Joe's Life Outdoors - A Guest Post

The following is the first Guest Post to ever be featured on MyLifeOutdoors. Thank you to Joe at The Adventures of Jobiwan for promptly providing a wonderful guest post. 

In a recent post by Steven, he had asked if anyone would be interested in writing a guest post. I thought that I would give it a shot. This is my first ever guest post so I hope I don't scare Steven's followers away with it. This also gives me the opportunity to promote my beautiful homeland of Vermont.

My name is Joe and I write the blog The Adventures of Jobiwan.  I usually write stories of my adventures in Vermont but since Steven's blog is titled My Life Outdoors I thought I would stick to that theme. This is my life outdoors.

My life revolves around being outdoors. It completely consumes me. Not one day passes that I don't use the words hike, backpack, woods et cetera in everyday conversation.. I am in the woods of Vermont quite a bit of the time.  It started at a very young age...before I can even remember when I tent camped with my parents. I fished and hunted while a pre-teen and teen with my father and grandfather and went through the boy scouts in which we did a lot of hiking and camping. I do recall the time where I would like to think that it changed my life forever. I was 14 when my scout troop went primitive camping in the winter. We built our own pine bough shelters and stayed in them. I immediately knew that the outdoors, in all her glory, was the route in life that I wanted to follow. And I have for the most part. I will not hunt any longer.

I am blessed to live where I live. Vermont is home to the Long Trail and she and her side trails are the trails that takes up a lot of my time. They are my church, my psych ward, my school, my playground and my workplace. Although I have never completed this beautiful footpath in the wilderness in it's entirety, I have hiked and backpacked quite a bit of the sections that surround my home. My first thru-hike of this historic trail is scheduled for September of this year. Although the Long Trail is not the longest trail or even the most extreme it does have some of the roughest terrain. It is the U.S.'s oldest long distance trail at 101 years of age and was the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail. It is stewarded by the Green Mountain Club and most of the work on these trails, like many around the world, is done by volunteers.

I am an active member in the Green Mountain Club and volunteer a lot of trail work so others can enjoy my beautiful state in it's natural form. I also sector check a short but aggressive trail called the Canty Trail which to me is my baby. I simply love this trail. It's a side trail of the LT system  and offers an array of Vermont terrain...lower wetlands to steep rocky terrain to roots & rocks with waterfalls and impressive views at the 3278 foot summit of Blue Ridge Mountain. It's a 2.4 mile out and back trail with an elevation gain of 1600 feet. This is a great four season day hiking trail.  

I enjoy all the seasons of outdoors Vermont. Winter is one of my favorites. Ironically I live 20 minutes away from some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the East but I refuse to go down a hill with sticks strapped to my feet. I've been skiing a few times in my life but never got into it. Snowshoeing is my thing to do in the winter. It gives me great opportunity to wander off the beaten path aimlessly without too much concern. Backtracking makes this possible. I love winter camping as well...primitive winter camping. Backpack, snowshoes, food, decent warm clothing, snow and I'm good to go.

Spring gives me some down time. The trails are too muddy and as a trail steward I heed Vermont's mud season ordinances. State lands close from mid April to Memorial Day weekend. I do however help do trail maintenance with the GMC before the summer hiking season opens by cutting away blown down trees, repairing puncheons, painting blazes, clearing out waterbars and pruning any overgrown vegetation. It's my time to give back to the trail.

Summer puts on the mileage on my Merrells. I started a hiking group on Facebook last August and have accrued 120 members so far and I have the feeling that this year my summer will be busy. Summer is great in Vermont...not too hot and not too cold. The green of the mountains really pops out. It truly is a great place to hike. Swimming is another favorite activity that I enjoy. Vermont offers many uncharted swimming holes that are just amazing albeit some are quite chilly. Clarendon Gorge is a favorite spot for me to cool down.

Autumn mountains in Vermont are so amazingly beautiful. The foliage is renowned and attracts visitors from around the world. The reds, oranges and yellows dominate the rolling land. This, to me, is the best time to hike and backpack. It's cooler, there are no bugs and the trails and shelters are no longer filled with adventurous college students who spent their summer backpacking.

So there ya have it. My life outdoors in the great state of Vermont. It's a great place to live let alone hike and backpack. The folks here are friendly and the air is clean.

Happy trails!

Jobiwan

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Pine Peak, Texas - 7,710 feet - The Trip From #$@&?

Since the first time I set foot in the Davis Mountains I have been in love. The Davis Mountains are the largest chain of mountains in Texas and second highest chain in the state. The problem is, most of this chain is privately owned, which means hiking and camping are off limits in all but just a few places.

Mount Livermore, Davis Mountains, Texas

One of the only exceptions is the Davis Mountain Preserve owned by The Nature Conservancy. But even here access is limited to only a few days a year. Not long ago my family and I had the opportunity to go and hike on the preserve. We had hiked here before, in fact about the same time last year we climbed the highest peak in the range...mount Livermore. This time around, however, I was looking for something new.

