Date: 2009-02-12
To: Lake Somerville Trailway -- Day 1
Miles today: 0.0

I did a shakedown hike at Somerville State Park Trailway a couple of weeks ago and had a wonderful time. The Birch Creek and Nails Creeks units of the State Park are connected by a 13 mile trailway. It was a solo trip, so I was giving myself three days to make the round trip from the Nails Creek Unit to the Birch Creek Unit and back to the Nails Creek Unit.Day 1: WednesdayI missed a dentist appointment I had scheduled in December, because of the flu and they were booked past my March state date, so they put me on their cancellation call list. I have had some problems with my teeth in the past and usually get my teeth cleaned every three months. I really wanted to get my teeth cleaned before I started on the AT. On Tuesday, before my trip they called and had an appointment at 10 the next day. Not wanting to gamble that I¢d be offered another appointment, I took it. So instead of the early start I had planned on, I didn¢t get out of San Antonio until after 11am and arrived at the park around 1pm. Halfway to the park I had realized that I had forgotten my bandana (I really need to make a gear checklist) and was hoping that the gift store of the State Park had one for sale. When I was checking in, I asked the ranger if they had any for sale and she informed me that they just had some hats. Darn, a hat just won¢t work. But, she said, the ones on the top shelf are really soft. She laughed when I told her I needed a bandana for my nose which seems to run constantly due to my allergies and I didn¢t think the hat would work. My plan for the day was to go the 9.2 miles from the Nails Creek Unit to the Wolf Pond Campsite; however, I wanted to get there around 5 as the sun set a little after 6. My plan of a leisurely 9 mile hike in, became a race against the sun which meant no lollygagging along the way¢¦well not to much anyway. The weather was beautiful with sunny skies and highs in the 60¢s and I was excited as I strapped on my pack and headed down the trail. The first thing I noticed was the trail is wide enough for vehicles (easy access for the rangers to get to wherever they need to be¢¦wouldn¢t want them to have to walk). It started out pretty sandy, but easy to follow and extremely flat. I couldn¢t believe that I forgot to use the facilities at the Visitor¢s Center (don¢t ask me how someone forgets to use the facilities¢¦I guess I was in a hurry), but after a mile or so I really needed to go. I decided to wait until I reached the Mill Pond campsite as there is a latrine there. I made it to the Mill Pond latrine and took my pack off while I was doing a little dance and rushed in. STOP! There was a nest, although it didn¢t look active, all around the toilet seat and inside the toilet. I did not have enough Benadryl on me if some stinging wasps/hornets/bees were at home, so I just watered the leaves. As I left the Mill Pond campsite, I was expecting to see Flag Pond on my right. On the map, it looks fairly large for a pond, but it was completely dried up. I didn¢t even see a mud puddle out there. The boundary of the park is right next to the trail through this section and I passed lake style houses right across the park fence. The owners had gates that gave them access to the park and had canoes and kayaks stored by the edge of where the pond usually is. It was kind of weird to see all these boats lined up with no water whatsoever in site. On the map, it looks like there is a channel between Flag Pond and Lake Somerville, but obviously there was no access right now. We really need rain.Later in the afternoon, I started to see deer everywhere. They didn¢t act particularly weary of me which I found odd as hunting season had just ended. I passed large open meadows where they were hanging out and they just kept an eye on me and continued eating, then all of a sudden they¢d take off in several different directions.   I bet the meadows are beautiful in the spring when the wild flowers are in bloom. I passed the only person I was to see on the trail that day as a man was mowing one of these open areas. Between Newman Bottom Campsite and Wolf Pond Campsite I saw several oil pumps and what at first I thought was a large farm. Hmmm¢¦oil pumps¢¦farm¢¦not. It was a bunch of oil storage tanks and several buildings. It was very quite and not a soul in site.I made it to the Wolf Pond Campsite around 5:15. This is quite the campsite with a fire ring with benches built all the way around and a picnic table as well. Plenty of sunlight left to set up camp and eat before the sun went down. While I was eating I heard some wrestling of the leaves and thought it was an armadillo. Wrong again. It was an opossum coming to check me out. Actually, there was a livestock watering tank at the site (horse riders use the trail as well) and it was the local opossum watering hole. They were my entertainment for the night. They walked out of the trees, look at me and then head to the watering tank to get a drink. They didn¢t seem a bit concerned about me being there.Shortly after the sun went down, I headed to my tent and snuggled up in my sleeping bag to read the book I had brought a long. As soon as the sun goes down, the temperature starts dropping and I don¢t like to get cold.