Longhorn Cavern + Inks Lake SUP

Saturday I led a day-trip with first-time-guide Sean.  There was supposed to be a third guide on the trip, but he unfortunately decided not to come on the trip.

Having guided this trip twice before, I felt well prepared.  We held the pre-trip on Thursday night and took about 1.5 hours to load all of the gear into a suburban and the old canoe trailer.  Day trips are easier than weekend trips because no food buy is needed.

We opted to meet the participants in front of Gregory Gym at 7:45am on Saturday.  I arrived a bit earlier in order to drive the second Suburban over from its home parking spot and put some ice in the coolers.

Our group (photo from Alexandra Müller's camera)

I met Sean and the 9 participants on the steps in front of Gregory.  After getting signed waivers from everyone, we hit the road.

I drove the suburban towing the trailer.  My car had five participants, three of which were foreign exchange students from Europe.  Everyone in my car chatted happily for the 80 minute drive to Longhorn Cavern State Park.

Once at Longhorn Cavern State Park, we went over to see the old water/observation tower.  Despite only climbing up two stories, we were all surprised when we reached the top and were treated with a nice view over the rolling Hill Country.

Enjoying hill country views from the tower.

We headed to the main building in order to exchange our ticket voucher for tickets on the 10am cave tour ($16/adult, $13 with Texas State Park Pass).

Our guide on this tour was much less eclectic than previous guides, but he also provided some different information.  I thought he tried to sell the other tours at the park a bit too hard - and he also rushed us through the cave at points - but everyone seemed to enjoy the tour overall.  Compared to my previous tours, we saw many more eastern pipistrelle bats today (supposedly due to aftershocks from an earthquake last month in Oklahoma).

Longhorn Cavern present-day entrance.

Inside Longhorn Cavern.

A tiny eastern pipistrelle bat.

Inside Longhorn Cavern.

Longhorn Cavern's Hall of Gems.

The tour ended at 11:50am (20 minutes late according to our guide).  We found a shaded picnic table and sat down for lunch as a group.  We all chatted and shared interesting facts about ourselves - mine was that I'm leaving Austin on June 17, 2017 to become location independent.

After lunch, we drove a short 8 miles to Inks Lake State Park.  I was lucky enough to find space to park the trailer that did not require backing up.  We quickly unloaded the trailer, life jackets, and paddles.  We struggled to figure out how to put the fins on the SUPs until we realized the screwdrivers in the fin bag were indeed critical.

Attempting to put the fins on the SUPs

With this small matter handled, we did a quick introduction talk before hitting the lake.  Sean led the group and I followed the group, helping anyone who seemed to be struggling.

Beautiful day on the lake

We paddled over to Devil's Water Hole, where there were plenty of people relaxing and cliff jumping.  We pulled our SUPs into the woods and swam in the water hole.

Almost to Devil's Water Hole

I ventured to the end of the water hole with four participants.  We wandered up a stream feeding the lake.  We were enjoying the upstream hike and lounging in a small pond until some nearby people told us that they had seen 'a few' water moccasins earlier in that pond.  We quickly exited the pond, and were much more careful walking back down stream.  I'd expect that there are many water moccasins (and other snakes) in the lake and stream, but I don't like hearing that I was swimming where some were seen shortly before.

We paddled back across the lake once the participants were ready to return.  Some participants became tired paddling into the wind, but we eventually all reached the shore.

I handled organizing and securing the paddle boards as the participants carried them to the trailer.  I quickly changed and bought some snacks from the very reasonably priced general store by the lake before we started the drive back to Austin.

I was somewhat surprised that my car stayed awake on the return trip - happily chatting about the day and making plans to do future things together.  We unloaded the trailer when were reached Gregory Gym before saying thanks and good-bye to all of the participants.

Sean and I then dealt with moving the vehicles and trailer back to their weekend parking spots.  I struggled with the trailer mightily.  Once we finally got the trailer parked successfully, we went to the Outdoor Center to return the trip binder, review participant surveys, and fill out our post-trip survey.

All in all, it was an extremely smooth trip.  All of the participants seemed pumped to get out of Austin and have a day outdoors.  Sean was a great person to guide with, and I'm sure he's going to develop into a solid, experienced guide quickly.

Longhorn Cavern State Park & SUP at Inks Lake State Park

Today I guided a day-trip to Longhorn Cavern and Inks Lake state parks with Sara B and Cade.  I was not originally scheduled to guide this trip, but Katie B wanted to find a replacement so I offered to guide the trip in her place.  This trip was similar to a trip I guided in Spring 2014, but this time I came away from Longhorn Caverns with a more positive view.

