North Cat Mountain
Details
Despite not being annexed into Austin until the end of the 20th century, Bull Creek has been inhabited for over nine thousand years. An abundance of spring water, flint, and pecan grove shelter made this rocky patch of the Edwards Plateau habitable by the Tonkawa, Waco, Apache, and Comanche. In the 19th and 20th centuries, cedar choppers supported construction of railroad ties, foundation piers, fence posts and charcoal. Gangs of bootleggers electrified local cellars with “white lightning”–illegal even before Prohibition–as far back as the Civil War.
Our 6.9 mile walk traverses Bull Creek District Park as well as the residential areas of Mesa Oaks, Vista West, and North Cat Mountain which, though modern, feel carved out of the hilly terrain rather than imposed upon it. We’ll visit specific historic sites along the way: stepping into a forest preserve surrounding the moonshiner’s Stillhouse Cave and passing by the site of a former cedar mill.
At the end of the walk, we’ll consider stopping for lunch at the legendary County Line on the Lake, just under a mile from our starting point. Here we’ll get a view of the mighty Colorado River which otherwise flows just out of sight of our walk.
TRANSIT LOGISTICS:
- 8 AM start, on our Summer schedule
- We’ll meet in the parking lot at Bull Creek District Park at 6701 Lakewood Drive
- Official walk map
Event photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons