Backpacker – September 2019

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

BACKPACKER.COM 73

DAYHIKE

WHITE OAK AND

RED BUCKEYE LOOP

Brazos Bend State Park

Escape the heat on this f lat, 2.5-

mile jaunt through swaying grass-

lands beside a slow-rolling river.

Dense tree canopy covers these

less-trafficked trails, offering a

shady chance to view birds (300

species), American alligators, and

f lora in this patchwork of eco-

systems. Trailhead White Oak

(29.3752, -95.5823) 50 miles south-

west of Houston Season Ye a r - r o u n d

Permit $7/person entrance fee Info

bit.do/BrazosBend

south for 6.7 miles to a primitive

campsite near the Pole Creek Trail

junction. On the final day, hike the

Little Lake Creek Loop Trail for 10

miles. Trailhead Richards parking

lot off FM 149 (30.5388, -95.7848)

73 miles north of Houston. Season

Spring and fall for good temps.

Permit None Info lonestartrail.org

OVERNIGHT

FOUR C TRAIL

Davy Crockett National Forest

The last of the logging trucks left

in 1920, giving the pine savannahs

a century to grow back into them-

selves. Wind through them on a

22.2-mile out-and-back that mostly

follows easy railroad grade. A shel-

ter and tent sites lie at mile 11.1 near

Walnut Creek. Note: The Forest

Service recommends against drink-

ing the water here; BYO, or cache

at FR 517 (mile 8.9). Trailhead

Ratcliff Lake (31.3885, -95.1566)

129 miles north of Houston. Season

Winter and spring; summer is hot

and bugg y, fall is hunting season.

Permit $5/day to pa rk Info bit.do/

Four CTra i l

Houston, TX

MULTIDAY

GRAND LOOP OF THE
LONE STAR TRAIL

Sam Houston National Forest

The 129-mile Lone Sta r Hiking

Trail rolls through forests of pines
and black alder tilting over dark rib-

bons of wetlands. These woods pro-

vide some of the last, best habitat
for endangered red-cockaded wood-

peckers, and the birding is spectacu-

lar. But if you don’t have a week to
hike the whole trail, Karen Borski

Somers (see right) suggests the

28-mile Grand Loop, which begins
at the trail’s western terminus and

boasts wildf lowers, giant beech

trees, and water so clear the creek
bottoms sparkle.

Start by winding over board-

walks, among ponds, and past open
grassy stretches on the Lone Star

Trail for 6.3 miles. Then follow a

.2-mile spur to a dry campsite in

a n open forest of mi xed ha rdwood
and pine. Next day, pass farmlands

before picking up the Little Lake

Creek Loop (mile 11.5) and hiking

Karen Borski

Somers

GUIDEBOOK AUTHOR AND

NASA CONSULTANT

THIS TEXAS NATIVE and career

scientist with NASA brought her

technical training to local hiking

when she discovered a trail in her

home state that was falling into

disrepair. The best way to rescue

it? Share it. In 2006, as Somers

hiked the Lone Star Hiking Trail,

a 129-mile footpath through east

Texas, she rolled along a mea-

suring wheel—just like Myron

Avery used to count mileage on

the AT.

“I thought, ‘While I’m hiking, it

might be good to document what

I see and put it online,’ and then it

grew into, ‘Why don’t I just write

a little guidebook,’” she says

(the second edition is due out in

November). “It just morphed out

of a desire to see the trail more

loved, more used, and better

taken care of, and knowing there

are all these people nearby who

really don’t have good places to

get out for a backpacking trip.”

It’s pines up top

and ferns down

below in the

Sam Houston

National Forest.

YO

UR

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