behind the group on the way back to camp.  Once JT and I returned to camp, we found that a group of 3 people had unstaked our tent and was claiming that our group had taken too many sites!  I told them to go check our permit (hanging from Emily's tent).  They knew that there were five campsites, but instead of trying to find the fifth site they had instead decided that we had too many spots.  As I found out later, they had also confronted Keith when he arrived back to camp and Keith had found the fifth site for them (yet they still claimed when we found them at our site that they did not know where the fifth site was).  In general, it was a frustrating experience, but I think Keith and I handled it correctly.  Most of the time the people you meet in the back-country are good people, so it was particularly surprising to run into these incredibly rude people.

Emily and I made our Thanksgiving dinner shortly after sunset.  Emily manned the potatoes, while I made the stuffing and then grilled the turkey spam.  We also had some dried cranberries for toppings.  We were all surprised at how delicious our Thanksgiving dinner was!  Certainly a Thanksgiving to remember between climbing Guadalupe Peak and having a great Thanksgiving-themed backpacking meal. We all retired pretty early after finishing dinner - partly to stay warm and partly because we were tired.

Friday morning Emily, Keith, and I opted for waking again at 6am, waking the participants at 6:30am, serving breakfast at 7am, and trying to hit the trail by 8:30am.  Friday's breakfast consisted of oatmeal and toppings.  We successfully left camp by 8:30am, and all of us reached the parking lot by 11am.  Since Emily likes downhill hikes and my right knee was still pretty painful, Emily led downhill and I trailed.  We gave ourselves 90 minutes to repack and redistribute group and personal gear before heading back into the mountains.  Since we were now packing for two nights, we prepared four bear canisters with food and filled 7 dromedary bags completely full.  Hence, 11 people had either a bear canister or a dromedary bag and two people had various other group gear.  I took one of the bear canisters, since they were really bulky.  After repacking and eating a lunch of tortillas with peanut butter, sunflower seeds, and dried apricots, we hit the trail again at 12:30pm.

My knee was hurting, so I opted to trail the group.  Keith went first, and Emily hung in the middle of the group.  Our group divided pretty quickly, with 6 people staying close to Keith, 3 people staying with Emily, and JT and I dragging at the rear.  JT had a pack that was too heavy for him, and I was really dragging energy-wise and kept feeling like I was going to throw up.  We drug ourselves up the mountain, continuously falling further behind the group.  I felt really embarrassed to be physically performing so poorly on a trip that I was guiding.  How can you take care of the group if you can not even take care of yourself?  Doubts continued to wash over me as I made my way up the mountain.  Eventually, when we were somewhat near the top of the mountain (perhaps 0.5 miles from Pine Top camp), we saw Manuel and Keith coming down the trail with just day packs.  They had come to make sure we were okay, and to carry our packs the rest of the way.  Although I felt really embarrassed to take Keith's offer to carry my bag, I took the offer to get to camp quicker.  It was super embarrassing, but I also felt so thankful for the assistance.

Once at camp, lots of people greeted us.  Some people gave JT a chair when he arrived and made sure he had water and food.  Others helped me set up our tent.  Everyone really rallied around us - which was great to see, but I really felt like I let the group down by struggling so much.  Emily, Keith, Ashley, and Kat took the lead on cooking dinner (which let me rest, but also made me feel even more useless).  I really could not force myself to eat much of the quinoa and vegetables dinner, as it really did not seem appetizing to me (although everyone else seemed to like it).

We opted to sleep in a bit Saturday morning - waking at 7am, waking the participants at 7:30am, and hitting the trail for a day hike at 9:00am.  Breakfast was more involved, as we cooked frozen hash-browns with sausage.  It was delicious, but not very plentiful.  The group as a whole decided to do the 9.3 mile loop on the Bush Mountain, Blue Ridge, and Tejas trails.  Although long, we figured it would not be too strenuous with just day packs and we were all excited about the prospect of seeing the northern side of the park and different terrain.

I decided to take the lead on this hike along with Manuel.  From looking at my topographic map, I could tell the first 2.5 miles of the hike would have us gain a bit of elevation as we hiked to the summit of Bush Mountain (8631 feet).  The trail was a bit rough, and certainly went up and down rather frequently.  But we made decent time, and got to the Bush Mountain summit.  The trail between Bush Mountain and the Blue Ridge camp was a hiker-only trail and was pretty narrow and rough at points.  I got stabbed pretty deeply by a yucca plant at some point during this hike, and soon realized that my pants were quickly becoming drenched with blood from the puncture wound.  I found a part of the trail where I could step to the side and wait for Emily to come by with the first-aid kit, and then cleaned up the wound and the blood.  It was amazing how much such a small puncture had bleed!