Our 11 participants were easy-going and fun - about half of the group was freshmen, but we also had some upperclassmen and graduate students.  Most seemed to just be excited to get outdoors and away from campus.

We left Gregory Gym around 8:15am, and reached Longhorn Caverns at 9:45am.  I went in to buy tickets for the 10am cavern walking tour, which were $13/person with my state parks pass (instead of $16/person).  We wandered around the gift shop for about 5 minutes before heading outside to wait for our tour guide.  Our tour started right at 10am as scheduled.

The actual tour covered the same route as it did in Spring 2014, but this time the guide gave better insight into the history of the cavern.  One particular fact I learned this time was that the individual who sold the cavern's land to the state during the Great Depression  required that the cavern never be operated by the state.  Hence, this explains why Longhorn Cavern is the only Texas State park operated by a concessionaire.

Our cavern tour had 32 people on it this time, so 18 people outside of our group were also on the tour.  Our tour ended around 11:40am, so we announced to the participants that we would stay at the caverns until 12:45pm in order for people to eat lunch, sunscreen, and generally explore if they wished.

Our group in the Cavern (photo from Sara's camera)

Then we drove over to Inks Lake State Park, which was rather crowded and party-like on this Labor Day Weekend Saturday.  We struggled to find a place to park the trailer, but a spot opened up just as we finished unloading the stand-up paddle boards and kayak.  Sara gave a short safety and skills talk, and then everyone easily got out onto the lake.

Cade went out near the middle of the group, and Sara and I went last after helping everyone get out on the water.  However, when we got onto the water, we noticed our group had become very split up.  Sara paddled over to one group, and I went to join another group that seemed to be heading towards Devil's Waterhole.

Once at Devil's Waterhole, some of the participants wanted to jump off the rocks (like we saw many other people doing).  I told them I did not recommend it, and it would be at their own risk, but that I would not stop them (which seems to also be the park's stance).  A few people did indeed jump from the rocks, and we had a few cuts and scrapes as a result (nothing serious though).  However, as a program we should probably re-evaluate how this trip is ran - should we not visit Devil's Waterhole and instead just paddle along other parts of the shoreline?  The trip description on the information sheet for the trip listed Devil's Waterhole as a place we would visit - and it seem poor to not let people jump if they want to - so perhaps we should re-work the information sheet for future trips.

Everyone seemed to have a great time on this trip.  We got many positive comments on the evaluation forms - cool guides, good safety, fun trip - and the only negative comments we got were a couple people suggesting that we should provide lunch.  Overall, it was a fun day trip!

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!

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.

Longhorn Cavern State Park & SUP at Inks Lake State Park

Today I worked a day trip to Longhorn Cavern State Park and Inks Lake State Park with Jakub, Manuel, and Sarah R.  We had nine participants on this trip, including five international exchange program students!

We arrived at Gregory Gym at 7:30am, obtained the two new Suburbans (this is just their third trip!) from their parking spots in Jester Circle, and attached the old trailer which had already been loaded with 12 standup paddle boards to one of the Suburbans.  Manuel added his personal standup paddle board, and I drove one Surbanan with a cooler out to the front of Gregory gym to meet the 9 participants at 7:45am.

We left around 8:15am once everyone had filled their water bottles and went to the bathroom.  I drove a Suburban with five participants and Sarah R (but no trailer) out through Burnet to Longhorn Cavern State Park.  We arrived at the state park at 9:30am, and Manuel ran in to buy tickets for the 10am 'daily' tour while Jakub and I parked.  The Suburban was very comfortable to drive, and surprisingly didn't feel as large as it actually is.

