Marble Falls Trip Report 20 May 2013

Having never hiked to Marble Falls, I thought it might be a good idea to see what flowers I might find near the trail. The trail crew I talked to a couple of weeks earlier when hiking up the Middle Fork Kaweah canyon, said things were getting dry so I'd better go to Marble Falls as soon as possible.
It was dry all right. But there were still plenty of flowers blooming. Madia was present along most of the trail. Buckeye, yucca, POISON OAK, and strangely, twining Brodiaea, were conspicuous from the bottom of the trail to the top. Purple fairy lanterns were common, too. I saw them in at least seven locations.
A tick attached itself to my right shin, but I brushed it off before it became firmly attached. I still have a red ring around the bite more than a week later. Another tick spent 18 hours on my back before my wife tweezed it out. It is stored in a bottle of alcohol just in case. I suppose I should photograph it and write an observation.
The dry parts of the trail were infested with dried out non-native grasses which made the walk seem hotter and drier than it should have. In dry years like this one, I would guess the trip might be too hot past the end of May.

Posted on Μάιος 29, 2013 0405 ΠΜ by sekihiker