We stopped for lunch near the Blue Ridge back-country camp site.  Lunch was tortillas with peanut butter, jelly, and chocolate chips as well as trail mix and jerky.  None of this seemed very appetizing, so I ate a peanut butter tortilla and a bit of jerky.  I knew that this being the third meal where I had ate very little likely accounted for my low energy, but I really could not force myself to eat anything else.

After lunch, we continued onward but my right knee became extremely painful and difficult to move.  At one point I was unable to bend it at all without serious pain.  I took Advil, and that seemed to help. But I was lagging pretty far behind the group at this point.  The group decided to split near the Tejas camp, with 6 people opting to take a longer hike on the Juniper and Bowl trails to Hunter's Peak with Manuel.  Keith, Emily, and I were all drained and opted to go with the rest of the group on the Tejas trail back towards camp as planned.  Our group all seemed pretty tired and sore on this last bit of the hike.  We pushed through though, and then Keith and JT opted to go to Hunter's Peak once we got to the trail junction by camp.  Emily and I took the rest of the very tired group back to camp, and decided to start dinner in about 75 minutes at 5:15pm.

Dinner was pasta with peas, chicken, and spices.  The first pot finished cooking shortly after most of the group had returned from Hunter's Peak.  I was actually really hungry, but there was not really enough food go around, so it was yet another small meal for me.  Emily and I really under-estimated how much food our group would want to eat for dinners!

We opted to wake at 5am on Sunday, wake the participants at 5:30am, eat a quick breakfast, and then leave camp by 7am.  Our goal in doing this was to avoid having to drive late at night, especially since we only had three drivers for two vehicles and we were all accustomed to going to sleep around 7pm Mountain time.  We successfully left the camp around 6:50am on Sunday morning.  Since my knee was tender, and I go slow on downhills, Emily led the group downhill with Keith hanging in the middle of the group and me trailing.  I made it to the trailhead by 9:55am, and was actually hindered not by my own speed but by the speed of a participant who had painful ankles.  We left the park at 10:30am after changing clothing and stopping by the visitor center.

We drove back through Pecos to Fort Stockton.  This gave us less time on I-10 and more time on highways with high speed limits.  Some of these highways were a bit rough though, and required passing trucks on two-lane roads.  I'm not very experienced at passing on two-lane roads, so doing so at high-speeds on unfamiliar roads was a bit stressful for me.  But I think I did great.  We stopped at a truck stop in Pecos for lunch, and then pushed to Ozona for gas.  I finally stopped driving in Fredericksburg, and chilled in Emily's car for the rest of the trip.

Once we got back to the Outdoor Center, we hung the tents and sleeping bags and turned as much gear as possible.  We looked over the participant evaluation sheets, but did not debrief the trip since Ashley and Manuel were hanging around and I think Emily was tired.  I think the trip went very well, and the participant evaluations were pretty positive, but I feel a bit nervous about how Emily perceived my guiding abilities.  I think my leadership as a guide is growing nicely, and coming along as it should.  I'm slowly gaining more confidence and finding my voice.  And I feel like my soft-skills as a guide are developing - I'm getting better at interacting with participants and perceiving when they are unhappy or not feeling well.  And I know my trip planning abilities are strong.  However, I feel like I failed on this trip at being physically capable.  I know I'm probably my worst critic, and you do not always have to be at the top of your game (and that recognizing that is valuable), but I do think I was physically suffering more than a guide should be.

Random notes:

Emily was amazed by how few hikers we saw on trails besides the Guadalupe Peak trail.  It is true that the park really is not visited and hiked nearly as much as it should be - and most people that do visit stick to the Guadalupe Peak trail.  It was really neat to hike other high-country trails and get to see other parts of the park.  The Saturday hike in the high-country was very scenic!

After seeing Emily's bandana on the Lake Georgetown trip, guessing what it was for, and then googling, I tried out a pee bandana this trip.  I can see why some people would think it is gross, but I think it is better than (1) using and carrying out toilet paper or (2) trying to drip dry.  It worked well, and will become a staple on my future outdoor trips.

It is important to bring lots of personal ibuprofen.  I figured that since I'd be carrying the first-aid kit, that I didn't need to bring my own supply.  But the first-aid kit ran out, and I had to get ibuprofen from various participants throughout the trip each time my knee grew unbearably painful.

