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Shannon Camps Solo - Day #1
Date: Friday, May 9, 2003 (Aerial Photos from August 9, 2003) Weather: Hot (mid-90's), humid & hazy Activities: Camping, hiking, photography & writing GPS Tracks & Waypoints: Submitted by: Shannon Moore
Arrival at Hill Country SNAAfter a trip with Justin to the Spirit of Flight airshow in Galveston during the prior weekend, I returned home primed for a "flight" of my own -- a solo camping trip to Hill Country State Natural Area (HCSNA). I had been considering the idea for awhile as a way to get back outdoors, yet avoid forcing Justin into a repeat of previous summer trips. It's a time-honored truth that my love of the outdoors tends to supercede personal comfort, causing many of our camping trips to occur during extremes in Texas weather -- heat waves, hurricanes, flooding rains. Needless to say, Justin was supportive of my desire to camp solo in the May heat and humidity at sparsely-shaded Hill Country State Natural Area!As I prepared for this trip, I gained a new appreciation for people who travel alone, either out of necessity or desire. In the thirteen years I've known Justin (including nearly 5 years of marriage, thus far,) I've been spoiled by always having him as my travel partner on camping, hiking or photography excursions. Going solo on this trip, even though I was just heading to a state natural area in a nearby city, I found both exciting and a little daunting.
One of my primary goals during this trip was to update our photographs of the park, and I did my best to succeed despite a thick, persistent haze in the air. The haze, created by agricultural burning and wildfires in Mexico, gave Hill Country's hills and peaks an other-worldly quality. Poor visibility caused by the haze also curtailed Justin's plans to fly a rented Cessna Skyhawk over the park during my stay. Having recently purchased Garmin's GPSMap 76s, a GPS unit with topographic maps, I was prepared to supply Justin with the GPS coordinates of my campsite and other points of interest; however, the haze made an overflight impractical. NOTE: Justin and I did an overflight of the park on August 9, 2003. The aerial photographs included in this trip report were taken during that flight.
My activities on Friday consisted of setting up camp, relaxing, observing birds and insects, reading and writing. In short, Friday was my day to avoid excessive activity and just enjoy being outdoors again. Lightning bugs were prevalent throughout the evening hours, performing a mesmerizing light show before departing to wherever it is that lightning bugs go. After dark, the only sounds were crickets and the tell-tale hum of an equestrian camper's generator at Chapa's Group Camp about 3/4 mile to the east.
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