Adventurenet.net

Sunday January 28, 2024 Austin, Texas. Sunny, 66° F (19° C). 4:33 pm

Note to self, Alt+0176 is the “degree symbol.” (On Windows if you hold Alt, press “0176” and then release alt, the symbol will appear). It’s much easier to type out the temperature when I post updates from my phone.

Whew, spent Saturday the 27th on a camping trip and my body has opinions about the choices that were made.

Let us start from the beginning.

The night before going out camping I prepared a list of items we would want to bring.

I have a habit of forgetting items like pillows so we thought it would be best to start with a list.

I also have a Subaru camping items checklist that I picked up at REI that I also used to verify the items on my existing list.

I still forgot a few things.

I need to make my own running list that I can just keep on my phone or print out, maybe.

No Saturday the 27th I wake up around 8 am and prepare that remaining items.

Lauri also wakes up and we make several trips to the car with “the goods.”

The big warm blanket that was purchased for the solo camping trip is the most important item as pictured here behind me.

Buescher State Park.

Upon arrival we poke around the ranger HQ, make a few purchases, gather our maps (camp sites map & hiking trail map) and we head to our spot to get set up for the day.

It is a good spot, though the parking is a bit tough.

There are few parking spaces for this area as this stretch of campsites goes five deep, but only has parking for two cars.

The two spots were filled by three vehicles & a trailer for the Boy Scout group in the next campsite down from us.

The leaders of this group were very nice and promised to us that if we had any issues we could discuss it with them and they would keep the children from being too rowdy.

The kids were fine.

Other adults in the park?

Not as much.

We’ll get to that.

My wife Lauri did not camp much as a kid and so I always want to involve her in the joys of camping.

Lauri helps set up the tent and then moves on to knitting.

During this time I attempt a thing I heard about in a YouTube video once.

This YouTube video mentioned that the U.S. Military at one point added pencil sharpeners to soldier’s travel kits as they can be used to make fire kindling.

The cheap pencil sharpeners. Those plastic ones with a razer screwed in place.

The idea being that you can insert a stick and twist and get thin bits of wood which are useful in starting a fire.

Seems to work well.

I will get the fire started later.

First a peek around the area and then off to hiking.

I love these old bathrooms with the included showers.

It really feels like it would be possible to live here with these.

The bathrooms are heated and with the included outlets and showers someone could really spend some time at the park.

I also love the old aesthetic.

I don’t know if these were built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) which mostly operated in the 1930s, but I do not believe they were built recently.

The group pavilion in our campsite I am certain was built by the CCC as stone structures at these parks tend to be.

Note the blocked off fireplace in this image.

This pavilion is meant to be rented and I wonder if this wooden device is meant to be removed during rental or if it is in place permanently to block people from climbing in there.

On the opposite side of this chimney is what looks like a pizza oven, but where a metal plate once rested has been filled in with concrete. (Apologies for the lack of a picture).

And then there is this structure just outside of the building.

I do not know what this is.

Back at our campsite Lauri and I chat about how we want to spend the day and I take a picture of this tree that has vines wrapped around it.

During our chat we realize that we did not bring any cups and so the plan is to visit the camp HQ again to purchase a mug for coffee in the morning and also to take a quick peek around the park before heading off to hike.

The deer here seem to be accustomed to humans based on how close we were able to get before they decided it was time to run away.

Off to hike.

About a mile drive up a small road and there should be a parking area to the right.

There is and it has full sized Lincoln log structures built to act as parking spots which I bump with the nose of the car and get made fun of by Lauri.

Oops.

But we are here and it is time to try out hiking poles!

There is a long loop from this part of the park that is four miles long with several places to take a shortcut to the other side of the loop if it is taking too long.

As always, I bring my water bottle, but new to the adventure is the hiking poles.

First item to note: this is one of the parts of Texas that has red dirt due to the iron content.

Second item of note is that there are also rocks that have copper content in them and thus turn green.

And here is a rock that I assume is not native to the area, but I took a picture of it anyway.

The hiking trail that we went on is four miles in length and called Pine Gulch Trail (hiking map link).

This trail has some hills and runs loosely parallel to Park Road 1C

Speaking of Park Road 1C there is a private residence off of this road.

Luckily it is well marked, but I can only imagine how frustrating that must be to have cars pulling up to your home that think they are in a public park still.

There is also a residence within the park. I do not know who lives in it, but it is a park employee.

This hike went much faster than most hikes go for me.

I often stop to take pictures or look up bugs or trees, but my focus during this hike were on two things.

One: Learning to use the hiking poles and two: managing my water bottle which is meant to be carried while also handling the hiking poles.

I did not realize how much of a pain this would be.

I do enjoy the hiking poles, but there is more that I also need to learn.

I will have to cut the water bottle from the hiking kit or I will need to bring a backpack along to carry it.

I did bring a clip which I used to attach the water bottle to my belt on the side and on the back, but it was heavy, swinging and tried desperately to pull my pants down.

Not a great solution.

I ended up carrying it in my hands even though it was cumbersome to manage at the same time as the hiking poles.