The McIvor visitor center on The Nature Conservancy's Davis Mountain Preserve

I’m not exactly sure why but I settled on Pine Peak. Pine peak is not the highest, the steepest, or the longest. There is nothing really to set it apart from any other mountain. At 7,710 feet Pine Peak is the fifth highest in the Davis Mountain Range, and the 12th highest in the state (or 13th depending on who you ask).

Pine Peak seen through the trees on The Natures Conservancy's Davis Mountain Preserve

On paper, Pine Peak seemed like an easy hike. Roughly 2.5 miles one way to the peak with about 1500 feet of elevation gain. An old jeep road would serve as a trail for all but that last half mile. From there we would bushwhack the rest of the way to the top. I looked at my wife, 10 year old and 19 month old daughters...it was nothing they couldn't handle.

My 19 month old, ready to do some hiking

My wife and oldest Daughter with Pine Peak in the Background.

I was wrong. From the moment we set foot on the trail things were difficult for them. The midday temperature would reach nearly 100 degrees, and the first mile seemed to be straight up hill. My oldest daughter became hot and tired very quickly. We agreed to go just to the next batch of shade and rest...then to the next, and the next. This made for some slow going, resting every 100 to 200 feet. We did this till we made it all the way to Pine Peak lake 2 miles from where we started at Shoe Tank.

The view from one of the many shade stops we took along the way.

Sign pointing us toward Pine Peak

Approaching Pine Peak Lake

We were happy to make it to Pine Peak lake. But Pine Peak lake is hardly a lake. In fact after such a prolonged drought this year it wasn’t even a puddle any more. Just dry cracked ground. We stopped here in the shadow of the peak to eat lunch and I wondered if my family would be up for what was going to be the hardest part of the hike.

Dry Pine Peak Lake. I had read Pine Peak lake was resilient and persists annually "even in dry years." Goes to show how bad of a drought we are in right now. 

Pine Peak lake from above.

Somehow my wife managed to bring socks that were too big and began to develop huge blisters. We had stopped to doctor them along the way and did everything we could to prevent them...but it was no use. By the time we had reached pine peak lake her heals were in tremendous pain.

To my surprise, however, she wanted to continue. We had come “too far to quit” she said. We left the trail and started up Pine Peaks eastern and most gradual slope. I still had our 19 month old on my back and was finding it difficult to avoid low lying tree limbs. My wife began to fear her daughter would lose an eye to a poorly negotiated limb. every 5-10 feet I would hear her gasp as I tried to duck and crawl through thick trees.

The side of Pine Peak

A view through the trees on Pine Peak

Despite even slower progress, we made it to the the false summit where Pine Peak levels out right before the top. My family was not enjoying themselves. We sat and rested for a while and talked about whether we should turn back or push on. My 10 year old was in no mood to continue. We settled on a compromise...I would go on to the summit while they stayed behind to wait for me. With the plan in place, I unloaded just about everything, took a bottle of water and made the final push to the summit.

View from the false summit

Looking down on the false summit where my family stopped to wait for me.

Near the top I encountered quite a bit of scrambling I hadn't expected. It was good the girls stayed behind...I could have never negotiated the summit with a baby on my back. But the scrambling was worth it. As I had expected the views on the top were simply amazing. I could have spent all day there taking in the mountains that seemed to reach forever. I knew, however, that my family would worry if I was gone too long. So after just a few minutes on the summit I began to make my way back down to them. From there we would retrace our steps back to the jeep.

Some large boulders that required a bit of scrambling. You can see McDonald Observatory in the background

My first view from the Summit of Pine Peak

Looking out at the pine covered mountains from the top of Pine Peak

Looking down from on top of Pine Peak

Looking at the West side of Sawtooth Mountain far in the distance. Not many people ever see this side of Sawtooth.

Blue Mountain viewed from the top of Pine Peak

Everyone was glad to be heading back. The hike proved to much more difficult than it appeared. On the way down I think all my girls shed a few tears as they dealt with blisters, sore feet, and cramped toes. My wife says she learned a valuable lesson...anytime I say “its just a little bushwhacking” she knows to sit this one out. It was not the leisurely hike I thought it was going to be. But in the end, I enjoyed the time with my family, even if they didn’t.

Map of Pine Peak, Texas

Pine Peak, Texas Elevation Profile

The Hike:
Distance: 2.9 Miles One Way
Starting Elevation: 6,201 feet
Ending Elevation: 7,710 feet
Elevation Gain: 1509 feet
GPS File of Pine Peak, Texas (GPX Format) 
Davis Mountain Preserve Roads and Trails Map

Getting There:
Davis Mountain Preserve Gate:  30°42'15.80"N 104° 6'53.99"W
McIvor Visitor Center:  30°42'2.91"N 104° 6'53.12"W
Shoe Tank (Starting Point):  30°40'19.04"N 104° 7'41.46"W
Pine Peak Lake:  30°39'23.64"N 104° 6'33.85"W
Pine Peak Summit:  30°39'19.02"N 104° 6'48.13"W


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Don't Give Up!