I found it strange and difficult to guide a trip with JT as a participant.  Emily had warned me that it might hard to balance/handle, and it really was at points.  JT really struggled on the trip, and did not seem to enjoy himself, which made it more stressful for me to juggle making him happy and taking care of the group like I needed to as a guide.  Perhaps on a less strenuous trip it might work better.

Overall, it was a great trip.  I certainly think it could be run against next year.  And I think the itinerary was just about perfect.  I just need to figure out (1) how to keep my right knee happy and (2) how to get into better backpacking shape.

El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak from US 62/180

On Guadalupe Peak with El Capitan in the background

On Guadalupe Peak

 Our group on Guadalupe Peak

Preparing to hike down on Sunday

 Sunday morning from near Pine Top camp

From the Tejas trail on Sunday

 Part way down the Tejas trail on Sunday

Backpacking Lake Georgetown

This weekend Emily and I led a backpacking trip on 16.5 miles of the Goodwater Loop of the San Gabriel River Trail.

Goodwater Trail map, Austin Explorer description, download all photos

We had asked the participants to arrive between 3pm and 3:30pm, with the goal of leaving at 4pm.  Hence, I arrived at the Outdoor Center at 2pm to repackage and split up gear with Emily.  It was like a guide school reunion in the outdoor center! I saw and talked to Chris, Sean, Tommy, Tessa, Hannah, Manuel, Ellie, and probably more - truly great to see everyone!  We prepped everything, including cutting up all the veggies and cheese to avoid taking cutting boards and knives and preparing little bags of snacks (granola bars and fruit gummies) that everyone could eat whenever they felt like it.  We put some tent parts in each of the gear piles so that groups could then evenly split up tents between their occupants after the first night.  I opted for one of the heavy piles with a rainfly, ground cover, dromedary bag (6L / 14lb), oatmeal, and water filter.

We originally had 10 participants, but one girl did not show up and when Emily called her she said she decided not to go, so we ended up only having 9 participants.  This required Emily and I, as well as two other participants, to share what the girl who cancelled should have carried.

We left campus around 4pm on Friday and made it to the Russell Park trailhead around 5:15pm.  We left the participants to eat their dinners in the campground near the trailhead while Emily and I drove a shuttle car to the Cedar Breaks trailhead.

Once back at Russell Park, we waited for the participants to return from eating their dinner and then we hit the trail.  It was a quick 1.5 mile hike to Walnut Spring Camp.  My pack was pretty heavy, which was not a problem for the short, flat hike - but made me realize just how rough Saturday might be.

Once at camp, I picked a site (there were 3-4 to choose from) and then did a tent set-up demo with Emily.  I wanted to incorporate this because (1) you can show the participants how to set up a tent, which decreases frustration and makes them capable of setting-up and taking-down their own tents and (2) you can give a quick LNT talk on picking appropriate camp sites.  Emily and I took the tent from the demo, and set-up our sleeping pads and bags in our tent while the participants set up their tents.  Then we started some water boiling for tea/coffee/ect and got out the snacks allocated for Friday night (pre-cut cheese, crackers, jerky).  Then Emily gave her '6 Ds of Dumping' talk for how to appropriately poop in the backcountry.

Everyone opted to retire to their tents around 9:30pm, mainly for warmth.  The plan was for Emily and I to wake at 7am and then for us to wake everyone else at 7:30am after heating up some water.  I awoke at 6:30am to gunshots, presumably from nearby hunters.  Our trail ventured into some hunting area, and we were camping near the hunting area.  I wanted to nestle deeper into my sleeping bag, but I heard many of the participants up and about, so I decided to get up and help Emily get water started.  I learned on this trip that the idea is to get out of your tent ASAP and start water and then go back to your tent and prepare for the day while it is heating up.  Unfortunately for us, Emily had connected a gas tank to a stove with a broken connector, so the stove would not connect but would also not disconnect - and was spilling gas and fumes everywhere as we tried to disconnect it.  To make matters worse, the gas spilling everywhere was extremely cold.  Emily finally took it far away and broke it apart completely in order to stop the spillage.

For breakfast we had oatmeal with dried fruit and brown sugar.  We bought (and thought we packed) enough oatmeal for everyone to have two packets each morning.  However, it became obvious quickly that we had much less oatmeal than we had planned.  At the end of breakfast we only had 6 packets left!

At 7:40am we decided to aim to leave camp at 9am.  We packed up camp and then I went down to the lake to explore while the participants finished packing their tents and personal gear.  The lake was pretty cool in the morning with fog rising from the lake and all of the dead trees sticking out of the lake.

