Camping!
So, a friend and I got away for a much needed camping trip this weekend! Had so much fun!!!
Below, is a description of the trip and a ton of pics... right now they're just pics of me, because I need to check to make sure it's okay with her before I plaster her image all over the internet. But, chances are there'll be more to come, and maybe some video as well!
Background:
We left Houston 12:30 Saturday afternoon, and headed towards Perdernales Falls State Park, outside of Austin, right around a three and a half hour drive away from home sweet home.
The park is wonderful, it feels very remote. When you turn into the main entrance there's a scenic, hilly, winding, two mile drive; just to get to the ranger/check in station. It's absolutely beautiful!
Once there, we signed up for a primitive camping spot.
Primitive camping at Perdernales is amazing! You park your car just down from the ranger station, and then hike up to the camping area. It's a gorgeous 2 mile hike, full of scenic bits and pieces of rugged Texas Hill Country.
With primitive camping, you carry all your gear with you, there's no running water, electricity, or ground fires. So, you'll need plenty of water, enough of everything to last you in case of emergency, and light weight easy to prepare food (By the way, major, major kudos and thanks to Fey for loaning us some gear!!!).
We loaded ourselves up... Packed in a tent, two sleeping bags, a sleeping pad, two packs with extra clothes (layers) just in case, a first aid kit, food, 2 gallons of water plus two filled 32 ounce portable containers for water, a flashlight, a head lamp (hands free light for the composting toliet), small portable water heater, and the park map. We left behind 2 spare gallons of water and a folding camp chair; just a short two mile hike away, if we ended up really needed it.
It had been extremley dry this season, the ranger was very careful to emphasize that ground fires were absolutely prohibited up in the back country. We saw what he meant when we started walking. This is Bee Creek. All dried up, only about a quarter of a mile into our hike. At that point it was around 4:30 pm. Still pretty light outside.
The sun began to set as we hiked. Norma got some wonderful picks of the sunset (I'll come back and edit them in when I get copies) and some video footage. By the time we got to the primitive camping area it was full dark. The camping area is non-designated sites, you can camp whereever you'd like as long as you stay above the bluffs. You have about a mile and a half, to choose from. There's a basic footpath, but aside from that you can wander at will, and find as remote a spot as pleases you.
We walked a ways, partially because I was trying to find the composting toliet (there's one available out there so you don't have to squat in the woods) and partially because I wanted to be away from the general populace. There were about ten other campers out there, besides us.
We found a nice little spot just above the bluffs, a tiny little clearing within earshot of a waterfall. We slept that night, serenaded by cricket song and the sounds of the river.
The stars were brillant. There were no lights to screw them up. It was beautiful; cool, crisp, just a little brezzy. We had dinner by starlight sitting on some flat rocks by the footpath: vegetarian lasagna, chicken breast with herbed mashed potatoes, and a freeze dried ice cream sandwich. All reconstitued camp food and surprisingly good!!
The next morning we rose early to hike. The was the view when you walked around the back side of the tent, the bluffs overlooking the Perdernales River about 6:30 am:
The first thing we did was hike down the bluffs to the river.
....I love chocolate covered espresso beans this much:
You could be here!
Once we had explored the river a bit, we climbed back up and followed the footpath along the bluffs.
Ocassionally we'd wander off the path. On one of those short forrays we found a small cave system that led down to the river without having to trek down the bluffs.
We climbed around in the caves for a bit, and then found they led to a wall and a small boulder perfect for outdoor rock climbing practice, a little fun there and then we climbed our way back up to the path via the wall and once again set out.
At the top of the path was a nice older couple starring into the caves we had just vacated. We showed them which one that had an opening down to the river, and they informed us they had seen what the lady thought was a big cat they'd flushed out of hiding, heading our way when we'd been down below. Could've been a cougar, bobcat, or coyote...she didn't get a good look at it. Whatever it was it was pretty scared of humans. I imagine if we'd seen it we'd have been equally scared of it.
