Starting out the supposed 28 mile hike around Lake Georgetown at 1:00 in the afternoon was probably not the brightest thing to do but we were determined that rain (as predicted) or shine (as happened) we were going to do this thee day, two nights out, hike as a prep for the Appalachian Trail [AT] that we hope to hike in 2017. We kept our smiles on even when we saw that the trail that we hoped to be soft forest earth was actually small hard and pointed rocking rocks. After all, much of the 2200 miles of the AT is reportedly rocky trail.
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Our first almost mishap was when I stopped for a rest at a nice cliff with a great view of the lake and as sitting down the weight of my pack almost threw me over the cliff.
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If you look closely, you can see our next almost mishap. One more step and Bob would have had his foot on the head of this now retreating creature or the mouth of the little fellow firmly attached to his ankle. Wheew!
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Close up
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The views were beautiful whether it was the forest, the plain, the wildflowers, or the lakes.
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We saw prints of what I thought could be a bobcat, many deer prints, and even more raccoon prints. We had four separate sightings of deer, one sighting of a bunny, the rattlesnake, of course and good long look of it while it starred us down, and then many varied birds and butterflies. We only caught a picture of the rattlesnake and that only as it was slithering under the brush. Muffin could not have lived through this trail without ruining her poor feet so we left her with a neighbor.
We were energetic at first.
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Hot and miserable at times and the little fan I carried was no substitute for a nice breeze. We did get some very nice breezes, from time to time, and we thanked our Lord for every single one.
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Occasionally the trail was clearly marked. Generally, these signs would be where the trail was obvious. Where there was some question as to which way to go, there were no signs and twice we went off track and added to our mileage. I am sure our hike was the at least 28 miles this loop claimed on some maps rather than only the 26.5 mile trail of which were certain.
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We stopped the first day early after only 6.5 miles. It was finally getting cool enough to walk but we were beat. Hiking off trail to the little primitive campground called Sawyer also added many feet to our hike and much soreness to our feet. We were just too hot and tired to be hungry. Sawyer Primitive Camp...no usable outhouse, just a picnic table.
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There was a wonderful breeze that night. Had we been sure it wouldn’t rain, we could have left our tarps off but rain was in the forecast.
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We set off the next morning with renewed vigor at about 5:30 in the morning. We were hoping to get lots of miles in before the sun was too high, then rest during the heat of the day, then hike again in the evening.
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Shortly before Camp Tejas we did resupply our water from the river with our filter system and I cooled my burning feet and pulled the burrs from our socks.
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Our getting off track was part of the reason we were running short on water before we got to our first good water resupply at Tejas Camp. We no longer looked so energetic.
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We thought perhaps these buzzards could smell death on us and were just waiting for us to fall. They were not bothered by our coming close.
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Until Bob shouted at them to see them take wing.
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However, at Tejas Camp we not only were able to resupply our water. Two lovely trail angels gave us each a quart of Gatorade. Trail magic is common on the Appalachian Trail but we certainly did not expect it on this hike. God is good and so are Nina and Cody. Never did a liquid ever go down so smooth. They also gave us a tube of sunscreen which may have saved our skins, so to speak, in more ways than the obvious.
I have a picture but will not post in a public forum.
Did we make it? Check out the next post.
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