After stretching, we hit the trail around 9am.  We had an easy 4.5 mile hike from Walnut Spring camp to Tejas camp, where we ate lunch.  The morning hike was relatively flat, following a jeep trail for at least 2 miles.  There were splits in the trail that were only sometimes marked - I generally followed Manuel's advice to stay on the trail closer to the lake unless a clear making indicated otherwise.  We reached Tejas camp around 11:15am, and we stopped at a campsite to relax a bit and eat lunch.  There were also trash cans to dump trash in and a water spigot to refill our personal water containers and dromedary bags.  I usually hate camping lunches, but this one was actually okay: tortillas with hummus, salmon, and dried tomatoes.

After lunch I had a bit of trouble finding the trailhead, but eventually found it.  My pack was indeed heavy, and as the terrain got rockier and hillier, I really started struggling.  The 6.5 mile hike from Tejas camp to Cedar Hollow camp felt so long.  Some of the hills were rather steep and muddy - which is hard normally, but becomes almost impossible when you have a heavy pack.  I'm guessing mine was around 55-60 pounds.  The entire group seemed quiet after lunch, and I resorted to imagining songs in my head and counting repeatedly just to get my mind off of the weight.  I really wanted music.  I internally wanted to stop for so many breaks, but limited myself to just a few.  We stopped for a long break with about 2.5 miles left before Cedar Hollow, which felt great.  But we climbed a hill shortly after the break and I internally really wanted another break.  And of course, all I could think during the hike was how hard Guadalupe Mountains will be.  Determination, stubbornness, and mental toughness really are important when guiding - you need them to push through the challenging times.

When we reached camp, everyone was pretty tired.  But Emily and I pushed onward and got our tent set-up before she napped and I wandered down to the lake to sit and relax for about 30 minutes.  The lake was really pretty, and it was peaceful to just relax and reflect for a bit.  Then it was time to head back to camp and get my ramen dinner started.  I had forgotten the bag of spices I had prepared back in the Outdoor Center, so we opted to use the spices that came with the ramen.  We added some carrots and celery to the boiling water with the ramen, and it turned out great.  We cooked 11 packets, so everyone was able to eat about a packet of ramen each.  We also had cashews for a topping, which I think made the meal.  I was happy with how the meal turned out, and think it is a good backpacking meal.

After dinner we boiled some water for tea and then sat talking for a while.  After most of the group decided to get up to watch the sunrise, Emily and I opted to retreat to our tent at 8pm.  Everyone else seemed to do the same around 8:30pm.

I slept nicely, only waking up a few times.  I was not thrilled when my alarm went off at 6am, and decided to reset it for 6:30am after looking outside my tent.  However, as the sky grew lighter, I decided to go ahead and get up.  It was pretty cold, but the fog on the lake was pretty.  I waited for the sunrise until about 7am, before deciding to go boil water and start making breakfast.  In the end, the sunrise did not seem to end up being that pretty because it rose behind a peninsula.

Since we only had six packets of oatmeal left, Ben, Emily and I split a packet of ramen and someone else had a tortilla with peanut butter and tuna (yuck?).  Then we packed up camp, stretched, and left camp around 9am.  I ended up carrying the trash bag, but my bag was so light with an empty dromedary bag that I really did not care.  It's amazing how much difference the dromedary bag makes!

Our Sunday hike was just 4.5 miles.  We took a few short scenic breaks, and stopped at Crockett Gardens to see the weeping rock.  Then we hiked onward along a cliff-side trail with pretty views of the lake for the remainder of our trip until we neared Cedar Breaks park.  Once back at the parking lot, Emily and I drove to get the other Suburban while the participants headed to the boat dock to eat lunch.  After lunch, it was just a short 40 minute drive back to campus.

Once back at the Outdoor Center, everyone returned their group gear, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and backpacks.  We said goodbye to everyone, and then hung the tents, ground cloths, and rain covers to dry, hung the sleeping bags to dry, did the dishes, disinfected the sleeping pads, and essentially got everything that we could ready to be rented/used again.

All in all, it was a great trip.  I have been really stressed with paper deadlines, so this was a perfect escape.  I also enjoyed working with Emily, and our group was good (although quiet).  We planned out our gear and food much better than on the Lost Maples trip - we took very little gear that we did not use, and we had very little food remaining at the end of the trip.

