Park Mid-section Burkett Park to Cougar Overlook Figure 8
User:
MikeHikes - 9/7/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 11.40 Miles
Duration: 5 hours, 15 minutes
Leg 1 - Burkett Park > WS to LL COnnector > Roller Coaster > West Potts Creek > Potts Creek (E) > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction 4.5 miles
Leg 2 - 5 Points Junction > Flintstone (N) > Cougar Overlook > service road WNW > River Bend (S) > 5 Points Junction 2.8 miles
Leg 3 - 5 Points Junction > Flintstone (S) > Playground > Bell's Point > Playground > (East) Potts Creek > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 4.1 miles
Temp started at 69 and ended at 93. Sunny, no clouds and a steadily increasing SSW breeze.
A very good hike along dry, easy to see and traverse trails. Coming into the park, I saw numerous deer, javalinas and a "shore bird" at the pond closest to Burkett park; the "shore bird" is a juvenile Yellow Crowned Night Heron (photo attached) - the first I've seen at the park.
Not many birds were out at first but the numbers inceased as the hike progressed. I saw a lone Box Turtle that was the size of my fist along the trail just moseying along - been awhile since I saw the last one!
The hike went longer than I expected but was well worth it!
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.
Water, shade and info kiosk available at Bell's Point.
South Shore Playground Parking Area to Burkett Park and Roadrunner Loop
User:
MikeHikes - 9/3/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 11.00 Miles
Duration: 4 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 3.5 miles
Leg 2 - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > Tasajilla Flats > Playground Parking Area 4.1 miles
Leg 3 - Playground parking area > Roadrunner Loop > Playground parking area 3.4 miles
Temp started at 69, ended at 86. Sunny with haze caused by high humidity, light breeze.
Long and uneventful hike along trails that were dry, easy to see and traverse. I saw numerous deer as well as the "usual suspects" in the bird viewing department. The only things worth mentioning -- the sighting of a foot long Ring-Necked snake, the second of this year, and a male Vermillion Flycatcher. Photos of the snake are of the "so what" type so I'm not bothering to post and the Vermillion Flycatcher was far away to the point the photos easily identified him but again only a "so what" photo.
As mentioned in a prior hike report, even if the hike was uneventful, it was still much better than sitting at home and looking at a computer monitor or television screen!
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station are available at the Playground parking area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
Water and shade are available at numerous campsites along most of Roadrunner Loop. Toilets and info kiosks are available at a few locations as well.
North Shore Bell's Trailhead to Cougar Overlook Loop
User:
MikeHikes - 8/26/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.40 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Out - Bell's Trailhead > Shady Trail > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > Scenic Loop > North Slick Rock > Lower Ghost Camp > River Bend Campground > Lower Ghost Camp > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > Cougar Overlook 3.7 miles
Return - Cougar Overlook > service road (WSW) > River Bend > Badlands > service road (E) > Upper Big Hill > Rocky Creek > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Bell's Trailhead 4.7 miles
Temp started at 68, ended at 78. Sunny very light breeze.
All trails were easy to see and traverse except for portions of North Slick Rock which could use some vegetation cutting. For many years, along the Shady Trail bordering the North Concho River, there have been trees felled by beavers but I never saw a beaver ... until today. As I hiked along the trail, I saw a "V" cutting along the pool of water in the riverbed (the water has not been flowing for some time now). I watched and saw a fairly large beaver glide along back and forth, seemingly unconcerned I was watching and taking photos. After three minutes of swimming back and forth, he decided he had enough and disappeared under the water. A bit further down the trail, I saw a Summer Tanager - not considered "rare" but definitely uncommon.
The rest of the hike was simply hiking along, listening to the birds and seeing deer bound away. A good hike!
NOTES
Info kiosk and a bicycle repair station are at Bell's Trailhead. Water and shade are available in the nearby campground.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets are available at the River Bend Campground.
Shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station are available at Cougar Overlook.
Park Mid-Section Burkett Park to Cougar Overlook Loop
User:
MikeHikes - 8/21/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 9.10 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Out - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Roller Coaster > West Potts Creek > Potts Creek > Turkey Creek > 5 Points Junction > River Bend (N) > service road (NE) > Cougar Overlook 5.8 miles
Return - Cougar Overlook > Flintstone > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > Burkett Trail > Burkett Park 3.3 miles
Temp started at 68, ended at 89. Sunny with high, thin, overcast clouds. Light SE breeze.
All trails were dry and easy to traverse. Animals spotted were deer, longhorns and one monstrously large Jack Rabbit (no photo). There were a few birds out this morning - Mockingbirds, Doves and various sparrows as well as a lone Scissortail Flycatcher. The North Concho River has all but disappeared - there are patches of water but not much is visible (photo attached) - RAIN IS NEEDED !!!!!
