Practice Hike

Mary "Titmouse", Stephanie "Tundra", and I "Flame" traveled to Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve yesterday to do a "practice hike" with our loaded backpacks.  What a surprisingly beautiful and challenging terrain to hike in right on the edge of the city of Dallas with great views of Joe Pool Lake in the west!

Today was a learning curve for Titmouse and Tundra in hoisting their loaded packs, how to dress for hiking, what to carry and not to carry, and on and on.  So many little details to consider when it comes to backpacking and "living" in the outdoors!

 First of all, "How do I hoist this thing onto my back"?

 "Is everything I might need to survive really in my backpack"?

 "O.K. Here I go!  Let me put this backpack on!"

                                  "I almost have it!"

               "What do I do with all these buckles and straps"?

We are on the trail by 8:15 a.m. and it is warm and very humid.

As any of you who know me, you know that when it comes to technology I am really a dinosaur.  However, most of my friends are very tech-savvy!  Titmouse pulls a tiny GPS gadget out of her pocket and is trying to figure it out to see if she wants carry it on our upcoming hike on the O.N.R.T.

We begin our hike today along the Cedar Break Trail which is rated as "moderate-difficult".  It is very well maintained with lots of ascents and descents and several nice wooden bridges for when there is water running in these little streams.  They are all dry today though.

                      The trails are littered with rocks...

                              ...and lots of tree roots......

...and even double-bridges!

As I said the day was warm and extremely humid and the many rugged ups and downs were quite challenging, especially for "new" backpackers carrying 20 pounds on their backs.  We saw many other folks on the trail either walking or running.  After walking for almost two hours we reached the top of this steep climb and Tundra was feeling a little queasy and short of breath so when we reached the top there was a nice bench for her to lie down for a few minutes.  She recovered quickly.

 A little later in the morning Tundra's backpack decided to lie down on another bench to rest!

We followed the Cedar Break Trail back to the Cattail Pond Trail and followed it all the way to the pond.  Along the way we came to a nice tower to climb for a great view of the valley below.

 We are looking down onto Joe Pool Lake....

                           Titmouse is having a great time today!

 Like I said my friends are vary tech-savvy so of course they spent time on their smart phones while we were high up on the cliffs surrounding Joe Pool Lake.

We suddenly noticed that the wind had shifted around to the north and with it came much cooler air!  And it began to rain lightly, so we stopped to put our pack covers on.

 

This pergola at Cattail Pond would have been ideal for us to stop for our lunch break had it not been raining.  We decided to continue on from here onto the Fossil Valley Trail which is rated "difficult".

I was impressed with all the trail maintenance that has went into making this trail so nice for hikers, runners, walkers, and it is so close to a major population center like Dallas.  It is owned and managed by the Dallas Audubon Society and the county of Dallas.  No admission, however a donation of $3 is suggested.  I gladly dropped $5 into the donation box because I loved it.  What a great place for a day hike!  Thanks Titmouse for knowing about this place!

 Very tricky at times with rain-slick roots, rocks, and wood on the steep descents and ascents.

We looped on the Fossil Valley Trail back to the Cattail Pond Trail and since it was still misting rain we headed back to the main trailhead where there were picnic tables under large trees that formed a canopy to keep us semi-dry while we ate our lunch.  (The restrooms there also were a huge plus!)

 We immediately donned our rain jackets as it got cooler and cooler.  I think the temperature dropped 15-20 degrees from when we began this morning!  And being wet made it feel even cooler!

Following our lunch break we headed out on the Escarpment Trail and saw this tree with hundreds of tiny white mushrooms growing on its trunk.

 After less than a mile we decided to backtrack on the Escarpment Trail so we could pick up the Bluebonnet Trail.

While on the Bluebonnet Trail we came to another tower to get some great views below us.

 Shortly after climbing the tower we connected to the Mulberry Trail which we took all the way back to the parking area.

As you can see in the photos the Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve is located in the wooded hills overlooking not only Joe Pool Lake but densely populated neighborhoods and city beyond!

I wonder how many of the thousands of folks who live within view of this awesome place even know about it or have ever came here for a visit into these gorgeous wooded hills filled with trails and picnic opportunities.  How fortunate they are to have this so close to where they live and work!

