11 Mile Hike & Overnight

Zachary has been a "big camping guy" (Sean and Kaitlyn, anyone?) since we've moved back from China. He has loved researching and learning about camping! As we all know, Youtube has a wealth of knowledge and Zachary has took full advantage for all things camping. He can tie basically any knot. He can clean a fish (we even bought whole fish for him to practice on! Hehe). He can set trot lines. He can identify plants. It's been very cool learning a bit here and there of all he has learned about camping. His dream would be that we set out on a several week hike somewhere. Maybe one day we will do it! But in the mean time, we have gorgeous camping and hiking spots all over the Austin area. Thankfully for Zachary, we also have some great friends that love to camp and hike, too! Our good friend Chris, being one of them. Zachary and Chris decided to go on an 11 mile overnight hike together a few months ago. They planned out their course, packed their bags and Megan (Chris' wife) and I dropped them off at the starting point of their adventure. 

Sawyer Camp was their starting point! The trail head started at a parking lot so Meghan and I could easily drop them off. 

Packing for any kind of camping is always a chore. Unless you do it like your friend Bernie or my brother Justin has on occasion, which is basically sleeping on the ground. In which case, you have nothing to pack! Zachary and Chris weren't going the ground trek but they were hiking to a primitive camping site which meant they had to pack everything to boil water and to cook and catch their food. They also packed snacks, a few drinks for guys time around the fire, fire starters, a tent and sleeping bags. There was also a few items that are rarely used but fun to take like a machete. 

We dropped them off and watched them walk down the trail until they were out of eye and ear shot, like some proud momma ducklings letting their chicks go off for the first time by themselves.

The rest of the shots were from the guys along the way. They had gorgeous views of the lake the whole hike.

They hiked 6.5 miles the first day before making camp. Once they reached their stopping point they set up everything, starting purifying water and set lines out for fish. Unfortunately, they didn't catch anything! Thankfully, they brought a few canned goods for just the occasion.

In the morning, Zachary made some bannock from grains and flour for the guys to enjoy for breakfast. The night before, the guys had their make shift dinner, fish-less, chatted and drank around the fire and then hit the sack. The only hitch that night was when they heard rustling outside their tent only to find a racoon greedily trying to get into the marshmallow bag! 

The next days hike consisted of 4.5 miles so they started off early. The day was just as gorgeous as the day before.

Here's a few pics of their mile markers! We missed Mile 1 but you can see how they became less enthusiastic as the miles went on! By mile 8 the next day they were sore, hungry and tired! They were ready to get home. 

The last few miles included some stream jumping- fun!

The guys were thrilled to hit the San Gabriel River Trail head because that meant air conditioner and Sonic slushes! Haha. Meghan and I picked them up and made sure to have cool drinks in hand. They were, oddly, soaking wet! Neither could give us a clear explanation as to why. They would just laugh and drink their drinks. Must have been the adventure! The guys had a great time and a few months later did a kayaking/camping trip that sadly, I have no pictures for. We are looking forward to more camping adventures in the future! Meghan and I will eventually go on some, too. I have a whole Camping board in preparation for it, too. ;)