I am not comfortable going on a hike in the woods without water.

When it comes to trying out a new item there is always the discussion of cost versus use.

Should I trust that I will use this often and invest in a high end item?

Or should I go cheap so that I can see if this is an item that I enjoy and after some testing and practice will I know how best to make the right purchase.

One one hand it could be that the whole thing is a waste of money as I do not enjoy the new item or it could also be that I love it, but only use the cheap one once or twice before replacing it with a better item thus potentially wasting the money on the first purchase.

These hiking poles that we used are what I would consider cheap onese.

We purchased these for about thirty dollars at Costco as a way to test if these are something that we think we might enjoy.

We decided that we do like them and we plan to include them in future hikes, though there is more for us to learn.

For one, we certainly felt that we were able to move longer distances due to the reduced wear on our legs.

I don’t want to say we were moving faster, but we were taking less breaks and therefore able to go longer distances before stopping.

During this hike I only took one break to sit down for a few minutes.

The poles were also really great for giving extra stability when attempting to cross bits of water.

It is harder to Sasquatch with them, though.

Some of the larger water areas it felt like I was using the poles like a vaulter would.

I am sure that this is not a good practice.

I am beginning to see what folks are talking about when they discuss trail etiquette.

Deciding when to pass people and when to let folks pass can be a bit stressful.

There was one lady who was not giving us room to pass and there was a couple that we were taking turns passing us and us passing them.

We did time our breaks and photos with trying to stay on side of this couple so the we did not need to continue to pass each other throughout this hike.

No one listening to music on a speaker, which was nice.

Thais is one of my pet peeves.

There are less cacti here than I am used to seeing in Texas.

Here is a picture of Lauri taking a picture.

And this is that picture she was taking.

And this is a picture that I took by reaching over her and taking my own.

Whose is better?

(I’m kidding. Her picture is better).

Another reason to bring a backpack besides the water situation is that I did not have my macro lens on me to get an image of this slug.

“Type, type, type. Click. Click. Type, type, type, type.” – Lauri watching me write right now. (5:38 pm)

The biggest frustration that I had with the hiking poles is that because they are new to me, I spent most of this hike watching the ground and noting where I was placing the poles.

I did not get to enjoy the view as much and while this is a disappointment, I am satisfied with what I learned about hiking poles and what I need to learn more about.

For example, should my thumb be over the top of the pole?

Should the poles stay in front of and parallel to me?

Is putting them behind me a bit like how a skier uses skiing poles acceptable?

Should the poles swing with every step or is every second or third step okay?

For a moment I was only using one as more of a cane and this was helpful and also allowed me to carry my water bottle easier, I could feel that it was better to use both poles and that a hiking stick is not for me when the option of hiking poles is available.

I learned a lot, but there is more to learn. About hiking poles. This is not an allegory about life.

Probably.

Also there was a trailhead at one point that was the wrong colors for some reason.

I resorted to using my phone to make sure we hadn’t been turned around.

Two yellow arrows for the red trail. Weird.

One confusing trail head.

Two people.

Four hiking poles.

Four miles.

Back to our campsite to start a fire and prepare food.

Now would be a good time to mention the things we should have brought.

1. The hotdogs we had planned to eat.
2. Yoga mats for insulation when sleeping in the tent.
3. Cups.
4. Antacids.

As I began to prep the fire with newspaper for kindling I remembered that I had the stick shavings.

I’ll be honest. I didn’t really use the shavings.

I did toss them in with the plan of trying to use them but they were small and set directly onto wet sand and I had newspapers which are a much better source for starting a fire.

I did not bring any lighter fluid, but the fire had no issues getting started.

It is a good day.

I will need to clean my shoes tomorrow.

While the fire is getting started, let’s take some pictures with ranger bear.

Ranger bear is happy.

So is Lauri.

Also, I thought we had three chairs in the trunk of the car, but I was only able to find this one. I need to find the other two chairs and return them to the vehicle.

Ranger bear by the fire.

Ranger bear in a tree.

See her?

Ranger bear surveying our meal prep.

Ranger bear watching over us at night.

“Good night sweet campers.” – Ranger bear, 2024.

Back to the fire!

Hot dogs, chili, baked potatoes.

See? This is why I need antacids when I go camping.

As for plates, we brought reusable food storage items so that we would not need to spend more money or create more waste.

Also in this picture is cornbread that we prepared the night before and warmed up a bit over the fire.

Oh. I forgot to mention the avacado.

We forgot to bring the hotdogs that we purchased and since there was a HEB grocery store fifteen minutes away I drove to the wrong HEB that was further away to bring some back.

During this trip I grabbed the two potatoes and this avacado.

One more small tangent about this trip to the wrong HEB in La Grange I went to the self checkout area and needed an employee to finger print scan their approval of my beer purchase.

I asked the nice employee how she was doing and she said “Ugh! Exhausting.” to which I replied “Why, what’s going on?” and in the sweetest Texas way she put her hands on me and said “Not everyone is patient.”

This is my favorite part about Texas. Striking up nice conversations with strangers.

