The week of new years, I took advantage of being off work to explore some of Austin's infamous trails. Though they were very flat, the scenery was incredible and the rocks and roots made for different challenges.
Barton Creek is one of the trails everyone told me to explore and I totally understand why. Finding the main trailhead left me frustrated but I decided to try to locate another one. I ventured into a neighborhood and found the one at "Trail's End." I descended the rocky, stair step like Hill of Life carefully. I ran out about 2.5 miles after descending the hill and it was time to turn around. I could not figure out where the trail went if I was doing a longer run; I saw a fenced off area but not the actual trail. Next time, I am determined to figure out where it goes!
Running back it was obvious that I had focused on staying upright and soaking in the scenery on the run out because the trail seemed too close to the water's edge. I thought I was off the trail and I looked up and wondered if there was an upper trail; I ran up the hill and realized there was no trail; the mud made going down challenging and I did very ungraceful small slide. It's not a trail run for me without at least one trip or fall!
About one mile south of the "Hill of Life," the trail skirts the edge of the creek. The views were stunning since the recent rains made the creek very full.
This is must be why everyone raves about Barton Creek trails!
After tripping a few times and my sliding incident, I played it safe by hiking up the "Hill of Life" and then ran back to my car. 6 miles in the bag and a strong desire to explore more of Austin's trails left me beaming ear to ear.
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