I started communicating with my assigned guides for the trip - Ellie and Morgan - about a week before our departure date. Morgan ended up not guiding the trip since our participant numbers were low (just 8 for a trip that could take at most 12) and she was stressed due to upcoming tests. So it ended up being just Ellie and I. We led the pre-trip meeting on Wednesday, where we met the 8 participants and handed out gear. Our eight participants were an interesting mix where no one really knew each other before starting.
I planned a menu of my favorite backpacking meals, and then completed a food buy on Thursday from 11am to 1pm, and then repackaged and labelled food for the trip on Thursday afternoon. I met with Ellie back at the Outdoor Center around 2pm on Friday to pull gear for the trip and make our 10 piles of group gear (one for each person on the trip). Our participants began arriving at 3:30pm and we departed shortly after 4pm.
The drive to Lost Maples State Natural Area was slow due to Friday afternoon traffic. We had dinner at Whataburger in Fredericksburg and then made the remainder of our drive to Lost Maples in the dark. My car enjoyed Above & Beyond and Tritonal podcasts during the drive. :)
Once we arrived at Lost Maples, Ellie and I were unable to find any self-registration envelopes, so we wrote notes on pieces of paper promising to come check-in and pay on Sunday afternoon and left them on our windshields. Then we drove to the western parking lot (which surprisingly only had one car in it), unloaded, and then took the West trail 1.95 miles to Primitive Campsite E.
Once at Primitive Campsite E we selected a nice site and Ellie and I gave a demo on how to set up a tent. Then the participants set up the other three tents. Ellie and I shared our tent with the one female participant, so we all settled our sleeping pads and sleeping bags into our tent. Once everyone was settled in, Ellie and I discussed our plans for Saturday with the group, and then we all sat in a circle around a lit up orange Nalgene and told various jokes and stories. Around 10:30pm a relatively large and loud Boy Scout troup rolled into our campsite, but luckily they set up camp reasonably far from us.
Around 11pm, I walked back to the pit toilet 0.26 miles away. On the way back, I stopped in the middle of the trail and turned off my light. The stars were amazing. I took a deep breath and realized that it is moments like this that always draw me back to backpacking and guiding despite the stress and physical demands of some of our trips. It really put me in a relaxed mindset for the rest of the weekend.
I slept relatively well on Friday night, even dreaming about the Boy Scouts waking up early with a trumpet call. Luckily this did not actually happen, and I awoke to my alarm at 7am. Ellie and I got dressed and started cooking our hash browns and sausages breakfast. We brought 2 sausage sticks and 1.5 bags of hash browns - in hindsight, 2 bags of hash browns would have been a better amount. But I do not think anyone was hungry at the end of breakfast.
We had camp packed up by 9am, and then did some circle + story stretches. After stretching, we hiked 1.03 miles through Mystic Canyon to the turn-off for the West Loop trail. I opted to stay with the backpacks while the rest of the group went on the 2.37 mile loop trail. Darren left me his folding chair, so I got to relax in peace for about an hour. I saw a few other groups hiking on the trail, but I spent most of the time studying the various birds flying overhead. Once they finished the loop trail, then we had just 1.11 miles to our lunch stop at Primitive Campsite C. We arrive for lunch shortly after noon.
Lunch consisted of tortillas, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, and apricots. We also should have had honey with lunch, but no one got it out. Around 1:15pm we continued onward towards Primitive Campsite A. The first 0.35 miles were a rough, steep, uphill climb. But then the next 1.37 miles were flat and downhill. We stopped for some scenic overlooks and generally enjoyed the scenery during this hike. Once at camp, Ellie, Elizabeth and I set up our tent and then we all sat together and played cards until 5:30pm when we all walked back up hill to watch the sunset from a scenic overlook. The first scenic overlook we tried actually could not see the sunset, but the second one actually yielded a great view of the sunset. This was another peaceful, rewarding 'this is why I backpack/guide' moment.
After sunset, we walked back to camp and Ellie and I cooked the pasta, carrots, celery, chicken, and spices meal. It turned out really well, and was the perfect amount for our group! After dinner we chatted for a while, but we were all pretty ready to retire around 9:30pm. I put my backpack under the vestibule in my tent since it contained all the trash for the weekend and the Sunday breakfast food, but did not think to tell everyone else to do the same thing since the forecast predicted the potential for rain.
I slept really well Saturday night, and was very well rested Sunday morning. I awoke at 7am despite my alarm not being set to go off until 7:30am. I enjoyed just laying in my sleeping bag for those 30 minutes. However, the periodic dripping I heard on the tent implied that it was either slightly raining or had rained over night. A look outside showed that it had not rained, but it was gently misting. Hence, I put my rain gear on before getting out of the tent.
I heated water for an oatmeal breakfast while Ellie and Darren went to filter another 8 litres of water. We all ate, and then took down our tents and packed up camp. We had just a short 1.3 miles back to the main parking lot, and then another 0.15 miles to our cars.
We loaded up, and then stopped at the visitor's center. I got to buy a new state parks pass using the trip card since my park pass had expired in December. This is one of the few perks of being a volunteer adventure trip guide with RecSports, and I'm very happy to have a state parks pass again! :)
Then we took a scenic drive to Stonehenge II in Ingram, TX where we ate lunch shortly after noon. We had pitas, lettuce, hummus, peppers, olives, avocados, Pringles and Oreos. Again, I think the amount of food was just right! We then drove about 40 minutes to Dairy Queen in Fredericksburg, and then home to Austin. We arrived back on campus around 3:40pm.
Once back at the Outdoor Center, we unpacked the bags, hung the wet tents, disinfected the sleeping pads, hung and disinfected the sleeping bags, cleaned the dishes, and put back the various other supplies. Once all the participants left, Ellie and I reviewed the trip evaluations, finished cleaning up, and returned the cars.
For my first 'lead guide' trip, I think everything went very well. The post-trip evaluations were very positive, with the only negative comment being that we should have taught more about how to backpack on your own. This is a common comment - among both participants and guides - but the truth is that our program is ran more as a guide service than as a teaching program. However, if someone asks me to teach them skills or involve them in cooking/filtering/navigation processes, I'm happy to.
Some particular post-trip thoughts:
- I planned the meals well - both in terms of meals that people liked and in terms of proportions. I was also happy with the very limited amount of trash I had to carry around - I also did a good job repackaging food in the Outdoor Center before the trip.
- Ellie and I communicated well, and worked well together. Really no complaints. She is cool to work with, and we created a good, relaxed vibe for the trip.
- Ellie and I also did a good job of communicating with the participants. I think they likely had a good idea about our plans and schedule throughout the trip.
- I personally had no knee pain during the trip. I did wear my IT band, which does seem to make a big difference.
- We did not need the first aid kit at all during our trip. No pain medicines, mole skin, ect were needed!
- I would not change anything about the trip except I would have worn long-sleeves and/or sunscreen on Saturday and I should have asked the participants to put their backpacks under their vestibules on Saturday night since the chance of rain was high.
On the hill overlooking the lake
The lake and our lunch spot
Darren's collage from our Sunday morning hike
Just four bags of trash! That's great trash management! :)