What a delightful human.

Right! With the main course completed it is time for desert which is Johnny-Cakes.

This is a recipe found by Lauri from the 1800s.

As she is a big fan of the Little House On The Prairie books and television show, we thought this would be a fun addition.

This is cornmeal, salt & sugar mixed together.

It is cooked by adding boiling water and then pan frying like pancakes.

Uh. These are okay.

They’re interesting and if you can get them crispy and sweet they are nice.

The water to dry-mix ratio was a bit off and it was hard to correct for as these are not the same as pancakes.

We are also out of maple syrup and the alternatives we brough of Stroopwafel syrup and honey that is no longer runny did not help.

The boiling water cooks the corn meal and then pan frying it gives it a better texture.

It’s not bad and for how simple & cheap it is, I am happy to be aware of this recipe, but I think that I will stick to flour pancakes and cornbread.

Note that it is now beginning to get dark.

Another item that we purchased from the park HQ was one of those packets that changes the color of the fire.

It was time to toss it in.

This picture does not do the color change justice.

I assure it was there and that it was delightful.

De. Light. Ful.

Time to search for bugs with the black light.

Below is a slideshow of the many millipedes that I found around camp.

During our time tending to the fire in the darkness Lauri & I had many conversations.

One of which is her view that camping does not require sleeping in a tent.

Lauri believes that one can go to a park, cook, have fun, hike and then return home to sleep in a bed surrounded by cats.

As we were only an hour away from home, she is not wrong.

Most state parks lock the gates at 10pm and reopen at 6am.

I never did ask if this was the case at this park.

They certainly had gates, but with that private residence I do not know if this changes the locking system.

The house is not within the gates, but it does cut off one of the ways to get out of the area.

During this time I wrote a postcard to Tony. (I need to find that so I can put it in the outgoing mail for tomorrow).

Lauri also discussed her desire to go to bed to which I told her “This is the mistake that I made on January 6th when I went to bed around 6pm when it got dark. I woke up at 3am bored and had to break down my tent in the dark without setting off the car alarm… I set off the car alarm.

So I suggested to Lauri that was stay up and tend to the fire so that we do not wake up too early.

She agreed, but at one point she said to me “Okay, boomer.” and this would not stand.

Later in the conversation when she was acting like an old lady I said “Okay, boomer. Cover up your belly button and eat s’mores.” to which she replied “Y’know what? Sometimes you’re a real Seventh Day Adventist.”

I grew up Seventh Day Adventist. She is teasing me here.

It was a sick burn.

I am treating the wound now.

When she again expressed her boredom I handed her a nice long stick and told her to tend to the fire.

Watching and tending to the fire is where the enjoyment is when sitting around the fire and I thought that this would help.

It did, but at several points she lit the stick on fire and tried to put it out before I noticed.

I noticed.

But eventually it was time to put out the fire and head to bed.

I tested out the night picture mode on my phone for a comparison inside of the tent.

Time to prepare for the evening.

Upon returning to the tent Lauri alerted me to the raccoon that had been waiting for us to retire so that it could explore our camping area for food.

We had put all of our food items in the trunk of the car, so we did not contribute to the delinquency of this stripped thief.

We prepared for bed.

So here is where it gets weird.

There were obnoxious & loud drunks.

On top of this it was also colder than we had expected.

Between the cold, no insulation below us (other than some blankets) and the drunk asses it felt like we got no sleep.

It was a miserable night and this is now how these camping trips usually go for me.

I love to sleep in the cold.

Once I am able to clock out of consciousness for the evening it is like being in hibernation. The deepest sleep I have ever had.

Unfortunately on this evening the initial falling asleep was just too difficult.

It really felt like I was laying there awake all night, but at 5:30am Lauri woke me up and suggested that we prepare to leave when the gates open at 6am.

I counter-suggested that we stay in bed until closer to 6am so that we would not be uncovered and cold for as long while tearing down our campsite.

About twenty minutes later we got up and set to work.

We made our first trip to the vehicle carrying as much as we could

We started the car, warmed up and then completed our campsite tear down.

After this we brushed our teeth again and left.

This is where it gets a bit odd.

It truly felt like we slept like crap.

Our health tracking apps told a different story

We both have sleep trackers on our smart watches and both of our devices recorded a decent night’s sleep.

There were interruptions, sure, but we got 6+ hours.

For example, I recorded seven and a half hours of sleep.

I still took a nap when we got home.

But the ride home also had one small adventure.

I forgot that my coffee drink was in the trunk with the food that we did not want to leave to the wild animals and so I was on the hunt for a good place to pull over so that I could retrieve this drink.

We found a Buc-ee’s.

As a former truck driver it pisses me off a little bit that they don’t allow semi-truck into these gas stations, but on the flip side they pay their employees well so I figure this is a balance and that Buc-ee’s is okay.

Some small meals & postcards purchased and we completed our trip home.

And now I must learn how to deal with my stinky feet.

They make powders and sprays for this, right?

I need to buy hiking shoes.

Penny says “Hi.”