Day 3 – Tue, Jan 25 – LST 51.2
Good karma to start the day! Hiking out of Huntsville State Park a guy stopped and picked me up and took me out to the I-45 feeder. Then a mile or so walk under I-45 to get back on the trail east of TX-75.
Unfortunately while it isn’t raining today it is overcast so no sun to help dry all my wet stuff.
Today was my first run in with dogs. Just what the hell is the deal with these people and their dogs? About 8 miles along I hit FM 2296 and a short road walk when I was serialy attacked by multiple dogs running out from unfenced (or open fenced) yards. I used my pepper spray twice. Crazy.
Stopped for lunch along the trail after 10 miles or so. Still have seen no other hikers since the first day.
Ran into a hiker just after lunch, the only one i’ve seen for two days. He is doing a west end yo-yo and had just tagged Boswell Creek and was heading back west. And today was milestone day! Highest point and halfway.
Boswell Creek (just after halfway at LST 48.2) had lots of water. I scooped 4L into my dirty water bag before heading on to camp.
Today was my first designated primitive campsite. I rolled into East Four Notch PCG (LST 51.3) at around 3:00PM, hung my tent and fly out to dry and made some much deserved hot tea.
The designated primitive campsites (PCGs) are all a bit different. They all have flat tent sites and a fire pit. Some have logs to sit on or even (gasp!) a bench. This one had the bare minimum.
The Boswell Creek water filtered to a lovely yellow color which ,while not looking all that great, tasted okay, especially in tea.
Day 4 – Wed, Jan 26 – LST 68.5
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day, perfect for hiking. It started a bit chilly, 35° or even a little colder. I hiked in my puff for the first two hours while things warmed up. The first 3 miles or so were mostly on roads but did not see a single car.
It was sunny all day which was a nice change from yesterday’s overcast and the day before with the incessant rain.
At about LST 60 the trail crosses FS 202D. On the other side of the road the trail was very swampy with lots of standing water. I elected to stay on 202D for a hundred yards or so then bushwacked back to the trail to avoid the water.
Stopped for lunch at a trailhead just before 12 miles around noon. I laid out the tent, sleeping bag and all of my socks to dry in the sun while I ate lunch. I also called Roberta and we talked which was nice.
After lunch was a long road walk, starting with 2 miles to Evergreen. As far as I can tell the only things in Evergreen are churches and cemeteries. I stopped at the Baptist Church in Evergreen Park for water per the guide …
…and then continued on for another 3 miles on a really lousy hiking road (FM945), no shoulder and cars going 65. The guide warns about dogs in this area but I only saw a couple and they were on the other side of the road so I did not have to use my pepper spray again.
I arrived at my second designated PCG (LSHT Camp Site #2, LST 68.5) at my usual time (around 3:00) for my afternoon tea and a little whiskey. No logs to sit on but someone left a sleeping pad which I used for a seat.
Tomorrow is the East Fork of the San Jacinto crossing and I haven’t been able to get any recent information on the crossing.
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