By 2:00 p.m. we were headed out since we wanted to be ahead of some of the afternoon rush-hour traffic   "Bye-Bye Cedar Ridge Preserve"!  What a fun day hiking with friends!

For anyone interested in visiting Cedar Ridge Preserve and want more information, they do have a website.  Cedar Ridge Preserve is located on the southwestern edge of the city of Dallas and just on the northern edge of the town of Cedar Hill where Cedar Hill State Park is located, a Park which Tom and I have visited in the past. 

In Memory of Candace

Four years ago today, we lost Candace. 

                            Candace Huddleston 1971-2010

I have discovered that when you lose a child, not a day goes by that you don't think about that child.  Even after four years.

Candace had a soft heart for animals of any kind....

And she loved her "big brother", Darrell......

Candace really loved her cousin, Carla, who was like a sister to her.

Candace, I will always miss you!

End of Summer (postscript)

Well the very same day that I posted about the "End of Summer", after almost a month of dry hot weather, the north wind began to blow bringing with it much cooler temperatures, and wait, is that raindrops I see on my car's windshield as I am nearing home from work?  Why, yes it is!  Hallelujah!  It's raining!!

 Oh my goodness!  Thank you Lord for this rain!

            This is so awesome!   We are loving this!

And I am so thankful to be under our carport looking out.

 That's right, it is good to be under cover staying nice and dry when it rains.

These are the thoughts I was having as I was watching the rain come steadily down.  Especially since I have allowed my friends Stephanie and Mary to talk me into dragging out my backpacking gear, which has been safely tucked away for the three years since I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, and get ready to go on a backpacking trip with them on the Ouachita Trail.  Here is our first photo together, with our packs on!

                                                  Mary, Stephanie, and me

I know, I know, I said many times that I would never backpack again.  Never say never!

End of Summer

As we come to the end of Summer, we are so thankful, considering we live in Texas where Summer temperatures can be brutal, this year we received rain often at the beginning of Summer and temperatures were milder than usual, that is until the last couple of weeks.  Now we are just hanging on, drip-watering the garden and flowers and shrubs, knowing that Autumn is just around the corner.

Tom's hobby, the garden, which is a lot of hard work for him, is still producing a little and he has planted a limited fall crop.  We have filled our freezer and are now eating veggies as we pick them or else sharing veggies with friends/coworkers.

Still growing is a row of purple hull peas, 1/2 row of asst. peppers w/ 1/2 row of pumpkins, and a row of tomatoes.

We do a lot of cooking with peppers.  We are also sharing a lot of peppers!

We heat our entire house with our wood stove, so we gather a lot of firewood during the year and cut and stack it.

 We also gather, cut, and stack a lot kindling.

Our "backyard park"  that we created last year is such a peaceful place to relax.  It is almost always shady and almost always has a nice breeze blowing through.

 

Everyone has lost some trees on their property the last few years with the drought conditions that Texas has suffered.  We lost two more trees in our backyard, one of which was holding up our hammock!  So Tom dug out the stump of the dead tree and dug a four foot deep hole and cemented in a ten foot long 4X4 post to remount the hammock. 

Thank you Sweetie!  I love my hammock!

 

Another surprise of this Summer is our Turks Cap bush.  Several years ago my friend Mary Ann gave me a cutting off her Turks Cap, which I planted here in our yard.  For years now it has barely stayed alive, with only a few little twigs growing back each year.  This year Tom went around it with his tiller, breaking up the ground a little, we gave it some Miracle Grow, watered it more, and oh boy it really began to flourish, so I even placed a white stone border around it.  

 

I no longer ride my horse, but my friend Gill asked if she could have her Thursday Ride on our trails.  So this past Thursday there were seven women here to ride our trails.

 Left to right: Lanette, Lisa, Jackie, Mary Ann, Evie, Gill, Donna

 It was a nice day for them to ride!  By the time they got back it was pretty warm so Lanette was so nice to spray water on each gal's horse for them. 

No, I do not miss riding my horse at all.  I do however enjoy the friendship of these gals still!  We enjoyed lunch together on our deck and were blessed with a nice strong breeze blowing as we sat there eating and visiting.