Enchanted Rock State Natural Area

This was the day that the entire state of Texas went to Enchanted Rock.  Well, I guess it wasn’t the entire state, but this is spring break week in Texas and many, many, many folks were taking advantage of the nice spring weather to spend a little time out doors.  Gene says it only makes sense—Enchanted Rock is the logical place to spend St. Patrick’s Day.

We first became aware that there might be a crowd when we had driven several miles through what seemed uninhabited wasteland and then came upon about 20 cars lined up to get in the park.  When we finally got to the gate and paid our $12 to get in, we inquired about the crowd.  The ranger had no explanation other than spring break.

Along the trail

We opted for the 4-mile, less crowded and less strenuous, loop trail around the base of the “rock” instead of joining the throngs of people plodding toward the top.  We saw several hikers along the trail, but not nearly as many as could be seen on the summit at any given time.  Several of those we saw had spent last night at one of the backcountry camping areas along the loop trail.  We are backpackers and enjoy spending a night out occasionally.  We generally shop for gear at REI, Eastern Mountain Sports, or one of the other outfitters, especially along the Appalachian Trail.  The quest for us and the backpackers we know is to go as light as possible.  Today, however, we saw folks with standard size coolers, one man with 2 sleeping bags (one in each hand), even a standard size Weber grill.  I was impressed.  Nothing like a cooler full of icy cold ones at the end of a long day of hiking while you wait for your steak to grill.

Obviously, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is a popular destination for this area.  In fact, when at any Visitor Center in the Hill Country, we were always advised to visit this park.  The rock itself is a pink granite dome which appears to tower over the nearby countryside at a height of 425 feet.  The Tonkawa Indians gave it its name.  They believed a Spanish conquistador had cast a spell on it.  We’ve seen pictures in the guide books which have a large river flowing in front.  We were very pleased to see water actually flowing in the creek, but nothing to compare with the pictures.  I guess a picture is worth a thousand words and a thousand acre feet of water.

Blue bonnet

Since most of the other folks were there to climb the rock, we were able to find a picnic table with relative ease.  After our picnic, we headed back to Boerne, very satisfied with a day of hiking in the Texas Hill Country.  On our way out the gate, there was still a long line to get in.

Enchanted Rock

My favorite part of the day was seeing blue bonnets.  I have been looking every time I’m outside.  It has been so dry I was fearful I would not see this icon of the Hill Country.  The first was on the trail, then, later on our drive home, we saw several patches of them along the side of the road.

Tomorrow we will continue with our preparations to travel and hopefully Thursday morning we will be on the move again.