Hiking 09.23.2021

[Chris]

Been a while since I posted my hiking explorations. It's not that I'm not hiking, I am, but mostly around the subdivision, exploring the streets. I can plot out various distances in Google Maps, 1 mile, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3. And depending on how I feel, how hot or humid it is, hike longer or shorter. I've gone from hiking once every three days to hiking 2 to 3 days in a row, and then taking a day off to deal with allergies.

Exploring Google Maps I found a wooded area I might explore to the West of me.



To the bottom right, below the bridge, is a sports park. I figured I could park there, hike under the bridge and up the creek bed and then swing west and south along a dirt road and back to the street. I checked it out Saturday and found a security guard chacking parking tags and to-away signs. So Monday I went to the homeowner's office, on the bottom left of the map. A very nice woman issued me a tag and we talked about hiking and she said they maintain a trail behind the office and that I can park at the office no tag and any time day or night. She also explained the land beyond that and along the creek bed belonged to a horse riding stable.

So this morning 7 am I drove up to the office and parked and started here.



False start, ended up blocked off. To the left of me was a dog park so I walked around that and found the real trail. It looked pretty well marked and maintained.



A cold front had come through and the temps were in the 50s so compared to the summer morning temps in the 70s it felt cold. Figured I'd warm up.

The trail is quite pleasant compared to hiking streets and sidewalks.



I reached a point where an unmaintained trail veered left. I thought maybe it would lead to the dirt road visible on the map.



It sort of did but ended at a fence. The road was just beyond. I probably could have squeezed through the barbed wire but thought better of it. Maybe I'll go to the ranch and ask the owner for permission.



So back to the maintained trail. You can see they use weed killer, oh well.



A ways down the trail I came close to the fence again. I could make out what looked like large rusty spokes and some trash.



On closer inspection, it looked like an old wagon of sorts and figures set up for Halloween.



Interesting. Back to the trail.



I was thinking about the wagon and figures when I twisted my ankle and fell banging a knee (still sore!).

Here the trail takes a dip into a little creek bed.



About that time the sun had risen.



The trail swung around back toward civilization.



Me in the shadows of the rising sun.



Just an opening off the trail.



And back at the trailhead just east of the homeowner's office.



Here, BTW, is the trailhead just west of the office.



I'll have to thank that woman in the office for telling me about the trail. It was a real pleasant hike. Maybe a mile.

The approximate trail.



The larger area I'd like to explore.

[donttread]

Been a while since I posted my hiking explorations. It's not that I'm not hiking, I am, but mostly around the subdivision, exploring the streets. I can plot out various distances in Google Maps, 1 mile, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3. And depending on how I feel, how hot or humid it is, hike longer or shorter. I've gone from hiking once every three days to hiking 2 to 3 days in a row, and then taking a day off to deal with allergies.

Exploring Google Maps I found a wooded area I might explore to the West of me.



To the bottom right, below the bridge, is a sports park. I figured I could park there, hike under the bridge and up the creek bed and then swing west and south along a dirt road and back to the street. I checked it out Saturday and found a security guard chacking parking tags and to-away signs. So Monday I went to the homeowner's office, on the bottom left of the map. A very nice woman issued me a tag and we talked about hiking and she said they maintain a trail behind the office and that I can park at the office no tag and any time day or night. She also explained the land beyond that and along the creek bed belonged to a horse riding stable.

So this morning 7 am I drove up to the office and parked and started here.



False start, ended up blocked off. To the left of me was a dog park so I walked around that and found the real trail. It looked pretty well marked and maintained.



A cold front had come through and the temps were in the 50s so compared to the summer morning temps in the 70s it felt cold. Figured I'd warm up.

The trail is quite pleasant compared to hiking streets and sidewalks.



I reached a point where an unmaintained trail veered left. I thought maybe it would lead to the dirt road visible on the map.



It sort of did but ended at a fence. The road was just beyond. I probably could have squeezed through the barbed wire but thought better of it. Maybe I'll go to the ranch and ask the owner for permission.



So back to the maintained trail. You can see they use weed killer, oh well.



A ways down the trail I came close to the fence again. I could make out what looked like large rusty spokes and some trash.



On closer inspection, it looked like an old wagon of sorts and figures set up for Halloween.



Interesting. Back to the trail.



I was thinking about the wagon and figures when I twisted my ankle and fell banging a knee (still sore!).

Here the trail takes a dip into a little creek bed.



About that time the sun had risen.



The trail swung around back toward civilization.



Me in the shadows of the rising sun.



Just an opening off the trail.



And back at the trailhead just east of the homeowner's office.



Here, BTW, is the trailhead just west of the office.



I'll have to thank that woman in the office for telling me about the trail. It was a real pleasant hike. Maybe a mile.

The approximate trail.



The larger area I'd like to explore.

I take it you are in the south? Or just like it cool?

[Chris]

I take it you are in the south? Or just like it cool?

San Antonio where the summers are hot.

[Peter1469]

Cool pics.

[Chris]

Cool pics.

The woods around here are all second growth. To build and develop San Antonio in its early year, they stripped the land of first growth trees. The subdivision I live in is carved out of the second growth, thankfully left wooded as much as possible, so even walking the streets here is pleasant.

[bdtex]

Good stuff. I like doing that at battlefield parks when I get a chance. When I go on group tours they gotta keep an eye on me 'cause I'll wander off.

[Peter1469]

Good stuff. I like doing that at battlefield parks when I get a chance. When I go on group tours they gotta keep an eye on me 'cause I'll wander off.

I went to the Manassas anniversary a couple of months ago. But I didn't join one of the tours. Walked around on my own and talked to the reenactors. I have been there several times. It is only about 20 miles from me.

[Chris]

That cold front sure is welcome. Got up early to go walk but my allergies had kicked in, with a headache, a sign of a possible sinus infection. So I decided not to go today. Posted on the forum, drank a cup of coffee, ate breakfast, felt better and at around 9 am it was still in the 60s! So returned to the trail by the office, in reverse, another great walk.

Only flowers I saw were two of these. I think it's an Engelmann Daisy. Focus poor.

[Chris]

Hiked north of my house this morning. Google maps shows the streets, but terrain view still shows it all second-growth woods, that for housing has been pretty much cleared away. You can see in the picture, the right is untouched, fenced-off private, some old houses back in there. The right is a lot of construction, from framing to almost finished. You hear hammering, and see construction workers arriving for the day, and no other people or vehicles. Got my hike in between thunderstorms. In the 70s with a good westerly breeze. You get a sense of big sky Texas at the top of a rise--the picture doesn't do it justice.

[Chris]

From 10.05.2021, back on the homeowner's trail, milkweed:



The earlier Daisy were gone.