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.
South Shore Playground Parking Area to Burkett Park Loop
User:
MikeHikes - 8/15/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 7.30 Miles
Duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Out - Playground parking area > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > Winding Snake > Burkett Park 3.7 miles
Return - Burkett Park > WS to LL Connector > Lanky Lackey > Nature Trail > Tasajilla Flats > Playground Parking Area 3.6 miles
Temps started at 82 and ended at 89. Mostly cloudy with light breeze.
A very uneventful hike. All trails were dry and easy to traverse. There were a few people on the trails but I observed no animals and only a few birds. Even though the hike was uneventful, it's always better to spend the morning hiking at the park rather than sitting at home in front of the TV or computer.
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk, toilets and a bicycle repair station at Playground parking area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at Burkett Park.
North Shore Parking Area to Ghost Camp Loop
User:
MikeHikes - 8/11/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.80 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Out - parking area > Bell's Trailhead > Dinosaur Trail > Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area > Dinosaur Trail > Lower Big Hill > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > North Scenic Loop > Trailhead to Trailhead (S) > Badlands > River Bend Trail > service road to Ghost Camp 5.7 miles
Return - Ghost Camp > Lower Ghost Camp Trail > River Bend Campground > Lower Ghost Camp Trail > South Slick Rock Trail > Trailhead to Trailhead (N) > Shady Trail > park road to parking area 3.1 miles
Temp started at 77, ended at 92. Sunny with few clouds, 10 mph Southerly breeze.
A good hike today! Trails were dry, easy to see and traverse which is not unusual but what made the hike memorable, was the variety of animals spotted. I saw an armadillo, a skunk, a porcupine, lots of deer and a few birds. Specifically, I observed and photographed, a "white" deer which I'd heard about for years but never saw until today (photo attached). Of course the deer was extremely spooky so the photo is not the best quality due to the distance involved, nonetheless, the deer is clearly visible and its easy to see, it's coloring is not that of an ordinary deer!
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk and a bicycle repair station available on or near Bell's Trailhead.
Water, shade, and info kiosk available at the Dinosaur Tracks Viewing Area.
Water, shade, info kiosk and dry toilets available at River Bend Campground.
Park Mid-Section Burkett Park to 5 Points Junction and back
User:
MikeHikes - 8/8/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.30 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Out - Burkett Park > Burkett Trail > Potts Creek > Playground > Bell's Point > Playground > Flintstone > 5 Points Junction 3.7 miles
Return - 5 Points Junction > Turkey Creek > Potts Creek (W) > West Potts Creek > Roller Coaster > WS to LL Connector > Burkett Park 4.6 miles
Temp Started at 77, ended at 93. Sunny with a few clouds and light SW breeze.
All trails were easy to see and traverse. There were more people on the trails than I am used to seeing (due to today being Saturday). Javalinas, deer and some birds were out but once again, the birds were not as numerous as I had expected them to be. It was an easy, but uneventful, 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 Playground parking area to Isabel Harte + Roadrunner Loop
User:
MikeHikes - 8/4/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.50 Miles
Duration: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Leg 1 - Playground parking area > Horny Toad > Tasajilla Flats > Nature Trail > Park road to Isabel Harte 2.7 miles
Leg 2 - Park road to Isabel Harte > Chaparral > Red Dam Loop > Chaparral > playground parking area 2.5 miles
Leg 3 - Playground parking area > Roadrunner Loop > Playground parking area 3.3 miles
Temp started at 70, ended at 95. Sunny with light, steady breeze.
Slow and easy hike along dry, easy to traverse trails. Deer were out as were some birds but nothing spectacular. Lots of green vegetation still but no wildflowers to speak of although there were a few sunflowers out.
NOTES
Water, shade, info kiosk, bicycle repair station and toilets at Playground parking area.
Water and shade at various campsites parallel to Roadrunner Loop. A toilet is available at the mid-point.
Make Up Entry
User:
MikeHikes - 7/30/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 9.60 Miles
Duration: N/A
recording mileage
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User:
MikeHikes - 7/21/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 6.90 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 7/15/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.40 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 7/8/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 10.00 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 6/24/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.80 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 6/9/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 10.20 Miles
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User:
MikeHikes - 6/5/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.60 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 5/31/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 10.00 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 5/27/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 6.80 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 5/15/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 6.40 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 5/5/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 6.50 Miles
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User:
MikeHikes - 4/27/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 10.50 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 4/20/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 8.60 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 4/6/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 5.20 Miles
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User:
MikeHikes - 3/27/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 5.30 Miles
Duration: N/A
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User:
MikeHikes - 3/24/2020
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Rating:
Difficulty:
Solitude:
Distance: 6.80 Miles
Duration: N/A
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