I hate posts like this....but I wanted to let any faithful readers know I am still here...I have been so extremely busy lately it is hard to find time to blog. I have lots of great stuff to write about...but no time to do it. I hope to get a trip report out later this week. Please bare with me for a while.

Here is a sneak peak of a photo from my upcoming trip report.

Stay tuned to find out more.

In the mean time I will steal an idea from Karl over at Live Free and Hike and solicit some guest posts to keep MyLifeOutdoors publishing while I am busy. If you have a niche or expertise related to the outdoor world and would like to write a guest post for me...I would love to hear about it. Please feel free to e-mail me with your ideas at Steven.outdoors (AT) gmail (DOT) com. Who knows...maybe we can get some articles from someone who really knows how to write.

Thank you for reading...I look forward to posting again soon.

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Fire Damage Photos - Davis Mountains State Park, Texas

It seems the Davis Mountains just can’t catch a break. Just a few weeks after extinguishing the largest fire in Texas history, another fire burns in the Davis Mountains. Just east of Mount Livermore, the Tejano Canyon Fire was started by lightning and has burned 12,000 acres since Friday.

Burnt historic CCC building at Davis Mountains State Park

This happened just days after I left the area and received my first good look at the previous fire damage. This was my second trip to the Davis Mountains since the large Rockhouse fire. My first look at the damage was too fast to really see what had happened. This time around, however, I was able to spend several days in the area and get a good look. In particular Davis Mountains State Park.

Shortly after the Rockhouse fire reached Fort Davis, reports came out that Davis Mountains State Park had suffered damage. Some reports were saying historic CCC buildings had been destroyed while others said no structures had been lost. I was anxious to see what had actually happened.

Upon arriving at Davis Mountains State park it was obvious large portions of the skyline ridge had been burned. From the campgrounds you could see blackened rock all along SkyLine Drive as it snakes up the side of the park. Curious, we drove up to the top of the ridge to get a better look. From the top we could see that most of the southern side of the park had been burned. Everywhere we looked it seemed fire had scorched the landscape. We drove down toward the National Historic Site, taking in the burnt mountains side. Out of the corner of my eye an orange construction fence caught my eye. This could only mean one thing….fire damage.

Burnt mountainside at Davis Mountains State Park

The completely burnt south side of Davis Mountains State Park. This area is normally covered in waist high grass.

Burnt Yucca and blackened hillside at Davis Mountains State Park

Service road cuts across the burnt south ridge of Davis Mountains State Park

Burnt landscape stretches into the south valley at Davis Mountains State Park.

I hiked out to a small building completely surrounded by orange fencing. It was an old historic CCC structure. It seems the reports were true, small parts of history had been destroyed with the fire. The burnt mountainside is really no big deal….the land will heal itself and be better off after the fires. This isn’t always true of historic buildings. Still it didn’t seem to be a total loss. The structure was expertly made from mostly stone. Its seemed only the roof and window frames where wood. This building could probably be restored with a little effort.

Burnt Historic CCC building at Davis Mountains State Park

The fire destroyed the wooden roof and wooden window frames

Burnt window frame - Davis Mountains State Park

As the day came to a close my family headed up to the lookout to watch the sun set. Once there we saw what was probably the most damage from the fire. Another historic CCC building, this one much more affected by the fire. Nothing remained but a few upright stone columns. If this is going to be restored, it will take much more effort. My wife and I stood there staring at what remained of the building. It was sad...not two years ago on a date we sat under the shaded porch of this very building and ate a picnic lunch. It now seemed we would never do that again.

Burnt historic CCC building at Davis Mountains State Park

But as the sun slowly set on the Skyline ridge, and warm golden rays cast themselves on the building’s ruins. I couldn’t help but see beauty among the damage. Even with 75% of the building destroyed, it was still a beautiful work of craftsmanship. It helped to reconfirm in me why the Davis Mountains are such a special place. History, natural beauty, and nature working in a rare Texas mountain range. This is one of my favorite places on earth. Not even fire will change that.

Burnt historic CCC building at Davis Mountains State Park

Related Resources:
InciWeb: Tejano Canyon Fire


Related Posts:
Fire destroys Parts of Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area
Sitting Bull Falls Recreation Area Closed Due to Last Chance Fire
Last Chance Fire Burns in the Guadalupe Mountains
Madera Canyon Trail Closed Due to Fire Danger
Fort Davis Fire Photos - A Special Week in Review
Davis Mountians State Park Closed Until May 1st.
Davis Mountains Wildfire Update - April 12, 2011
Fire Destroys Parts of Davis Mountains State Park in Texas
Areas of Big Bend National Park Closed Due to Fire Danger 

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