Houston Area Trails & More

Join us to explore Huntsville State Park about a hour drive north of Houston.

The hike: Raven loop trail is over the native soil trails in the park. It is mostly shaded.

Gathering Point:
We'll meet in the day use area parking lot where the boat rental concession is. Look for the group of hikers. ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO CHECK INTO THE PARK AND DRIVE TO THE DAY USE AREA.

Trail Map:Click here

About HATs and what you may want to bring on a hike:
https://www.hatsandmore.org/

HIKE SAFETY
We are here to help each other and want every hiker to have a enjoyable time. However, our hike leaders are fellow hikers, not guides, and have no special training in handling emergencies. Each participant should plan for the hike as if hiking alone, then enjoy the hike in the company of friends.

If you ever experience trouble at an event, or see someone who may need assistance, please speak to a HATs leader or fellow hiker right away.

Huntsville State Park:Click Here

Weather forecast: Click Here

Optional After Hike: Event: Southern Star Brewing
3525 N Frazier St, Conroe, TX 77303
https://www.southernstarbrewing.com/taproom

About HATs and what you may want to bring on a hike:
https://www.hatsandmore.org/
Each person assumes responsibility for their own safety. Therefore, you should be in good health and physically fit, know your own limitations. Minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult/guardian.
HATs leaders are fellow hiking enthusiast, not guides. We have no special training related to outdoors activities. We encourage all members to plan for hikes as if they are going solo as the best way to assure safety. Hiker's planning should including of being of reasonable fitness for the event and carrying the needed water and food for a long hike. Then to enjoy the day with friends.

Mercy Fire Tower Loop is the hike for today's segment of HATS' 6th attempt to complete the ~120 mile Lone Star Hiking Trail. Be sure to touch base with Cindy after you park to get counted for completing this hike.

About HATs and our hikes
https://www.hatsandmore.org/

HATs organizers are not guides nor do we have any special training. We are here to come up with hiking ideas and get the hike started. Take the same precautions you would if hiking alone, including the fitness needed to make long hikes. Then enjoy the hike among friends.

Best Map: You will not get Lost
Any hikers with the Avenza Maps App are encouraged to download the file: Mercy Winter Loop.pdf
Mercy Winter Loop Geolocatable pdf map
and email the PDF file to your iPhone. Open the pdf in your phone and "share" it with Avenza Maps. That way you can see exactly where you are on the geolocated map during the entire hike.

COVID PRECAUTIONS:
Bring and wear a mask when not hiking and follow the best practices to prevent the transmission of COVID.

COMMUNITY CARPOOL:
Alan is organizing a community carpool. The goal is that everyone gets a ride or a rider.
Leaving at 7:30 AM sharp
Judson Robinson, Jr. Community Center.
2020 Hermann Dr, Houston, TX 77004
Google Map Link

Gathering Place:
Lone Star Trailhead #14
https://goo.gl/maps/snfN4rJvLGE2

Call or text Alan at 713 863 8038 if you need help.

There is no bathrooms at the trailhead or along the hike. Stop on FM 2025 near the freeway.

The Hike:
We will follow the LSHT by Tarkington Bayou then return along FS Roads and ROWs.

The hike is over the loam soils of the region and will be mostly shaded.

Weather Forecast:
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=30.4714&lon=-95.106&FcstType=graphical

Hike map is in the photos.

Geolocated Maps:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HAPsrE9_lZVVCtPO8Wj8oO_8V7hgLoQQ

After Hike Event:
Back Pew Brewing Company
26452 Sorters McClellan Rd, Porter, TX 77365
https://g.page/backpewbrew?share

http://www.backpewbrewing.com/

To find your place on your personal path to hike the LSHT, see our progress sheet. Starting with this hike, we will simplify the tally of hikes by trimming the list to include active hikers only. All you have to do is show up to be counted.
Link to LSHT Progress Chart

To see the groups progress on this fifth quest to complete the trail, see our map.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=19KnZUyqYn0OK0lQ1NvP1dscHWimo99Tg

To support work on the LSHT donate or volunteer with either of these great organizations.