Later we wandered off the beaten path again, and found more awesome scenic stuff. Whenever we'd wander far enough to potentially get lost, we'd leave a marking... a pile of rocks, an arrow scratched into the dirt, or take note of an odd rock formation, weird tree, so that we could find our way back again. There's a whole lot of nothing out there. Places like this are why it's good to venture off the path, though:
We stayed along the path long enough to find some ruins, just past Jones Spring. They weren't marked on the map. There wasn't much left but the front wall and doorway to what was maybe an old farmhouse, and just beyond it a tumbled down wall that ran maybe an acre or so back into the woods. The stone masonry reminded me of the ruins at Kreishe brewery out near La Grange, built by a german setter in the 1870's. I meant to ask a ranger who it belonged to, but forgot.
Near the summit of Tobacco Mountain, part of our six or so mile hike on Sunday.
We came back and ate. And then relaxed in camp for a bit, played with the cameras, until it was time to break camp (check out is at 2:00 pm).
Here's the back of our tent as seen coming up from a narrow "v" in the bluffs just behind our site. You can see our trash hanging, you have to hang it to keep it away from the animals. When we left , the area was spotless. No trace we'd ever been there.
The "v" isn't too steep... see there's a perfectly servicable tree to help us get down it:
Check out the drop off past the tree I'm standing in:
Around 1:00 or so, we'd packed up, and began to trek back to the car. I looked back on a rise to see Tobacco mountain which we'd climbed earlier in the day and snapped a quick shot:
We couldn't leave with out visiting the falls (other side of the park) so, after we packed the stuff back into the car, off we went.
Except... there were no falls. It had been a REALLY dry season:
There's usually water here!
If you look behind me in these next two shots you'll see the coolest rock formation A huge circle cut out of the rocks; worn down by water over the millenia, I suppose...
In the center of it there's a huge boulder that looks like it was forcefully jammed in there by some giant's hand. Torential floodwaters perhaps?
In the second picture you can just barely see people sitting in it... To give you some size perspective, there were four of them: a large adult and three children.
Anyways, It was amazingly fun!!! Can't wait until next trip!!!!
More pics forcoming!
Important Things I learned while camping:
Primitive camping rocks at Perdernales Falls!
For some reason it’s easier to find a large, rectangular, grey, concrete, bunker like structure (composting toilet) in the dark, then it is in the daylight…go figure.
It is unwise to violently shake (with the intention of mixing) just-add-water-for-a-‘gourmet’-meal style trail rations, without first resealing the bag. You will be wearing your supper.
If you’ve been hiking, mashed potatoes still taste good if they’re on your t-shirt sleeve; even if you’re not a big potato fan.
A ‘Jet Boil’ is a portable heater (www.jetboil.com …sold at REI, get yours today!!!) that uses a mix of propane/butane. It is small, lightweight, extremely portable, comes with a nifty pop off measuring cup (that can double as a bowl if you’re a genius like me and forget to bring plates), and will hold about 2 cups of water. You pop off the top and inside is a small can of fuel and the burner. Remove the plastic top from the fuel, gently attach the fuel (on the top is what looks like the valve stem of a tire) to the bottom of the burner, find a nice flat surface, turn the gas on (not all the way) and press the lighting mechanism. In about 90 seconds you’ll have boiling water for your just-add-water-for-a-‘gourmet’-meal style trail rations (…sold at REI, get yours today!). However, it is unwise to hold your face approximately 9 millimeters from the base of the jet boil when lighting it. You will lose eyebrow hair. Its okay, they were blonde and needed to go anyways…but I think I prefer plucking to singeing.
Freeze dried ice cream sandwiches ROCK.
Cells phones get good reception on top of mountains (well okay…Texas Hill Country Mountains… which are rolling plains for everyone else). That’s probably the only place in Perdernales your cell phone will get reception.
Chocolate covered espresso beans are an appropriate breakfast coffee substitute, and easier than singeing eyebrow hair at 6:00 am… What? Can you boil water at 6:00 am?