Sign me up.
I'm thinking 4C trail in Davy Crockett NF. Not a terribly strenuous hike, but a reasonable one. More developed campgrounds to sleep in.
Is the weekend after Big Bend okay? 19th-21st?
Okay with me.
Before this is set in stone, note that the dates for Big Bend have been changed.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
I have a potential conflict, but it's out of my hands, and I won't know anything for a couple of months. Gotta love it.
Nothing is gonna be perfect for everyone...all you can do is pick a time, and go with it.
Dave
"Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton
We can try just need dates so we can check the schedules
I am especially glad to hear that you are recovering! I have done some East Texas hanging along Village Creek and on Goat Island at Caddo Lake.
Welcome back to outdoor activities and to the hanging community!
I don't know how to edit the post title to include the dates, but I'm going to call this one for the 19th-21st of March. Friday-Sunday.
Here's a map of the trail I was able to track down. It's almost 20 miles from end to end. As such, I don't think it'd be doable to do the entire out-and-back in a weekend. It would be a good idea to park a couple vehicles at the Neches Bluff to shuttle everyone at the end. FYI, parking at Ratcliff Lake would be $3/night.
I am reading some tidbits in a couple spots that water availability is sketchy along this trail. There are places with water, but apparently it's not recommended to filter from them since there is chemical runoff. I will need to do a little more reading to find the exact situation here.
Ratcliff is a very nice area for camping. There are several trails around the park that weave in and around the 4c. Water is very sketchy on the 4c and it will need to be filtered (lot of tannin in it).
My son and I might be able to make it. Our Scout troop is going to Enchanted Rock over by Austin the first weekend of Spring Break (15-19).
The 4c is not really a hike you can do in a day (and enjoy it), but we do plan to do it in Feb (top to bottom) to finish off one last requirement for Hiking MB.
We've had a lot of rain this winter so the river is up and floating the Neches is doable if things continue as they have lately. The bluffs are supposed to be very nice but I've not seen those yet. I'll check with a co-worker who has floated that area recently. There is also a very nice, small lake there at the park for those that what to do a little paddlin around.
Tango61
It's good to know that there are other trails in the area that loop around the rec area. I was not able to find maps of them online.
I was realistically anticipating 2 days to do this one. Meet up at Ratcliff Lake and hang out on night 1, with hiking to commence the following morning. With the terrain around here, I figured 10mi/day wouldn't be that bad. I'll have to work up to it, but I recently did 7 miles in just an afternoon.
Oh yes, the rivers are REALLY high right now. I was down in the Angelina Forest just yesterday at Boykin Springs doing some dayhiking and there was water everywhere. I had to cross the Angelina River to get there from where I live, and it was FULL...hard to tell where the main channel usually is. I didn't quite make it to the Neches, but I imagine it looked the same.
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