I counted.  There were 12 of us.  These were good folks.  Barry, Andrew, Sara, Lida, Lyn Ann, Taylor, Ginger, Gary, Elizabeth, Corrine, and JR.  Good people are the second prerequisite for a successful outing, after choosing a beautiful place to visit.  That was taken care of with Little Lake Creek Wilderness Area.  The only wilderness in Sam Houston National Forest has the Lone Star Hiking Trail which snakes through and made our hike easier, but still challenging.

We crossed FM 149 from the trail-head parking lot, dodging cars and trucks and the debris and dirt that had not been cleaned up from the construction project which will add shoulders to this forest highway.  This was the most dangerous thing we did all day.

We plunged into the Wilderness and in a few minutes we stopped.  I talked about the importance of Wilderness as a place of human restraint, where people were visitors, and Nature called the shots.  I talked about how we had to fight to get Little Lake Creek designated as Wilderness.  I pointed out a decaying pine that had almost disappeared into the forest floor and talked about southern pine beetles, disturbance, and how the forest heals and recreates itself.

Off we went!  The first eighth of a mile we went down and then up through a series of steep, ravines that connected with a tributary of Pole Creek.  As we turned a corner and walked on, I stopped and pointed out a snake skin hanging on a shrub.  People immediate stood at attention and were much more alert.  Andrew particularly was fascinated about how a snake had literally crawled out of its old skin. 

On we walked at a moderate pace, people enjoyed the scenery and the camaraderie.  Then Nature stung!  Or I should say Yellow Jackets!!!  As we approached a dry, ephemeral stream, something flew up at me (I was the lead hiker) and before I could respond I had been stung.  Andrew, who was behind me started to yell and ran backward.  I told people behind me to go back and swatted at several more wasps.

By the time it was over, at least four of us had been stung, some multiple times.  Andrew was very upset and his dad, Barry, pulled out some ointment to put on his stings and I offered an alcohol wipe.  Andrew was OK, but Barry decided that it was best to take Andrew and Sara (who also had been stung) home for the day.

We were sorry to see them go but slowly regrouped.  I approached where the wasps were and found a way around our angry and still buzzing fellow creatures.  Everyone followed carefully as we moved around, across, and by the wasps and continued our hike.    

We approached Pole Creek.  Before we reached the creek someone discovered several ladies-tresses orchids in full bloom.  We also observed other fall wildflowers like small, white, asters and Blue Mist-flowers, which accented the trail as we hiked. 

The landscape changed from upland Southern Red Oaks and Post Oaks to Water Oaks, Sweetgums, and American Elms.  We were in the floodplain of Pole Creek.  I was delighted to see several Strawberry-bushes (Hearts-abusting-with-love, Euonymus americanus), with their fiery red fruits, and scattered ferns which delineated the lower banks of flowing Pole Creek.

We briefly left the Wilderness, crossed Pole Creek, and stopped for a short break.  Then we began our assent down into the Little Lake Creek Floodplain.  First we walked on a ridge that lay between Pole Creek and Little Lake Creek.  The trees here, since we were on the lowest part of the slope, resembled floodplain forest with Green Ash, Water Oak, Loblolly Pine, and Bois d' Arc (Horse Apple or Osage Orange).

We stopped at a Green Ash Flat to see where beaver had chewed a number of trees on these drying ponds ringed by large Palmettos.  We went ever deeper into the floodplain and saw old-growth Green Ash and American Elms and 40- inch diameter Loblolly Pines.  We crossed Little Lake Creek and the swales, sloughs, old creek channels, flatwoods, and Palmetto-Hardwood Forests shaded and engulfed us in their green splendor.

Finally, we made it to an upland knoll and ate lunch under a Black Walnut.  The hardwoods here included many Sweetgums, Southern Red Oaks, and Black Gums which protected us and rimmed an old woods pond.  

On our way back, the cool of the morning burned off and we began to feel the heat of a late October sky, blue with scattered, white, puffy, clouds.

We made it to our cars and headed back to Houston.  Although Nature had “stung” us that is not what I most remembered.  In my mind, the cool, green, welcoming shade of Little Lake Creek beckons me.  Wilderness brings me back to my senses and balances my life.  I will return!

For more on this outing, you can visit the Houston Sierra Club Outings Meet-up Site here: http://www.meetup.com/Houston-Sierra-Club-Outings/events/229022968/

Brandt Mannchen

October 30, 2016