All of the girls, and some of the guys, on the trip began mentioning that their hips were sore at some point.  Some of the girl's hips seemed sore to the touch even.  But my hips felt fine.  I wonder why I was somehow exempt from hip pain (despite my backpack certainly being one of the heavier ones due to the dromedary bag).  Perhaps my backpack fit better?  Or my hiking poles helped?  Or I have more fat?

After a great weekend, it is time to focus on finishing up conference papers for the next week.  And it is exciting and encouraging that we leave for our Guadalupe Mountains backpacking trip in about 2.5 weeks!  I'm so incredibly excited!

Take-away points:

• Ramen is a good backpacking meal.  Cooked carrots and celery worked well, as did the cashew toppings.  The included flavor packets were fine.
• Tortillas with peanut butter and/or hummus work well.  Meat (chicken/tuna/salmon) work well but is somewhat smelly.  I wonder if there is a better option for meat?  Perhaps tofu?
•  I still need to find a good balance between making good time and stopping for breaks when leading.  And why is it that when I stop for a scenic break, a better view always happens to be further ahead?

Morning at Walnut Spring Camp

Our group + Emily near Tejas Camp

 Climbing one of the steep hills shortly after leaving Tejas Camp

Morning at Cedar Hollow Camp

The view from our Cedar Hollow site

Lake Georgetown at Cedar Hollow Camp

The sole of one of my boots became almost completely unattached and had to be removed :(

My pack on day 3, with the group trash on top

Our group + Emily at Crockett Gardens

The group returning from the side hike to Crockett Gardens

 Pretty view of Lake Georgetown as we neared Cedar Breaks trailhead

Backpacking Lost Maples

This weekend I guided an UT Outdoor Recreation backpacking trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area with Tommy and Sara.

We had our pre-trip meeting on Thursday evening where we met the participants, went over the trip itinerary, and gave out backpacks.  It was interesting to find out that only two of the twelve participants were male, that we had three foreign exchange students, and that most of the participants were freshmen.  Most of the participants seemed to not know each other prior to the pre-trip meeting.

Tommy and I met at the outdoor center at 2:45pm on Friday to finalize preparations.  We checked the gear that had been set out by the Outdoor Center staff, selected what food to take with us, and then divided all the food, tents, and group gear into 15 piles of approximately equal weight and size.  We had two group water pouches (one 6L and one 4L), so those piles were obviously heavier.

As the participants arrived we gave them sleeping bags and pads to add to their packs.  Then we told them to each select a pile and also put that into their bag.  We departed at 4pm as planned.

Traffic was rough leaving Austin, but the participants in the Suburban I was driving were talkative and seemed to be getting along great considering they had just met.  We reached the Fredricksburg Whataburger at 6pm, where we stopped for a quick dinner.  I enjoyed some chicken nuggets and fries, and we got back on the road around 6:30pm.  After dinner most of the car slept although Sara stayed awake with me and we chatted some.  I followed Tommy's Suburban the entire way.  Once we reached the park we filled out the after hours registration cards and parked by the trail head for the West Trail.  There was a boy scout truck projecting flying eagle designs into the skies using lasers by the trail head, which we though was a bit excessive and certainly not LNT since they were causing light pollution as well as pollution from the gas generator they were running to power the lasers.

Lost Maples SNA trail map

Once we had our packs on, we headed for back country primitive campground E.  After hiking 1.73 miles (with one uphill climb), we reached the campground, where we found only one family set up.  We selected an area, and then set up our five tents.  Tommy led a demonstration on how to set up the 3-person tents, but broke a tent pole while setting up the tent so we took that tent as the 'guide tent'.  We helped the participants set up their tents after finishing ours.

Once the tents were set up, we all walked out from under the cedar trees to look up at the stars.  It was a new moon and a clear night, so we could see so many stars!  Tommy studies astronomy, so he pointed out some constellations.  We could also see the Milky Way!  This was only the second place I'd been able to see it (the first was Big Bend), so that was pretty near.  Eventually some of us walked back to the composting toilet 0.25 miles away, where we ran into some boy scouts who rudely shined their lights into our faces and called us Sasquatch.  Not a good way to greet others on the trail.  Most of us went to bed around 11am.

Tommy started the night sleeping outside the tent, but he opted to crawl in around 3am since the bugs were too bad outside.  This forced Sara to the middle of the tent and me to the right side.  When we awoke at 7:30am (after snoozing our 7am alarm since it was still pretty dark out), we noticed that Tommy had a dead mosquito on his face that he had apparently killed during the night!  We started packing up and started water boiling.  We made some coffee and oatmeal with the hot water.  We left camp around 9:30am.

