Hikerman has been busy carving a new hiking stick, finally got it done . . .

I chose a nice oak sapling about 2" in dia. at the base. I removed the bark with a draw knife while it was still green and let it season for a couple of months. Here are some details . . .

Did some hand carving and some Dremel tool work on it.

The bottom end is marked off in 1" increments for measuring.

The top is finished off with a medallion, leather hand grip and wrist strap.

Once I got the final sanding done I stained it light pecan, to bring out the recessed details. The final step was 3 coats of poly-urethane for waterproofing. The leather was also stained and treated with mink oil.

On the east side of Benbrook Lake there is a hiking trail at Rocky Creek Park. This is an Equestrian trail that winds around the shore line all the way up to Dirks road. About 10 miles one way, moderate terrain, some of it dipping down to the shoreline and some high up on the limestone bluffs.It was the last part of August so it was still pretty hot, started out at 75dg and the weather "experts" said it was only suppose to get up to 85, Well, later on that day it hit 90dg with full sun, so it felt like it was about 100. The only place there was a breeze was way high up on top of a bluff.

The trail was fairly worn down by the horses.

Time for a breather!

When it got hot later in the day I zipped the legs off for shorts.

After about 4 hours of hiking I was looking for a nice place to have lunch. Lets see, I need shade, a breeze and nice place to sit down.

Still looking.........

This will be perfect!
Ice cold lemonade, ham sandwich and potato chips. Maybe a nap after.

Nice view too.

The second leg of the hike back to the truck was a little bit tougher, another 4hrs. back, it was much hotter and I was getting tired. The last hour I had keep taking shade breaks, every 15 minutes even though I had plenty of water and was staying well hydrated, I could feel a little heat exhaustion creeping up. That last 15 minutes seemed like an hour, I couldn't wait to get back to the truck and cool off.

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Over all a very nice place to hike, great scenery, I think I'll come back in the fall when its cooler! Stay tuned.

Happy Trails ya'll

Camping at Holiday Park - Benbrook Lake

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Got there about noon, Saturday 9-19-09 and selected campsite #79, no one around for miles.
Temp was 80 dg, mostly cloudy, with nice breeze out of the North, but very humid.
No hook-ups - no frills, only $10 to camp overnight.
You get a covered picnic table and a fire ring.

After setting up camp and having lunch it was about 2pm. Got out my park map to look at the hiking trail that follows along the Trinity River on the North bank. This is an equestrian trail about 3.5 miles one way heading in the general direction of Highway 377. This is not a loop 3.5 there, 3.5 back. The condition was muddy but not bothersome, there were no riders and no piles to dodge due to the muddy conditions. Fine with me. Some of the trail was overgrown with weeds and sticker vines; lots of downed trees across the pathway. I moved the smaller ones out of the way (a little good Samaritan trail maintenance) always good for the soul.

Like I said alot of it was overgrown, no trail maintenance at all, saw one White Tail deer but she spooked when she saw me and all I got was this blurry pic (shown below). Lots of tracks in the mud and one set of possibly a Bobcat. Saw a whole covey of wild pheasent cross the trail up ahead.
Lots of Spiders hanging down on their webs, yet another use for a good walking stick. Some of those spiders were big enough to be in an Indiana Jones Movie!
Even though it was shady and 85 dg it still felt hot because of the humidity, but had plenty of cold water in my Camelbak hydration pack.