Destination Chosen

I've been here before, but I'm going to hike the back country trails this time and Wildcat Canyon Trail which is fairly new. 

I won't get there until about 2pm, so I figured out a path that's about 6.8 miles which would take me up to Wildcat Canyon - through that area - and back down past Sotol Overlook, Chula Vista, and back to the truck via Recharge Trail.

Psyched! :-)

Gotta stop on the way and get water and gasoline.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/government_canyon/

Government Canyon State Natural Area

Oh yes - good day! 

The solitude was priceless and magic - just like it always is.  I kept telling myself over and over - "why did you wait so long...." :-)

Unlike most Texas trails though - I did see several people hiking and many mountain bikers.
At the end of the hike I sat and talked with a couple of Army guys in uniform who were hiking way up by Canyon Overlook - next time I'll hike that area.  They hike there every week for their training (good training - better than jogging along the road).

What I especially like about this facility is I don't have to take all the precautions I usually do (telling a friend where I'm going, how long I'll be gone, etc. etc.).  When you sign in here you give them all your info - and your cell phone #.  When the park closes they take inventory - if you're vehicle is still in the lot they go looking for you.

I changed my route a little because the Far Reaches trail was more like a flat path.  Instead I went back on the parallel trail (Sendero Balcones).  Not as many miles but way more challenging.  Rocky, uneven, you go up.....you head down.....repeat multiple times.

Total hiking time 2 hours and 45 minutes.  I could have done more, but it was starting to get dark.

Highlights of the hike:

I watched a giant bumblebee on some Texas Mountain Laurel blooms.  He let me take a lot of pictures of him - then he politely escorted me out of his personal space. 

I almost got run over by a butterfly the size of a small bat.  I'm not kidding.  He was too fast to get a picture of unfortunately.

I saw a huge swarm of hawks in the distance - had to have been 50 of them all flying over the same area like planes waiting for the control tower to give them permission to land.  

There was a man who had to be 80 years old pass me on the trail like I was standing still, and he was wearing tennis shoes.  He's either superhuman or he has cast iron feet.

Okay - here is the slideshow.  Sorry - there are lots of pictures.

( JOEBANKS: SMALL SLIDESHOW FOR YOU BEHIND CUT :-) )