Nine Sierrans met and visited the Outdoor Nature Club’s Little Thicket Nature Sanctuary (LTNS) in San Jacinto County on June 9, 2018.  We were welcomed by Sergio Henao, 78 years young, who showed us incomparable hospitality as we hiked the trails and roads of the Sanctuary.

 

We visited, ”The Chasm” and saw bedrock and the location of a waterfall (when it rains), which is hard to see in East Texas.  We ventured to the “Enchanted Isle”, passing large White Oaks and Swamp Chestnut Oaks, and oohed and aahed at the Netted Chain Fern beds that occupied a lower groundwater seepage slope on a tributary to Mill Brook.  Mill Brook snakes through the Sanctuary, feeds into Miller Creek, which then flows into the East Fork of the San Jacinto River, our drinking water supply in Lake Houston.

 

We walked the “Wilderness Trail” to the “Triangle” and saw a meadow with wildflowers or soon to be wildflowers including Wild Petunia, Black-eyed Susan, Rosin Weed, Dayflower, Firewheel, and gayfeather.

 

We swayed on the swinging bridge that crosses Mill Brook before the trail leads to a canebrake with native Switchcane grass.  A Southern Pearly-eye Butterfly, which thrives in canebrakes, greeted us at the bridge.  We also heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo make its croaking call.  As we walked back on “Middle Road” we saw blooming American Beautyberries, Inland Sea Oats, and American Basswood.   

 

We explored King’s Hill and saw a giant Water Oak and an unusual Black Walnut.  Then we ventured downslope on the “Big Tree Trail” and saw many large Southern Magnolias and a champion Swamp Chestnut Oak that was between 4 and 5 feet in diameter.  We found a lonely Slender Wakerobin (Trillium gracile) on the trail, which was beginning to wilt in the summer heat.

 

We also enjoyed viewing the library building where nature study can be done.  Although hot, the day was a fine one and we had great company and interesting scenery.  Lunch was a relaxed affair and our food never tasted so good.  The bathrooms were a rare pleasure and the “Cove”, where we parked our cars, can be used not only for picnics but also for tent camping.

 

All in all, we had a great time!  If you would like to learn more about and or visit the LTNS, visit the Outdoor Nature Club’s website at www.outdoornatureclub.org.  You will be glad you did!

 

Brandt Mannchen

June 10, 2018