We had a short downhill stretch before walking through Mystic Canyon.  After 0.88 miles we reached the turn-off for the 2.37 West Loop Trail.  My backpack was substantially heavier Saturday than it had been Friday, since some people in our group did not claim some food items and tent parts when we packed up Saturday morning so the guides were all forced to carry more.  Personally I ended up with almost an entire tent (rain fly, tent, stakes), oranges, and cutting boards in addition to my original supplies.  Feeling the additional weight, I offered to stay with all fifteen backpacks while the rest of the group went on the loop.  I had forgotten my hiking poles at the UT Outdoor Center, so my knees were already getting sore.  I talked to the many groups passing by and took some pictures during the hour it took the rest of my group to complete the loop.  We had a small snack once they returned, and then hiked the 1.11 miles to the lake at primitive campground C.  Once at the lake, we stopped for lunch.

Lunch was pita bread with sausage, cheese, tomatoes, avocados, oranges, and cookies.  I sliced the three blocks of cheese and tomatoes while Sara sliced the sausage and a participant sliced the avocados.  I only ate cheese and avocado, since I really can not stand pita bread.  After lunch we relaxed and some people played with some of the dogs around the camp.  We saw some fish and snakes in the pond!  As we were getting ready to leave, about three different boy scout troops arrived.  This caused us to discuss (1) how some of the troops seem to have a wide range of ages an (2) how we saw so many boyscout troops and boys out with their families but no girl scout troops and fewer girls out with their families.

After lunch we struggled up a 0.35 mile steep trail to the plateau overlooking our lunch spot.  This was a tough climb!  We stopped for pictures at an overlook, and then continued 1.37 miles to primitive camp ground A.  We had to endure a short but steep downhill segment shortly before camp, and rested in a grassy meadow for a short while after the downhill stretch.  Then we completed a short hike to primitive camp ground A, where we picked a grassy area near the trail to set up camp.  Sara and I quickly put up our tent, and then most of the group walked to a stream on the other side of the camp ground to filter enough water to fill both water bags and all the personal water containers.  The guys used the older filter to fill the water bags while the girls took turns pumping, holding the input tube in the water, and holding the output tube in each personal water bottle.  I spent the majority of the time holding the output tube.  It took us about 45 minutes to fill all the containers.

Once back at the camp ground, Tommy and I started cooking dinner while Sara rested after taking Benadryl for her mild rash and itching.  Sara, Tommy, and I thought the macaroni and cheese dinner turned out great - box mac and cheese is a comfort food - but unfortunately most of the participants did not seem to enjoy it.  After dinner most of us hurried back up the steep trail to the plateau overlooking the lake and primitive camp ground C to watch the sunset.  Only about a third of our group made it in time to see the sunset, but the sky was pretty even after sunset.  After enjoying the views, we all made our way back down the trail in the dark using our headlamps.  Most of the group stayed up for a few more hours sitting in a circle and telling 'scary' stories.  We had a great group!

The next morning we had oatmeal, bagels, coffee, oranges, and hot cocoa (as in, adding hot water to cocoa powder - thanks Tommy!).  I noticed a trash bag hanging from a tree, and although I did not think we had brought any trash bags, decided to throw trash into it after noticing Sara put trash into it.  Later Ian saw someone else putting orange peels into it and realized that we had mistakenly been using his clothing trash bag as a real trash bag.  Learning lesson: do not hang your clothing in a trash bag from a tree and not expect others to throw trash into it.  He took it well, but insisted on throwing away everything - clothing included - once we reached the dumpster at the trail head.

We had a quick hike out after breakfast.  While the group waited with Sara at a picnic table and used the bathroom at the trail head, Tommy and I walked to the parking lot near the other trail head to retrieve the vehicles.

We had planned to stop at the Stonehenge II replica in Hunt, TX on the way home.  However, no one had enough cell service to get good directions before the turn off, so we decided to follow the printed directions home after stopping for some snacks at a gas station.

It's an interesting experience now that I'm forming some strong opinions about ecological, sustainable, and ethical outdoor practices and tourism because I struggle with how to approach situations where I'm talking with people who are doing things I do not agree with seemingly because they do not know any better.  I  find myself struggling to find a good, non-confrontational response and instead just remain silent.  How do I find my voice without causing conflict and upsetting people?  How do I present my opinions in a compelling manner?  A few examples from this weekend: Sara saying how great a 'snake farm' that we passed on I-35 was, two participants pooping in the woods instead of in the nearby composting toilet (one because they said the toilet smelled too bad, another because they claimed they could not find the toilet), people talking about how great riding camels and elephants were on trips abroad, and both participants and other campers getting too close to/poking at crawdads and snakes.  As a guide I feel like it's my responsibility to educate people, but at the same time I do not want to upset anyone.  It's tough.

