Goodwater Loop Trail

Today we drove over to Cedar Breaks Park on the south side of the lake to hike the first part of the Goodwater Loop Trail around Lake Georgetown. The first part of the hike winds through a cedar and oak woodlands. Much of the trail is very rocky or tangled with tree roots.

Trailhead at Cedar Breaks looks inviting.

After a while, we emerged from the woods and got a good view of Lake Georgetown.

The loop trail is marked, starting with the Cedar Breaks trailhead and going counterclockwise. We passed mile markers 1 and 2 on our way to the Crockett Garden Falls, at 2.5 miles in. At some points we had to look around to see where the trail went, until finally Ken pointed out that there are paint blazes on the trees. Going counterclockwise, you see white blazes on the right of the trail; going counterclockwise you see yellow blazes. Wish we had realized that sooner....

Vulture on the lookout on a limestone outcropping below us.

When we got to the ruins of corrals and a spring house, we started to look for the falls. A sign points down a hillside, but there is no trail. We started down and scouted around, almost giving up before we heard the falls. The spring fed falls are delicate streamers leaping down the limestone bluff.

Crockett Garden Falls seen from below.

Purple irises at Knight Spring are not native to the area but were planted by previous landowners. Lovely sight!

We sat down on a bench to eat our lunch in a shady spot looking out at the irises. A couple of backpackers had paused here also. They were on their way to Cedar Hollow Camp to spend the night.

These kayakers both have dogs in the bow. We saw and heard a couple of speedboats, but otherwise the water was calm and empty.

We did not see as much wildlife as we had hoped, though we did see lots of butterflies of various kinds and lovely wildflowers. The hike back to the trailhead was uneventful just until we were in sight of the parking lot. At that point, Ken tripped and fell, scaring heck out of both of us. He managed to scrape his hands and knees and bruise himself a bit, but no serious damage. It's so easy to lose concentration. We had been carefully picking our way through the rocks and roots, eyes open for snakes and critters. We've noticed before that there's a tendency to zone out a bit towards the end of a hike.

Here are some Murcott Mandarin oranges, very similar to Clementines. They are very sweet, seedless, and easy to eat.

Eat more Cuties! Party in your tummy! They are very sweet...

We've started to hear what some of the budget cuts will be. I'm especially dismayed that the WIC program is being cut. This and programs like it are investments that more than pay for themselves, according to the GAO. Besides, it's morally repugnant to cut programs for the poorest and most defenseless infants while continuing tax cuts for the wealthiest.