Huntsville State Park is a beautiful place with a lush, getting older, forest, Lake Raven, and plenty of hiking trails.  But sometimes you can get a bit confused.  Recently, the Houston Sierra Club had an outing to Huntsville State Park to hike the Chinquapin Trail.  This trail is about 6.8 miles and has the distinction of circling Lake Raven.

 

It was a hot May day and I was concerned about the heat, the distance, and my right foot which had been giving me problems for six weeks.  I told myself as the leader of this hike that if worse came to worse I could end the hike prematurely, but I did not want to do that because I enjoy meeting and hiking with people who like forests and the outdoors.

 

We met, got organized, and off we went.  Within a short time period I saw something on the trail moving rapidly and I called out to the eleven other hikers, “Copperhead”!  They all came up and I pointed out where the snake was in the leaf litter just off the trail.  People had trouble seeing this “venomous snake” until it moved, its camouflage was so effective.

 

After that experience we were off again!  We walked at a steady pace, about two miles an hour, and before long I cried out again, “Copperhead”.  Again, we marveled how this snake could “disappear” while we watched.  Evolution at work for sure!  Tree frogs called in the forest and large purple Spiderworts showed off their beautiful blooms which were “rest stops” for “Daddy Long-Leg Spiders”, also known as “Harvestmen Spiders”.

 

We were passed by many mountain bikers, trail runners, and other hikers as we crossed Big and Little Chinquapin Creeks, forest ponds, Lake Raven, and undulating ridges and drainages.  Two birders walked quietly in front of us trying to decipher what kinds of birds were high in the forest canopy.  I pointed out “Poison Ivy” and “Bull Nettle” so people would not make a mistake and touch these sting and itch-inducing plants.  No casualties or victims on this outing!  

 

We saw where park personnel had begun burning part of the uplands of the forest to reintroduce fire into a fire-adapted pine and hardwood forest ecosystem.  We stopped at the Dam and I heard a Pileated Woodpecker call in the distance.  We crossed the dam to the greeting of a profusion of wildflowers including Indian Blankets, Brown-Eyed Susans, Passion Vine, Horsemints, Morning Glories, and Coreopsis.

 

We stopped for lunch and admired the large Loblolly and Shortleaf Pine trees and Sweetgums.  I particularly enjoyed seeing leaf-cutter ants leave their trail of cut-up Yaupon Holly leaves on the trail.  We also liked the Swtichcane which grows on the slopes before the bottomlands and the Lizard’s Tail wetland plant that grew in and alongside streams.

 

We were about one mile from the parking lot where we began our trek and then it went wrong.  I had stayed or had been close to the lead for most of the hike.  As we approached the end of our outing I got complacent and dropped back to talk to people who formed a second group a bit farther back and then I realized that the group in front of us had disappeared.

 

I next realized that we were hiking on the Dogwood Trail and not the Chinquapin Trail.  I looked at the map, told our group about our situation, and then followed the Dogwood Trail to Park Road 40.  We walked a few hundred yards on the road right-of-way and saw the Nature Center, restrooms, and parking lot that was across the road from our parking lot.  

 

I breathed a sigh of relief when we came to the Nature Center there was our other group crossing the road.  We were reunited at last!  A lot of jokes were made at my expense about my leadership skills, deservedly so, and we ended our day glad to be out of the hot weather and in our air-conditioned cars.

 

Next time I go to Huntsville State Park I will be a bit more observant and take advantage of the cool water in Lake Raven.  I look forward to that outing!

 

Brandt Mannchen

May 20, 2018