I never thought my life as a volunteer Houston Sierra Club outings leader would include parking lot attendant.  But there I was, guiding people to parking spaces at the small and cramped “Great Egret Ridge Trail” parking lot.  We had all met at the McDonald's in Liberty to regroup and then caravan about a mile to the trailhead.  Who'd believe that a National Wildlife Refuge would be inside the City of Liberty.  Well I guess you never know.

There were thirteen of us and we gathered at the kiosk and I talked about the trail and what we might see today.  It is always a joy to come here because you never know what you will see!!!  For the past three years I had “attempted” to introduce Sierrans and the general public to this virtually unknown trail about 50 minutes from Downtown Houston. 

When I say “attempted” I mean that in 2015 I had scheduled an outing for this trail three times and each time rain and floods shut the trail down.  The same happened in 2016 once and this year, last week, it had rained again.  I felt snake-bit and was relieved that finally my dream of sharing this trail with others had come through.  But I guess that is what you expect in a mighty, river floodplain. 

There is another reason I am proud of this trail.  My compadre, David, and I helped Laurie Lomas Gonzales, the wildlife biologist for the Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge, flag out part of this trail.  So David and I had a personal stake that went deeper than normal.  That is what service and stewardship is all about, give back and you enrich your heart.

Off we went.  I pointed out, for safety's sake, poison ivy so everyone could recognize this stealth plant that has itchy results if touched.  I also showed people a Honey Locust, with huge thorns growing from its thin bark.  Truly looks like a tree from “Star Wars” or something a “sci-fi” writer created.

The temperature was cool, with a light breeze and lovely, sunny, rays in a clear blue sky, with occasional clouds.  Halcyon days for sure!  We immediately began to see wildflowers.  Dewberries laced the ground with their white blossoms which in a few weeks would offer up a tasty, fruit, morsel fit for a king.  Lyre-leaf Sage was shooting up with its blue, trumpet-shaped flowers.  Crow Poison (False Garlic), Yellow Wood Sorrel, Wild Onion, vetch, and the best of all, Butterweed.

Butterweed ranged from six inches to two and one-half feet of towering bright yellow flowers with scalloped and variegated leaves.  By the end of the day we had seen fields of Butterweed, over and over in the bottomland hardwood forests of the Trinity River,  Truly more Butterweed than I had ever seen in my lifetime.  What a show!!

We moved on and I pointed out the large, dead, Overcup Oak.  I talked about how dead trees are not “wasted” but supply the forest with organic and nutrient fertilizers, nurse logs, erosion dams, and wildlife shelter and food.  These biological legacies, instead of being a “waste”, were a precious resource that we should celebrate and retain.  In addition, the “mound” of the root wad and the “pit” where the tree roots were pulled out of the ground create an uneven surface that is recognized by geologists as a special feature of bottomland hardwood forests.  Who would have  thought?

As I was talking about the “downed tree” a feral hog flushed behind us and ran off.  Unfortunately, non-native animals and plants like feral hogs (and Chinese Tallow) make managing these bottomlands difficult.  These non-native species compete and replace native wildlife and destroy or degrade vegetation and animal populations.  We need to reduce the number of these non-native species or we won't have any “natural” ecosystems left to view and enjoy.

As we walked on, a Pileated Woodpecker could be heard in the background.  We dodged wet places and started along the “uplands” of the trail toward the Trinity River.  The “uplands” are in reality about 3 feet high.  For this place, where swales, sloughs, abandoned channels, oxbows, lakes, and ponds, are everywhere, certain plants stand a better chance of weathering floods on the “uplands”.  Everything in the floodplain is shaped by water and when flood waters 2, 6, 8 feet or deeper stand for months on the landscape you have to be a resilient, tree, shrub, grass, or wildflower to survive.  But survive they do and very successfully.

On past the Water Elm, Green Hawthorn, Common Persimmon, Deciduous Holly, Palmetto, and other bottomland plants, while frogs serenaded us high in the trees.  We crossed a small stream and admired the Bald Cypress slough and knees that appeared before us like a magical landscape.  Then as we climbed away from the stream we saw a giant tree.

Out came my measuring tape and soon we found out that this ancient one, a Water Oak, measured 62 inches in diameter, over five feet wide!  Some of the branches were dead and there were signs of fungal disease but the tree was still living after its over 100 years of life.

We moved past a wonderful slough filled with cypress trees, up a slope to the ever open horizon, and by huge Pecan Trees 3-4 feet in diameter.  Soon we stood on the edge of the Trinity River and then, we were on the wide sand bars, putting our hands in the cool water and enjoying the flights of a Great Egret, Great Blue Heron, and Belted Kingfisher.

We sat and bolted down our lunch, hungry from the morning's hike.  The view up and down the river was well worth the price of admission, the miles we had walked.  It was truly a “room with a view”.

After lunch we hiked to the Twin Lakes Area and enjoyed a short rest.  It was there that I looked around and saw that half of my crew had stopped and were starring at the lake on the opposite side of the trail.  “Alligator” shouted someone and I looked through my binoculars and saw a 3-4 foot long American Alligator cruising down the lake.  How cool was that!

We continued our hike and stopped at another overlook on the Trinity River.  It was here we saw what was probably a Pallid Spiny Softshell Turtle and a Mississippi Map Turtle.  People were feeling the heat so we moved south on the pipeline right-of-way to the trailhead.  We were all bushed, but felt good.  What I call a “good tired”.

Finally, my dreams had been realized and I had introduced Sierrans to the Great Egret Ridge Trail.  I was satisfied for that day.  But I know I will go back.  I hear the river calling me and like Bob Dylan sang, I want to watch “the river flow”.  Sounds good to me.

Brandt Mannchen
March 19, 2017

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