Longhorn Caverns is the only Texas state park ran by a concessionaire.  Our group of about 30 people were led through the cave by a colorful woman named Amy.  She was entertaining with her jokes and stories.  The cave itself was flat and relatively close to the surface.  Apparently you can go on a 'Wild Cave' tour in which you essentially crawl below parts of the path we walked on.  Overall, I left the tour with a poor feeling of the park.  During the tour we learned that some of the bigger rooms in the cave (which were used as a restaurant, bar, and dance room in the 1920s) are now often used for large events like concerts and weddings.  I even saw folding tables and chairs being stored in some side tunnels of the cave.  The flooring of the cave was paved, and there was lighting and intercoms (including large power boxes) throughout the cave.  Some of these were done before Longhorn Cavern became a state park.  But some of these 'improvements' were done since (like additional lighting and intercoms), which just seems wrong.  Once a park is a state park, it should either be maintained as is or returned to its natural or historical state.  Neither was done here, and I left feeling like I had been to a tourist trap that was doing more harm than good.  I guess Longhorn Cavern might introduce people to nature and state parks that otherwise would not be introduced - but I doubt the introduction provided by Longhorn Cavern would encourage them to explore other state parks more.  The introduction given by our guide might cause them to come back for another tour (I felt like her talk was an advertisement for the 'Wild Cave' tour at points) or appreciate the work done by the CCC men - but there was no talk of protecting wildlife or nature outside of her comments on not touching the cave formations (yet they have large events in the cave, so one can only assume damage must occur with these large numbers of people) and on not throwing coins into a historical 'wishing well' since 'biologists told them this might not be healthy" for the endangered salamanders living in the spring under our walking path.  I left Carlesbad Caverns National Park with a similar feeling when we visited in November 2012 - it just seems that these caves could be protected/preserved in better ways while still allowing access to the public.

James right next to a bat! (photo by Manuel)

 Our group walking through the cavern (photo by Manuel)

After our tour ended, we walked over to explore a CCC observation tower on the other side of the parking lots.  The stairs leading to the top of the tower were pretty shaky, leading me to question their trustworthiness.  Then I drove the Suburban over to Inks Lake State Park, which was only 8 miles from Longhorn Caverns.

At the CCC observation tower (photo by Manuel)

I used my Texas State Park Pass (thanks Aunt Lois and Uncle Alan!) to get my entire car into Inks Lake State Park, while Jakub went into the entrance station and bought a new state park pass.  We parked by the boat ramp and unloaded equipment and pumped up the inflatable standup paddle boards (SHUBU - show up blow up brand) while the participants ate lunch, sunscreened, and prepared to get out on the water.  We quickly ate (I had two lunchables), sunscreened, and then helped everyone get out onto the water.

Manuel led us to Devil's Waterhole, with Sarah bringing up the rear and me in the middle.  Jakub and one participant came along a bit behind us as she seemed to be having a bit of trouble (she said she fell in the water three time).  I saw lots of turtles out sunning during our paddle.  The park rents canoes and kayaks, so there were a number of people out using these on the lake too.  Once at Devil's Waterhole we pulled our boards on shore and went for a short walk up river.  Jakub and Sarah stayed behind to watch the paddleboards.  Manuel said there was a waterfall, but since the river level was lower than when he previously visited, it was not very impressive.  I carried the small first aid kit on this hike, but judging from what I could see through the clear window of the dry-bag, I'm not sure it would have been helpful for much besides small cuts, headaches, or perhaps heat exhaustion.  I finished my entire 1L Nalgene on the paddle out and the hike, so I probably should have brought more than 1L on the lake with me.  At least I knew I had another one in the car.

Paddling on Inks Lake (photo by Manuel)

We pulled our SUPs on shore before going to explore (photo by Manuel)

Carrying the little first aid kit on our short hike (photo by Manuel)

Most of our group relaxing in the water, just above the waterfall (photo by Manuel)

It was 3:30pm when we returned to the paddleboards, so we had to paddle back without taking time to swim at Devil's Waterhole.  The paddle back was pretty easy since the wind was pushing us towards the boat dock.  Once we landed, I got the paddle bag, pumps bag, and life jacket rope from the trailer.  We took the fins off of the inflatable paddleboards, deflated them, and put everything in the trailer except the five hard paddleboards which we strapped down on the trailer.

We left Inks Lake around 4:15pm, while let us arrive back on campus around 5:30pm.  Sarah R drove my car back, so I got to sit back and relax and enjoy the pretty Texas wildflowers on the sides of many of the roads.

We unloaded everything once we returned, and I filled out the guide trip report.  I noted my feelings about Longhorn Cavern, although I made sure I noted that these were my opinions and not necessarily the opinions of the other guides.  The participants gave the trip good reviews, with the main comments being that (1) the trip should have lasted longer - like until 7pm, (2) real caving would be better than a walking cave tour, and (3) they would have preferred to spend more time at the lake and less time at the cave.

Overall, it was a nice trip.  It was a fun group of participants (I actually knew one - Ben - through my friend Heather) and a good group of guides.  Since I rode with Sarah both ways, I got to know her better which was enjoyable and pretty cool.  I also enjoyed paddle boarding and the short hike at Devil's Waterhole, but would have enjoyed spending more time doing both. One of my comments on the guide trip report was that perhaps we should offer this as just an Inks Lake trip in the future, perhaps hiking in the morning and standup paddle boarding in the afternoon.