Over the weekend, my mother and I took our dogs out to the Lone Star Hiking Trail in east Texas – we actually did a part of the LSHT and a part of Little Lake Creek Loop (which is the “& more”.) I’ve been out on this trail a couple of times, and even got lost in this same area once before. Really, I was misplaced and naive about the amount of knowledge required to undertake a backpacking trip in a national forest. Since then, I’ve taken a navigation course and started using Gaia GPS to track my routes. We even got misplaced at the beginning this time but were able to meet up with the trail pretty quickly thanks to our GPS app! All that said, this was still a learning experience for me.
First, it was wet and muddy and cold. The temps were in the mid-40s on Saturday, so we starting in long-sleeved shirts + fleece jackets. We wore those the entire day; we got drizzled on a little, but no serious rain. The challenge, though, was that over 50% of our trail was ankle-deep mud and water. My boots and socks were soaked through within 30 minutes of starting on Saturday morning, and they still aren’t dry on Tuesday. I’m not sure that I’ll EVER get all of the mud out of my boots! This also meant that it was a challenge to find dry places to sleep – we did find a decent area to camp, though it was surrounded by briars (I have some 3 dozen briar cuts on my legs and hands, plus they got my fancy sleeping quilt in one spot) and anywhere we tread for very long became muddy, so we couldn’t enter the tents very often for fear of sinking a few inches, and my tent would barely stay standing because the dirt was so loose. Even with all of this, though, it was a really fun trip.
This was my first backpacking trip with a campfire. Normally I’m in state parks where it isn’t allowed, but as long as there isn’t a burn ban, we’re okay out here. And as wet as it was, it was a pretty pitiful fire. We kept it going for a few hours and it gave us time to chat and wind down with the pups. I made broccoli, rice, and beef in my Keith Titanium Multifunctional Cooker – it turned out amazing, and it was great to have a hot dinner after a cold hike and before a cold night. We ended up in our tents by 6:30PM, as it was getting dark and we were exhausted and cold. I fell asleep within 30 minutes and slept like a rock until about 9:30 when some guys came down a logging road with their headlamps on. Violet did pretty well in the tent until about 4:45 in the morning when a stake came loose and the tent started collapsing on her side. Note to self: get some bigger stakes for loose soil.
The dogs has so much fun – Jack, my mom’s boxer, has never been backpacking or slept in a tent, so this was an entirely new experience for him. Violet has never been in a national forest (we’ve only done easy state parks so far), so this was the most wild place she was going to experience with me. She’s a delicate flower when it comes to her feet, but she stomped through the mud and water like it was her birthday. She rolled around in the leaves and dug holes in the leaves and dirt. They barked at strangers and growled at other dogs, but they overall did really great when it came to people passing us on the trail. Violet’s the worst about it, of course! The best part is how great they did on the scary parts – we had a couple of 6 to 8-feet deep ravines that had water in the bottom. They were steep, with minimal in the way of hand and footholds. But Violet must be part mountain goat because she climbs right down, scopes out the terrain, and heads straight up, giving me a little extra pull to claw my way up the other side. I was so freakin’ proud of her. Honestly, she amazes me every time I take her outdoors. We need to do it more, and that is one of my intentions for the year. We made it 6 miles on Saturday, then had an easy 1 mile hike out on Sunday. It was still wet and muddy, with us passing through some swampy areas and another deep ravine (this one had steps!)
The whole trip was such a blast. Mom and I will do this again, though I think we’re going to shoot for a less rainy season. I will take Violet out again at the latest in April, earliest in March. And we’re investing in a pair of waterproof boots after this venture! I love my Xero Shoes Daylite Hikers, but I would have killed for a pair of boots to keep my feet reasonably dry. Lessons learned!
Miranda Writes 