Guiding lessons learned / Pro tips:

• Tent demos are great, since they both teach the participants, decrease frustration, and speed up the process of setting up tents
• When backpacking, carefully allocate items across participants
• Separate food items across people by breakfast/lunch/dinner?
• Try to separate tents/group gear evenly
• Make sure to only take gear and food that we need

• Tell participants why surveys are important
• Bring some extra large zip lock bags and a few trash bags
• Repackage much more food in the OC before leaving to cut down on size and trash
• Actively find ways to bring LNT into discussions more

Stick insect on my tent

Our group taking a break in Mystic Canyon

Near the turn-off for the West Loop Trail

The group overlooking the valley and primitive campground C

 Overlooking the valley and primitive campground C

 One of the few trees that was changing colors during our visit

Fall Adventure Trip Staff Assignments

After submitting trip requests before leaving for RoboCup - in other words, well over a month ago - we finally got our assignments today!

I was assigned to just two fall trips, which was a little disappointing.  However, I'm really excited about both of these trips.

For Fall 2014, I've been assigned to:

• 10/24-10/26: Lost Maples Backpacking, with Tommy and Sara B (if needed).  I've been backpacking at Lost Maples State Natural Area before, during this exact season, so it will be familiar but should still be lots of fun.
• 11/26-11/30: Backpacking the Guadalupe Mountains, with Emily and Keith (if needed).  I've gone day-hiking on most of the routes we will take during this trip, and am really excited to go back for another Thanksgiving.  This was a trip I proposed, so I'm extremely excited to see it through.  I'm most looking forward to being back in the Dome, and actually getting to camp in such a beautiful area.

Running & Hiking at McKinney Falls State Park

Today I went running and hiking at McKinney Falls State Park.

The 2.8 mile paved Onion Creek trail was perfect for my first run in a long time.  There are only a few steep hills, and the paved surface made running easy.  I saw lots of flowers and birds, and only a few other people.  I ran all 2.8 miles (except for 2 hills), and really had to push myself at a few points.  Between my Peru trip in November 2013 and guide school, I've really come to appreciate the value of having determination and a strong tolerance for discomfort.  If you have both of these, you can push through almost anything successfully.

After finishing my run, I drove over to the parking lot for the Homestead trail.  I put on my new LLBean hiking boots that I purchased in Freeport, Maine last weekend and grabbed my Cambelbak before heading off on the 2.75 mile trail.  The creek crossing right before the trail head was easy, as I believe Onion creek was lower than I've ever seen it.  I found the trail marked much better than my previous hike on this trail - probably because I actually went in the desired direction on the trail this time.  There were not as many flowers on this trail, but I did see plenty of flowering cacti and birds.  Additionally, I saw no other humans until I was walking back from the trail head to my car.

As I was heading to my car, I stopped by the Onion Creek crossing to see if I could see any turtles.  During the summer and on the weekends, there are usually lots of people swimming in the natural water hole.  However, tonight I was captivated by watching three different water snakes weave their way through the water and occasionally disappear.  I bet people might reconsider swimming there if they saw these snakes!

Santa Elena Trip Cancelled

I was informed this afternoon that the end-of-semester Santa Elena canyon trip to Big Bend National Park was cancelled due to a lack of interest.  I'm pretty disappointed as I was really looking forward to it.  The entire trip - both through the desert and in the canyon - is so incredibly beautiful and remote.  I'm super bummed to not be going on it.

To add to the disappointment, my ability to guide future trips is also in doubt right now.  Jakub, Manuel, and I were assigned no trips for the summer semester because we can not be paid for working trips (since we are employed in part-time - but more than 19 hour - positions in other University of Texas departments) and apparently human resources is currently not allowing them to put us on trips as volunteers.  All in all, pretty disappointing news out of the UT RecSports program recently. :(

Kayaking and SUP on Lake Austin

Today we had a guide trip to Lake Austin.  Jakub, Manuel, Ellie, Zack, and I ended up going.  We scheduled it on Easter since this was when the most people claimed they would be able to attend, but in the end many people that originally claimed they were available ended up not coming.

