I decided to take Thanksgiving week off and hike part of the Lone Star Trail.  It’s a 100 mile trail north of Houston.  I had intended to do about 60 miles over 4 days but had to adjust due to trail conditions.

The trail is mostly tree covered and flat.  The route I took was a southern loop that ended up to be seldom used and I had to do a lot of bush whacking.  It was hunting season so it required that I camp in designated camping locations.  The camping spot I wanted was 18 miles away at the junction of the southern loop and main trail.  I had gotten to the trailhead around 10:30am, and this time of year it gets dark around 5:30pm so I needed to move quickly to reach the campsite.

I was right on time until mile 15, when the trail started to get really soggy.  It eventually turned into a swamp and after trying unsuccessfully to circumvent, I ended up wading through a foot of water for about a half of mile.

After the water, I got to camp right at sunset.  I quickly set my tent up, cooked dinner, and pumped water.  It was pitch black in the forest and getting cold fast.  I awoke the next morning to temperatures in the 30’s but a sunny day.

My hike was only 9 miles that day.  I followed the shoreline of a large lake to a state park campground.  The campground was packed with car-campers so I walked an additional mile to the overflow field.  It was mostly open, but there were a few “mega camps” of good ole’ boys that had set up for hunting season.  It was a lazy afternoon of reading and listening to their music.  The night was uneventful except for an early morning entry of a few loud drunks.

The next morning, I left by 7:30 and hiked 20 miles to the start in just over 6 hours.  I was back in Austin by 5pm that day.  My total trip was close to 50 miles.