The Sam Houston Trails Coalition
https://www.samhoustontrails.org/

The Lone Star Trail Hiking Club
https://lonestartrail.org/

From the Official Guidebook for the Lone Star Trail

"One of the hidden jewels of Texas, the Lone Star Hiking Trail is the only long-distance National Recreation Trail in the state. At 128 miles (including loop trails), it is also the state’s longest continuously marked and maintained footpath. The trail meanders through flat and gently rolling forests of pine, oak, and mixed hardwood, and cypress swamps and bayous in the famed Big Thicket area in east Texas, in the Sam Houston National Forest. The seemingly endless variation of forests, much of it designated wilderness, provides a paradise for tree-lovers and bird watchers year-round. The trail is well-suited for both short and long hikes (of up to 10 days), appealing to dayhikers, overnight backpackers, long-distance hikers, and others seeking a peaceful outing."

https://www.wildernesspress.com/product.php?productid=16836

This hike requires a paid reservation on another site, linked below. An RSVP here will not get you a space and no walk ups are allowed. Tickets will be available in mid October and are limited to 18 participants.

Located near Seminole Canyon State Park, this two hour trek takes you through a landscape filled with Chihuahuan Desert plants and stunning views of the Pecos River where it converges with the Rio Grande. The White Shaman mural, painted thousands of years ago, illustrates the lifeway and belief systems of the first indigenous people of what we now call Texas.

This tour costs $40. Reservations are required and spaces are limited to 18 participants.
Participants must be ages 12 & up.

Tours are operated by the Witte Museum of San Antonio.

Tickets are currently on sale. Numbers are limited so if you want to take the tour order them now.
White Shaman Tour Tickets

More about the tour:
Witte Museum’s White Shaman Preserve - The Witte Museum
Archeology Magazine: Reading the White Shaman Mural

Tour guidelines and expectations:
Rock Art Foundation Adventure Tour

Welcome to the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas! Come visit us.

Gathering Place:
Meet at the gate to the White Shaman site on us 90 About 1.5 miles west of the entrance of Seminole Canyon State Park. Look for the sign on the gate.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4ypNETtaWE6Son3U6

About the Shumla Center:
Welcome to Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center

Articles on the art:
The Walls of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands Contain Priceless Pictographs
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/pecos/index.html

Hotel:
I'll be staying in Del Rio Friday and Saturday nights. We usually stay at Motel 6. Campers can stay at Seminole Canyon State Park or the Amistad Recreation Area.

This hike requires a paid reservation on another site, linked below. An RSVP here will not get you a space.

Take a fairly rugged hike to the Fate Bell and Fate Bell Annex rock shelters. Protected by a huge cliff overhang, the shelters hold some of Texas most spectacular rock art. Tours cancelled in extreme temperatures or rain.

This tour costs $8 for adults and $5 for children. Reservations are required and spaces are limited. Day use pass must be purchased in addition to tour tickets.

Tickets are currently not available for February.

Tickets go in sale one month in advance of the tour date. Check back around January 7.
Fate Bell Shelter Tour

More about the Fate Bell Shelter:
Welcome to the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas! Come visit us.
Bradshaw Foundation
Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center

Gathering Place:
Meet at the Seminole Canyon State Park Visitors Center. Event time in 30 minutes before the tour start. There will be time to look around the small exhibition and take photos of the beautiful desert landscape.

Google Maps Link

Photos from 2021
Photos from 2024

Hotel:
I'll be staying in Del Rio Friday and Saturday nights. We usually stay at Motel 6. Campers can stay at Seminole Canyon State Park or the Amistad Recreation Area.

After the hike, we will move on to Stillwell Campground for the hiking at Black Gap.

Dinner:
12 Gauge Restaurant
102 NW 1st St #90w, Marathon, TX
Google Maps Link