I went to get the Suburban keys, OC keys, and IM fields keys on Friday, and got to the OC with the Suburban shortly before 8am on Sunday.  Ellie and Manuel went to get the trailer while Jakub, Zack, and I pulled paddles, dry-bags, snacks, and SUPs and gathered them out in front of the gym.  We quickly loaded the trailer, and then went to Belmont to get a canoe.  However, we found that we did not have the key to the storage area, and hence had to go back to Gregory and get a 2-person kayak instead.  Ellie and I had wanted a canoe to practice for our upcoming Big Bend trip, but it wasn't to be.

Ellie drove over to the public launch by Hula Hut, and we unloaded everything.  We finally got on the water shortly before 10am.  Ellie and I paddled the kayak from the launch to the 360 bridge.  Since the kayak moved substantially faster than the SUPs, we had to stop and wait many times and also had some time to explore some side lagoons.  In one, we saw two swans and three babies!  Being on the lake in the morning was pretty peaceful, as the weather was overcast but comfortable and there were very few boats on the lake.

We stopped shortly at the 360 bridge for a bathroom and snack break.  We ended up unknowingly stopping our kayak on shore near a dead turtle.  It wasn't decaying yet, but was still pretty sad.  Ellie switched to a SUP, I moved to the back of the kayak, and Jakub joined me in the front of the kayak.  Once we took off for County Line BBQ, Jakub and I found we could glide across the water with relatively little effort.  The river we took to County Line BBQ was really calm, with very few boats and lots of turtles (including some babies).  Some of the houses and backyards were interesting too - there was some really interesting landscaping in some (like a rock garden).

Approaching the 360 bridge (photo by Manuel)

 Snack break by the 360 bridge (with the poor dead turtle next to the kayak - photo by Manuel)

Once at County Line, we were seated on the porch immediately around 11:45am.  We thought it might be really crowded due to it being Easter Sunday, but we had no issues.  Jakub got a rib appetizer for us to split, and I had a baked potato with butter, cheese, and bacon bits.  I also had a bit of Zack's sausage, which was pretty good.  Overall, a good lunch with great people.

Our gear at County Line BBQ (photo by Manuel)

Lunch at County Line BBQ (photo by Manuel)

After lunch, we put on sunscreen since the sun was starting to come out and then we hit the river.  The paddle back to around the 360 bridge was easy, but when we made the turn back to the launch we realized that paddling into the wind would be much harder than we expected (especially for the SUPs).  We crossed to the far side of the river, both for safety and to hopefully be protected more from the wind.  The wind was indeed less on the other side of the river, but it was still pretty intense.  Jakub and I would paddle ahead, and then wait for the SUPs to catch up.  At one point we held onto an old dock at a house under construction, as each time we stopped we would get blown backwards.  As we were getting close to the launch point, we went ahead so we could pull the trailer around by the time the SUPs reached land.  However, we saw a guy who had flipped his canoe and seemed to be having trouble getting back in.  We paddled over to him to see if we could be of help.  He ended up being able to do it on his own (the canoe was super lightweight), but we waited until he was ready to go before we left him.  Personally, I was a bit nervous he might drown as he seemed to be having trouble staying afloat.

Bull Creek river (photo by Manuel)

Circling around with the 360 bridge in the background (photo by Manuel)

Once we landed, I went to pull the Suburban and trailer around.  I didn't realize until I saw the parked trailer that this would require me to back up the trailer.  Hence, my first time back up a trailer was by myself (Jakub was back at the launch) in a parking lot with other trailers and some rocky areas with chain link fences.  I picked it up pretty quickly (I thought), and successfully maneuvered the Suburban and trailer such that I didn't hit the trailer next to me or the chain link fence (both were close possibilities).  As I was finally pulling out of the lot, I saw Jakub walking over so maybe I did take longer than I thought.

We loaded everything into the trailer, and I drove back to campus.  We unloaded everything on the side walk outside Gregory and then Ellie and I took the trailer back to IM fields.  I wanted to work more on backing up the trailer, so this seemed like a good opportunity.  It took me a few tries to get the idea, but I think I did pretty well.  I feel so much more confident with the trailer after today - which is good since on the Big Bend trip both Suburbans will have trailers.  We did have some trouble unhitching the trailer until we realized that we had to slide a tube first.  But we eventually figured it out.

Jakub and Manuel were waiting when we returned to the OC.  We headed over to GDC to get ready for our Touching the Void movie night.  The projection from my laptop ended up being very clear, and the sound was good.  Only Jakub, Manuel, Zack and I ended up coming to watch the movie, but we had a good time.  After the movie we discussed things that the climbers could have done better, and whether cutting the rope was actually the right thing to do in that situation.