I was feeling good after the 8 mile hike that I took yesterday and the weather was still so nice that I decided to re-visit Milton Reimers Ranch in SW Travis County only this time, the plan was to take just a short walk and concentrate on taking pictures.

Well, with the best laid plans and all of that, I ended walking the entire length of the river trails bottom and top. I drove to the furthermost parking area with the intentions of exploring the trails around the “Wild Turkey Sightings” although I was not expecting to see any of them. This is also the entrance to the “Expanded Rock Climbing Area” on the very Northernmost  end of the Park.

The climb down into the gorge was a little tricky and I debated as to whether I should even try it. The little boy in me kept urging me on saying, “You can do it. Forget how old you are, you can do it”. So, I pushed ahead and carefully climbed down the rocks until I was on the trail. Once there, the trail was just fine and very walkable as I headed along it towards the Existing Rock Climbing area which is right at the very start on the Southern end of the park.

For most of the walk, the trail was very pleasant as it followed the river and I took several pictures of the wonderful views. There was one place as I was getting close to the Rock Climbing Area where the rocks had fallen right into the river making a very difficult climb up and over to continue on the trail. Once past that point, I headed up the gorge that was the way out with some trail very walkable and the other part a venture in rock climbing. The towering cliffs above me is where the young and foolhardy enjoy their sport of rock climbing. I could see the pitons that had been hammered into the rocks for all to use. That is not for me. I am not afraid of heights but I am afraid of falling or rather the heavy bump at the end of the fall. My frail old body just couldn’t take one of those sort of falls.

At the base of this “Rock Climbing Area” is a large cave where the water over many thousands of years had washed out the softer rock from that above. See the picture below taken from inside the “cave”.

I continued on up the gorge with several people passing me going in both directions. Some had finished their climb or their walk while others were just starting. Me, I was halfway through.

I finally made my way out of the gorge area which I have to confess, this part is one of the most difficult trails I have ever encountered for some time and is not for the weak of heart. I arrived onto the top trails, passing several people all trying to decide if they really wanted to go down that difficult trail.

The upper trail back was a piece of cake compared to what the other trail had been like. It was a gravel finished trail and several other hikers were enjoying it. I finally got back to the furthermost parking area where I had started after covering another 6 miles and enjoying every minute of it.

I still didn’t get to explore the trails on the Northern end of the park and have that to look forward to.

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