Thursday, February 25, 2010 – Ride Day at Davy Crockett NF, TX

After Hubby ran into town to fill up the generator gas cans and a quick lunch, we saddled up and headed out. We found the trailhead, and began on the orange trail (see pic). This forest is a much wilder, more natural forest than the more managed ones we’d been to earlier (though Kisatchie last week was pretty natural in some spots, too), and the trails were mostly dirt, pine needles and leaves. There was a lot of water on the trails from all the rain and snow they’ve had here recently, but overall the footing was pretty good. The mud was more of a nuisance than an obstacle, whereas at Kisatchie the mud was treacherous in some places. Very easy trails, almost completely flat, but pretty well-marked. My only question on the trail map was whether the distances were just that trail, or did it include the trail that led to the trail as well? In reality, some trails were marked two colors (like blue and orange, and later, blue and white), but on the map there was no overlap. Guess we’ll find out more on Saturday when we ride again. The only down side besides all the water was that this forest is more of a patchwork than one solid piece of real estate. The trails all manage to stay on Forest land, but cross several roads and border many pieces of private property. Traffic is a bit more active on those roads than one would expect, so the “escape to the wilderness” effect just isn’t quite there. The camground is quiet enough, though the local sheriff drove around it last night, and we had a nice chat. A bit pricier than some of the other camps we’ve been in ($10 for the 1st vehicle, $3 for the second per day), but that seems to be the case in all of the Texas Forests, and the State Parks are even more expensive. We’ll just have to make up for it by staying longer in the $3 parks! Good cell phone signal here, though!