by Duane Craig

Created on: April 05, 2010

The morning started out with a predictable sameness, a mirror image of a string of cloudy days punctuated by thunderstorms. I had been cooped up in the home office far too long and needed a quick getaway to someplace natural. 

My wife showed me the detail of the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge while my eyes wandered outside to the light drizzle that could turn a pleasant hike into a soggy, muddy trek. At that point though, it really didn't matter. We needed the getaway so we decided to take our chances.

Amazingly, the sky was clearing a couple of hours later as we navigated the maze of roads leading to this haven for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo. 

The clocks had just changed the week before and we had forgotten how quickly it was going to get dark. We pulled into the parking lot at about 3:30 so we figured we had about an hour before we needed to leave to avoid the gauntlet of deer you meet with on Texas roads as daylight fades. We chose the Rimrock Trail, a 2.2 mile hike that pretty much spans the variety of terrain at Doeskin Ranch. We knew we could also branch out on the 1.5 mile Indiangrass Trail if we felt we were making good time. That trail would loop into and out of a canyon and put us back on the Rimrock Trail for our final descent back to the stream bed, and the trail head.

By accident we set off in the right direction. If you take the Rimrock Trail to the right when leaving the trail head you will have a more gradual climb and save the steep grades for on your way down from the plateau.

The first stretch of the trail led us along a stream with flowing water and stepping stones for crossing at the ford. From there we moved into an immense grassland punctuated by clusters of woodland. The grass was three feet high and sported its fall plumage of coppery red seeds putting on a show of changing colors as the wind and sun danced across them. Gradually we started going up, passing through wooded areas before finally settling into them for a series of switchbacks. Every now and then I looked back to ever increasing panoramic views. Most of this portion of the trail felt easy to me, but overall the trail is labeled as difficult.

When we cleared the trees at the top of the plateau, after scrambling over some monstrous limestone rocks, the trail opened up to more grasslands beneath a now-blue sky with puffs of billowy clouds. We found the turnoff to Indiangrass Trail but decided to stay with Rimrock since time was working against us and we didn't want to stress out our journey home. We had also heard some gunshots down in the canyons and with hunting season on we didn't want to step into the path of a stray round.

Just before the plateau gracefully started to fade into a canyon the trail turned and headed downward through woodlands again. At one point, when we emerged in the open, we were treated to a limestone staircase to ease our descent at a steep incline. Then, the grasslands opened up before us and we enjoyed a downhill stroll back to the trail head.

What was really refreshing after a fast-paced hike was the final stream crossing just before the trailhead. At this place the stream bed is solid limestone and the water is crystal clear. A small waterfall offered us a chance to sit and enjoy the bubbling sounds and take in the late afternoon fall colors that were now a spectacular mix of reds, coppers, golds, greens, yellows and limestone whites.

We strode the last hundred yards to the car, wishing we had more time to savor the variety of the place, and the wonderful way the day had turned out. For sure though, another time. This one is on our “keepers” list.

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