Neville

I headed out first thing Friday morning and arrived around noon. After checking in at the park headquarters I received confirmation that the isolated Gorman Falls area was accessible without a Ranger guide. Traditionally the park service had this area closed off to the general public and permitted access only through guided hikes, mainly because the falls have been formed by travertine deposits and are thus extremely fragile. I’m not sure when the policy was changed, but it was a welcome relief knowing that I could get to the place without tagging along with several other interested parties.

I headed straight for the trailhead and meandered the two and a half miles – mostly a dirt road – until I could hear the crashing of water against the ever-changing limestone base. You climb down a fairly steep rock face and suddenly, nestled in the trees, the falls jump out at you. Fortunately I had the area all to myself as I wondered around and followed the flow until it dumped into the Colorado River. After hitting the river I sat under a canopy of misting water and shade trees and watched a few carp patrol the area waiting for a tasty morsel for about twenty minutes before heading back to the car.

Back at the park headquarters I loaded up my pack and headed for the River Trail, a section of trail that paralleled the Colorado River before turning sharply and heading deeper into the limestone and cedar trees. Just before the turnoff I plopped myself down in the backcountry camping area and called it a night.

Early Saturday morning I hit the trail and the turnoff that took me away from the river. The climb was gradual and easy as I plodded along, startling the occasional rattlesnake and whitetail doe as they performed their early morning duties. After a short climb the trail crossed the park road and thus began the Spicewood Springs Trail. A note to those who decide to hike this section: the trail markers (what few exist) are blank to those who come this way. In addition there are no blazes and the trail is seriously overgrown.

The start of the trail is the highest point and it gradually descends through cedar before dumping into much thicker foliage. The trail crosses Spicewood Springs (it’s really a creek) several times. I startled several whitetails and even a feral ‘hawg’ along the way. Actually, I think the hawg startled me even more as I didn’t expect a black four-legged critter to jump out in front of me and snort his way through the brushes. I continued along the trail for another half hour or so before it began a slow climb away from the creek until it stopped at the edge of a cliff. I looked around for any sign of a trail marker and found zilch. I made my way down the cliff side and hit the creek again, crossed over and searched again for signs of a trail. Nada. I backtracked about two hundred yards back to where I knew the trail was and searched again for signs of a marker and found nothing. After quietly cursing and searching for another half hour I decided that I had to either bushwack my way to the park headquarters or head back to the road. I opted for the former as I really wasn’t interested in bailing out on this venture. I pushed up a near vertical hill through cedar trees that I swear were intentionally tangled together to prevent me from going through. After twenty or so minutes of pushing through and scratching myself up I emerged on yet another drop off that offered no easy way to get down. My profanity got a bit louder this time as I was forced to retreat and, regrettably, back to the main road. Before getting too far back I reached a point where a cairn marked the trail and I just knew that the trail had to be here somewhere. After stopping and staring through the brush I finally noticed an obscure trail marker on the other side of the creek. As I mentioned before, this marker only had paint on one side. Had I not known what shape to look for I never would have found it. I crisscrossed the creek several more times and watched it transform from a small flow to large waterfalls and deep pools. After an hour or so the creek and I met up with the Colorado River. A short, half mile hike (on mowed grass of all things) lead me back to the park headquarters and the trailhead that I started at the day before. Despite the bushwacking and the nearly nonexistent trail it was good to get out and away from the ‘yuck’ at the office.

Photos are here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561034645RnoknJ

Bubba Joel

Beautiful pics.. Thanks

Can you tell me exactly where this park is?

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Have fun, lifes to short not to..

Neville

Sure. It's about twenty miles west of Lampasas (Lampasas is just west of Killeen). There's a sign in Lampasas telling you which road to take to the park. Once you leave town you'll be on a two-lane highway that leads to the park. The last seven or so miles is made up of a dirt road that's easily passible by all vehicles.

If you're planning on an overnight it would be a good idea to make reservations. They're not required but despite it's remoteness the park campground fills up quite often.

srds

Nice pics Neville sounds like a great way to unwind.

srds
Have fun

rockhill

Some great pictures you posted, thanks for sharing them. I viewed the photos before reading your post. Surprised to not read about the snake encounter. Always love to encounter wildlife, just not snakes.

Neville

Yeah, there wasn't much to write about with the snake. It was still early in the morning and he hadn't quite gotten over his lethargic stage yet. I almost stepped on him until he moved his head slightly. I took the photo and just stepped over him without so much as a shake of his tail. Still, it was neat to see him.