A nice, long, flat hike, with some people

Comments: My wife, my dog & I started from the Nails Creek Unit & hiked to Newman's Bottom campsite (6 miles). The next day, we hiked to the Birch Creek Unit & back to the Flag Pond campsite (17 miles). The final day, we hiked 5 miles back to our car at Nails Creek. ********** On Friday, we only saw two people: a pair of women riding hoseback. On Saturday, the trail had 6 bikeriders, 1 jogger & 4 horse riders. Of course, right as we were heading back to Newman's Bottom, we saw an entire troop of boyscouts heading to the sam site, so we detoured over to Flag Pond. Sunday, we got up early & didn't see a single person as we hiked out. ********** The trail system at Somerville is a mixture of service roads and very wide foot trails. There was no potable water out on the trail & the lake is a pain to get to (very muddy banks), but we filtered water from the livestock wells. ********** Newman's Bottom was a heavily wooded area consisting of 3 separate campsites with trees & shrubs completely surrounding you. The ground was relatively soft sand & was pretty dry. ********** Flag Pond was a much more open camping area and could easily serve as a group campsite for 10 people. It was very open to the sky, allowing us to track the full moon throughout the night. ********** Also, we backpacked during duck-hunting season, so each morning, we awoke to the sounds of distant gun shots. ********** Finally, we saw a lot of animals: lots of javelinas & deer, hawks, ducks, geese, & many other large birds. At night we heard a pack of coyotes & a few very loud owls.