Melissa-Austin's Logbook

Stats
Total Log Entries: 8 (Rank: 63rd)  [List Them]  [Map Them]
Total Distance: 16.20 Miles (Rank: 213rd)
Average Distance: 2.03 Miles

Average Rating: 3stars (3.40)
Average Difficulty: 2stars (2.42)
Average Solitude: 2point5stars (2.58)

Earliest Log Entry: 3/7/2009
Latest Log Entry: 10/30/2010

Average ratings are based on the published values and not the values entered in your own log entries.

Photos
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Log Entries
Too Short
Mayfield Park - Lake - 10/30/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 1point5stars Difficulty: 1point5stars Solitude: 1point5stars
Distance: N/A Duration: N/A

Beautiful, but too short to be considered a hiking trail - only about 10 minutes of hiking.  I stopped down the street to Mount Bonnell and found another short, but more challenging hike.

Nice but short
Mount Bonnell - 10/30/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 2stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 1point5stars
Distance: N/A Duration: N/A

Not bad, very steep at parts, but not very traveled, as I got very scratched up fighting through branches.  Definitely too short for a hike.

Talleyran Park Trail
Talleyran Park - 10/17/2010  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 2point5stars Solitude: 4point5stars
Distance: 1.20 Miles Duration: 30 minutes

This was a nice short hike, with a rocky decline in the beginning & incline in the end.  The creek was completely dry.  The hike was mostly shaded, but there were some spurts of sunshine.  It was completely solitude until the very end when I crossed someone with their dog.

Park on the street by the ballpark & walk behind it to get to the trail.

Trail of Life
Barton Creek - Upper North - 3/23/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 4stars Difficulty: 4stars Solitude: 2stars
Distance: 5.00 Miles Duration: 2 hours

Wow, what a hike!  The beginning of the hike was an amazing decline down to the creek.  At the "T" we went to the right, which is the more rugged of the two sides.  We walked along the beautiful creek & saw and heard many waterfalls.  It was beautiful.  We eventually crossed the creek and proceeded up river.  It eventually became to inclined and was a bit too dangerous to continue, so we went back down stream where the hike was flatter.  We ran into a few bikers and a couple people with dogs, but overall, there were not many people.  It was also a Monday morning, so it's probably much busier on the weekend.  Going back up the steep incline in the end was very tough after a long hike. 

Spicewood Valley Trail
Spicewood Valley Trail - 3/20/2009  [View Log Page]
Rating: 3stars Difficulty: 3stars Solitude: 3stars
Distance: 2.00 Miles Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes

This was an interesting trail with two very different parts.  I was first excited about the rapid decline towards the creek with a beautiful natural stone staircase with a log handrail.  You quickly come to a "T" where you have to go left or right.  I first chose the left path.  This trail was absolutely beautiful - very natural, very secluded and lots of inclines and declines.  It had nice stepping stones to cross a shallow creek.  Along the trail, there were some large beautiful boulders and the pathway was very scenic and shady with lots of trees.  Unfortunately, this path was very short and I had to turn back.  I went back to the "T" and proceeded down the right path.  This side of the trail was very different.  The one thing that I loved was the river that had a beautiful waterfall sound that could be heard long before you reached it.  There were also nice sounds of birds and crickets, so it sounded like you were really away from it all.  However, shortly after passing this area, the trail became much wider and it almost seemed like you were walking down a dirt road.  There was no shade, no fluctuating elevations,  and I started hearing sounds of cars and construction.  This side of the trail was much longer, but it was not very impressive.  I came across a SUV which had burned to the ground in the middle of nowhere - very interesting.  Overall, I absolutely loved the left trail, except it was just too short, but I was not very fond of the right trail once I passed the waterfall.