Park Mid-Section - Burkett Park to 5 Points Junction Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 1/24/2022
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.60 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Burkett Park > Burkett Trail > Potts Creek > Playground Trail > Bell's Point > Playground Trail (N) > Flintstone > 5 Points Junction 3.7 miles
Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Turkey Creek > Potts Creek (W) > West Potts Creek > Roller Coaster Trail > WS to LL Connector > Burkett Park 4.4 miles
Leg 3 - Nature Trail .5 miles
Temp started at 40, ended at 60. Mostly sunny with a 5-10mph SW breeze. Humid at first but dried quickly.
A good hike along easy to see and traverse trails. The morning air smelled like "wet desert" which is one of my favorite scents! Unfortunately there wasn't much to see as far as wildlife. I spotted about six deer, a Flicker, a couple of raptors that appeared to be red tailed hawks but were so high up and far away I wasn't sure. A few Mockingbirds and Sparrows were it. One surprise was finding a dead grasshopper that was very large, and uneaten.
I believe I've finished picking up the old bottles and cans on the Nature Trail as well as on the Tasajilla Flats Trail that were revealed by last month's burn. I'm sure more will make their appearance as the wind and rains reveal them.
No photos were taken today which is very unusual but there just wasn't anything to photograph but I'm sure there will be on the next hike.
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Water, shade and info kiosk available at Bell's Point.
Water, shade, and info kiosk available at 5 Points Junction.
South Shore - Isabel Harte to Armadillo Ridge Figure 8
San Angelo State Park
- 1/19/2022
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 11.50 Miles
Duration: 5 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Isabel Harte > Winding Snale > WS to LL Connector > Roller Coaster > West Potts Creek > Armadillo Ridge > Potts Creek > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 5.7 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > Tasajilla Flats > Playground Parking Area > Chaparral > Isabel Harte 5.3 miles
Leg 3 - Nature Trail .5 miles
Temp started at 55, ended at 75. Sunny with a few clouds and a 10-15mph Westerly wind. A few sprinkles when I started at 0730 but they ended quickly.
A long hike in good weather along dry, easy to see and traverse trails. There is a major cold front moving in today so I wanted to get a good long hike in and I did. I saw about a dozen deer, a single Turkey Vulture, a single Yellow Shafted Flicker, a few Mockingbirds and about 20 sparrows of various kinds. The surprise was seeing a Queen butterfly as I was leaving.
The park is recovering from the prescribed fires (photo attached) and I hope the multi day freeze we're expecting starting tonight does not affect the recovery.
NOTES
Shade available at numerous campsites at Isabel Harte. Water is at a central location.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station are available at Playground parking area.
South Shore - Playground parking area to Burkett Park Loop + Tasajilla Flats
San Angelo State Park
- 1/13/2022
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.80 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 20 minutes
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 3.7 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > Tasajilla Flats > Playground parking area 3.7 miles
Leg 3 - Tasajilla Flats northern most section 1.4 miles
Temps started at 33, ended at 70. Sunny, very high wispy clouds, light 1-5mph SW breeze.
All trails easy to see and traverse. Not much went on during the hike. I saw at least a dozen white tail deer, a Meadowlark (photo attached) a few Mockingbirds, a single Kestrel and a few sparrows. Saw a hiker who told me I just missed a good photo. He said about 10 minutes earlier, he saw a "big black bird" on the trail lift off and in it's talons was a Jack Rabbit! I assume it was either a Black Buzzard or a Turkey Vulture and also assume the Jack Rabbit was dead.
Spent an extra hour on Tasajilla Flats picking up old bottles and cans last month's prescribed fires revealed. This part of the trail used to be underwater and it's easy to see where the favorite fishing holes were - just look for the pint whiskey bottles, beer bottles and cans; bring 'em, drink 'em and sink 'em. I picked up a 40# bird seed bag full of trash and there are still more bottles and cans waiting for me to gather.
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station available at Playground parking area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
North Shore - Bell's Trailhead to Cougar Overlook Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 1/9/2022
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 7.00 Miles
Duration: N/A
Leg 1 - Bell's Trailhead > Shady Trail > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > North Scenic Loop > South Slick Rock > Lower Ghost Camp > River Bend Campground > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > Cougar Overlook 3.4 miles
Leg 2 - Cougar Overlook > Javalina Trail > River Bend (N) > Ghost Camp Connector > Upper Ghost Camp > River Bend Campground > North Slick Rock > service road (N) > Rocky Creek > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Bell's Trailhead 3.6 miles
Temp started at 44, ended at 51. Partly cloudy. Steady 10-15mph N wind.
Easy hike along familiar trails. Saw some deer and a few birds but not much else due to the cold and steady wind. I was surprised to see a lone grasshopper - I assumed they had all died off or been eaten.
NOTES
Info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available at Bell's Trailhead. Water and shade available in the nearby campground.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at the River Bend campground.
Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available at Cougar Overlook.
Park Mid-Section Burkett Park to Cougar Overlook Loop
San Angelo State Park
- 1/4/2022
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.80 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Leg 1 - Burkett park > WS to LL Connector > Rollercoaster Trail > West Potts Creek > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction > River Bend > service road NNW > Cougar Overlook 5.7 miles
Leg 2 - Cougar Overlook > service road (SW) > Trailhead to Trailhead trail > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 3.1 miles
Temp started at 34, ended at 64. Sunny with a steady SW wind at 10-15mph.
1st hike of 2022!
Easy hike along dry, easy to see and traverse trails. No animals spotted but I saw some birds including a Kestrel (photo attached). The Kestrel was at Cougar Overlook and landed on a tree. A Mockingbird landed by him and when the Kestrel lifted off so did the Mocker. The Kestrel flipped upside down ready for the Mocker's attack but the Mocker went in the opposite direction.
Miles hiked prior to this one - 3453.0
Number of hikes prior to this one - 432
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Water, shade, and info kiosk available at 5 Points Junction.
Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available at Cougar Overlook.