Over the weekend, I decided to put my new hiking boots on and go break them in with a fast 10 mile hike. It was an 85 degree day out, and I wasn’t looking forward to being drenched in sweat, so I loaded my backpack with 4 liters of water, my cooking setup, a freeze dried meal, some granola bars, and various first aid/emergency gear. Traffic was light, and it was only a 45 minute drive up to Lake Houston Wilderness Park, and only cost me $3 to enter for the day!
The hike was great, while it was super hot, I got completely soaked through with sweat, the bugs really didn’t bother me, except when I stopped, which accounted for my (what felt like) amazing pace!
I brought my hiking poles and they ended up being quite helpful, as the trail mostly followed the creek so there was a lot of up and down in the first half of it. My pack was barely that heavy, maybe 10lbs, with the water, I really should have brought more, to punish myself harder, but ehh, it was just a day hike.
The trip back up the “gun club road” really sucked. The windy part was probably 60+ year old blacktop that had not ever been maintained, it was full of rocks, broken blacktop, holes, mud, and bugs. It was uncomfortable to walk on after already hiking about 5 miles. After the right turn, it turned into a pipeline service road, that was crushed concrete and zero shade. It was pretty long, straight, and boring, and I had the sun beating down on me. I almost would recommend someone just turning around once they hit the “Gun Club Road” and hiking the whole thing backwards, just to avoid the road.
It was a warm welcome getting back into the shaded woods, with soft dirt under my feet. I hiked the last 1.5 miles pretty dang quick, since I was almost out of water and my pack was super light by that time. Once I got back to my car, I turned it on to get the AC flowing, and changed out of my boots.. No blisters!
Got home, made some soup for dinner, and passed out. Only to wake up to a 65 degree weather outside! Why did I hike in the heat when it is so nice out the next day!?
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