The following post is about an impromptu trail hike taken while on what started out as a fitness walk on pavement.  It is described as we experienced it the first time we took the trail.  Since we had not planned to go hiking, we were not dressed for a hike, did not wear supportive hiking boots and did not use hiking sticks/poles.  I had no camera that day and was so focused on just trying to climb the trail that I didn’t even think about trying to capture pictures of it with my iPhone.  We had no idea what lay before us and simply followed our quest for a little adventure.  The next day, dressed and geared appropriately for hiking, my buddy and I re-traced the trail to photograph it as we should have experienced it the first time. 

To see the trail from start to finish, check out the 72 photographs in the COT Photo Gallery which is intended to give you an armchair hike experience so that you can either trek the COT vicariously or familiarize yourself with it for your own hike.

One winter day, my buddy, Gunnar Andersen, and I were walking through Champion Park on the Brushy Creek Regional Trail (BCRT)  logging miles for my latest MapMyFitness challenge.  The Austin weather was teasingly warm, even though Spring was still several weeks away, so we were dressed in shorts, short sleeves and walking shoes. 

As we walked briskly along, I caught a passing glimpse of what appeared to be a staircase leading to a huge rock across the creek.  “What, a staircase leading to a rock?”, I thought incredulously.  Then, “Why would a staircase be leading up to a rock?” Continue reading »