I could see the blue glowing moon out of my peripheral as I lay in the tent. The door flap was open and above me were the white burning stars. I had forgotten what they all looked like. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in the country. Even with the light of the half moon there were more stars than I had seen in a long time. I drifted off, even though I lay on the hard ground and used a scratchy backpack as a pillow. I woke a few times to see the moon had set, but the stars were bright enough to make the empty space a pale purple.
In this journey toward the Beast, I want to take advantage of any challenges put in front of me. I’m keeping an eye and an ear out for extra 5ks or OCRs if they come up. I’ve signed up for a few tournaments I didn’t exactly want to compete in, but I’m going to anyway. One tournament, or HEMA event, was supposed to be held in May but it was canceled. I already took the day off from work months in advance and when the event was canceled I decided to keep the day off anyway and have a day to myself. I decided on a day trip to Enchanted Rock since all the campsites were full. But I kept looking and eventually a site opened up and I jumped on it. The catch was I had to rent 2 nights, but that wasn’t an issue for me.
Two weeks leading up to the trip, the weather said it was going to be high in the 80s, but the closer it got to the weekend, the higher the temperature outlook climbed. The middle of May would see the first 100 degree day of the year, and I was going hiking in it.
I took my time driving the first day, stopping for lunch at a decent German restaurant in Fredericksburg. I wanted a big lunch because I wasn’t sure how everything would pan out. I only packed canned soup and bread for my main meals, but also oatmeal for breakfast and an abundance of nuts, jerky, pork rinds, and protein bars for snacks. Not to mention the 5 gallons of bottled water and various electrolyte mixes.
I got to the Rock around 1:00. The parking lot was almost empty and only a few people milled around. The sky was clear and the temperature was already in the 90s. Most everyone I saw wore tank tops. Some women in sports bras. Some had baseball caps but others had no hats at all. Almost everyone carried a water bottle, but few looked larger than 16oz at best.
I was a bit baffled. Are these people not experienced hikers? Did they not realize the hike to the summit would take 45 minutes to an hour? In 90 degree heat and a blazing sun, with no sleeves they were going to bake, and those puny water bottles would be empty probably before they reached the top. Or maybe they were experienced and I was the one being over prepared.
I had a boonie hat and draped a handkerchief from the back to cover my neck. I wore a long sleeve fishing shirt to cover my arms from the sun. I still put on sunscreen but most of my skin was covered. I also carried a small backpack with a water bladder and two extra water bottles. In all probably about 3/4 of a gallon of water…plus snacks.
On my ascent, I saw people coming down. Their shoulders were red, mouths open and panting, empty water bottles lazily clanking against their sweat covered, sun kissed legs. Maybe I wasn’t over prepared.
It took me about 45 minutes to reach the top. The temperature had reached the high 90s and the wind was blowing relentlessly. But at the top I sat down for a rest under a gnarled oak tree struggling to push its way out of a crack in the rock.
It was refreshing to just sit in the quiet of the hot afternoon. My thoughts turned to strange things, like contemplating how a tree was growing so high up, with no soil. How did an acorn get up here to begin with? What was the first nut to reach so high? That’s when I saw a black rock squirrel. That was the explanation, but still didn’t explain why a squirrel would go out of its way to climb so high in the first place.
While contemplating, a fighter jet flew over, close enough for me to see the pilot in the cockpit and so loud I ducked closer under the tree. I let out a curse as it streaked off; its loud engine fading to nothing.
The quiet that followed was deep. The wind was constant but that was all. I couldn’t remember being outside at this time of day and hearing virtually nothing. Of course there is quiet throughout my day, mostly at the end when the kids go to sleep. But being awake, outside, in the hot light of the day; it was like something I missed.
After a snack and a short break, I got up from under the mythical struggling oak fighting its way from a crack in solid granite, and decided to roam around the summit.
I’d been on the summit many times. You can’t go to Enchanted Rock and not go to the summit, but I wanted to knock that out first thing. The following day I wanted to go everywhere but the summit. It’s cool and all, but of all the times I’ve been to Enchanted Rock, only once had I explored more of the park.
After a few hours of slowly meandering around, I went back to the parking lot. At the Summit trailhead there was a dry erase billboard that said “Star Party tonight at 8:00”. There were now only two time obligations I had, the star party and the sunset. I had time to hike to my reserved camp, a primitive camp about a mile from the parking lot. I had enough daylight to scout the area. I didn’t want to be hunting my spot in the dark. On the way to the camp was a ‘scenic overlook’. That’s where I stopped to watch the sunset before hiking back to the summit trail for the ‘Star Party’.
When I arrived there was a telescope pointed at the half moon, and about a dozen people were taking turns looking through. A park ranger began a spiel about the moon and stars and pointed out some constellations. I lay on my back on the unforgiving granite looking up and following a green laser she used to point at stars.
Eventually, she was done and bid everyone a goodnight. I still had over a mile hike in the dark to my camp, and I hadn't set up my tent. The hike wasn’t bad, mostly uphill. The moon was still high enough that a few times I turned off my headlamp and walked by the blue light of the moon. Once I got to my site, I pitched the one person tent, faced the door toward the oncoming wind. The temperature was still warm but the constant wind, sometimes strong and gusty, not only kept me cool enough but kept the bugs away.
And thus ended my first day at Enchanted Rock, but that was only the beginning of my adventure, dear reader. The next day would be long and challenging…but that tale is for another day.
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