Bull Creek Hike
Bull Creek [Hiking] - 9/8/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 4.50 Miles Duration: N/A
I started this hike at the upper waterfall where the trail meets 360. There were no destinct signs for the trail so I found one and headed west toward what I found out later was the turnaround. Water Levels were very low because of the drought but I did manage to find some spots that looked like they would be great for swimming when there was more water in the creek. The trail from the upper waterfall to the turnaround does close in on you a bit so you might have to push some weeds aside for the first half mile or so. You do have to walk under a few bridges which is very noisy but you only hear the cars for a short time. My advice while you are heading toward the turnaround is to take the trail to the left when it v's. This is the trail that stays along the waters edge. When you make the turnaround you can take the upper trail that comes back to the V. There are a few trails that wind through the trees at the turnaround but in my opinion they are so short and some are blocked so its not worth it unless you just absolutely want to hike all of them. I did stop short of the turnaround at this swimming hole that looked like a really great spot. It was then that I noticed the considerable amount of trash that was thrown about. It upset me very much to see that people would not have the common courtesy to pick up after themselves. When I went to sit down by what looked like a waterfall I notice that someone had stuffed dirty diapers up inbetween the some rocks. I could not believe my eyes. It ruined the moment for me and really pissed me off. Do me, Austin, Earth, and your fellow man a favor. Pick up after yourselves and even after others if reasonable. I started to pick up the trash and put it into a pile but had no bags to put all the trash in. I will be more than happy to give someone an earful if I see them practicing these unforgiving acts so please show some respect. Bact to the trail. I made the turnaround and headed back to where I started, taking the higher trail that I mentioned before from there I followed the trail on the North side of the creek toward lower falls into Bull Creek Park. If you look on the map it has you staying on the south side of the creek and I'm here to tell you, you can take either side. The North side is more enjoyable in my opinion. The highlight of the trail was reaching Bull Creek Park. There were a lot of dogs running off leashes which I really dont mind as long as the dogs know how to behave but the creek was really cool. It opened up into a large pool where people were swimming under a few running falls and just hanging out and realaxing. The highlight for me was a 13' wall on the north side of the park tucked under some trees. There were some free climbers there scaling the wall and there were nice enough to let me come over and give it a try. One guy even loaned me his shoes and chalk. There are no holds so my advice is climb at your own risk. I will def. be back to do this on a regular basis. Didnt make it to the top but I had fun. After the wall I was really glad I came. I'll be back to the park for sure. Don't know if I'll return to the west side of 360 due to all the trash. LCRA or someone needs to make an effort to clean this place up. It was a real shame. I might try and organize something for the future to help out.

The Canyonlands [Hiking] - 8/31/2005  [View Log Page]
Rating: Difficulty: Solitude:
Distance: 2.50 Miles Duration: N/A
The hike was a bit hot but was shaded in many spots which made for some nice cool canyon breezes in some spots. Not a very hard trail although the hike back up to the top may be a bit difficult for beginners or elderly. I did here a bit of contruction going on which is a shame but overall it made for a decent trek. It was a bit dry during our hike but the creek bed showed signs of holding water during the wet season so I might try it again at a different date to see how much it changes.