How to Backpack the Goodwater Loop
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- Welcome to the Goodwater Loop and thank you for watching my video. This 26.2 mile Loop Trail circles around Lake Georgetown, located a little north of Austin, TX in Georgetown. I hiked this trail once before and ran into a sweet lady named Vivian who alerted me to the history of the area where Lake Georgetown is located. When I got home, I started reading all about the history of the area and was completely amazed. From there, this became a little passion project for me and I couldn’t wait to learn all I could then return to the trail and make this video to share with all of you.
Below are some links and info that you should find helpful and I’ll add more info in here as people ask good questions in the comments.
One of the most heartbreaking things about editing this was cutting out content that I felt was interesting, but had to go to keep the video from getting too long.
One of the interesting topics I had to cut was about Georgetown Flint (Georgetown Gray or Blue). It’s a steel gray or dark blue colored flint and you’ll see a lot of it between Mile Markers 1 and 0. The interesting thing about this type of Chert/Flint is that it can only be found in the Georgetown area. The Natives highly prized this stuff, making things like arrowheads, jewelry and other tokens out of it, and since this flint can only be found around Georgetown, items made from it found far away showed just how far their trade routes went.
Here’s a couple links where you can learn more about it.
History: www.texasbeyondhistory.net/pl....
Pictures of both the Gray and Blue colors: www.etsy.com/market/georgetow...
Maps
Topo Map (shown in video): www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Basic Map with some trail rules: www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Here’s some links to the Campgrounds and info about the 3 Backpacker Camps. I’m listing these in counter-clockwise order, since that’s the direction this video was hiked.
Cedar Breaks: Full Campground with RV Hookups, Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Electricity, Picnic Benches, and Fire Rings.
Reservations: www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Overlook Park: Wild Camping (free), Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Vehicle Access to parking lot only. This area is highly trafficked.
Jim Hogg Park: Full Campground with RV Hookups, Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Electricity, Picnic Benches, and Fire Rings.
Reservations: www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Dropped Pin for that cut-through to the campground for water: maps.app.goo.gl/dbDWH2cYKjaGs...
Russell Park: Full Campground with RV Hookups, Potable Water, Real Restrooms, Electricity, Picnic Benches, and Fire Rings.
Reservations: www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Walnut Spring Camp: Backpacker Campsites (free), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, No Potable Water, No Restrooms, No Electricity, plenty of flat areas for tents, a really beautiful place and verified not haunted. No Vehicle Access.
Tejas Camp: Primitive Walk-up Campsites only (parking area is nearby, within view), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, Level Tent Pads, Potable Water, Vault Toilets. No Electricity.
Reservations: www.recreation.gov/camping/ca...
Campground Map: www.swf-wc.usace.army.mil/geo...
Sawyer Camp: Backpacker Campsites (free), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, No Potable Water, Open Air Pit Toilets (poop with a view), No Electricity, very sloped…..not ideal for tents (a hammock hangers heaven), probably not haunted. No Vehicle Access.
Cedar Hollow: Backpacker Campsites (free), Picnic Tables, Hang Hooks, Fire Rings, No Potable Water, Open Air Pit Toilets (poop with a view), No Electricity, some sites are fairly flat and others are sloped…..much better for tent dwellers and verified not haunted. No Vehicle Access.
When I was planning my first hike on the Goodwater Loop, I found a blog by the Nutty Hiker very beneficial and helpful.
Here’s the link: nuttyhiker.com/goodwater-loop...
Thanks for the history. Looks like a beautiful place to backpack.
You're very welcome! It's a really great hidden treasure, so close to the city. I hope you get to explore it someday.
Thanks so much for the video. I live in Round Rock and visit the lake often. Your history lesson was very informative. The trail will now have more meaning when I walk it again.
I'm so glad to hear you found the video helpful. I love learning about areas that I'm hiking in, it makes a hiking experience more interesting and you said it perfectly.....more meaningful. Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment.
I agree!
Hey JG! Awesome video with lots of historical facts which were outstanding. Very interesting! Until the next one, take care and god bless
Aww, I'm so glad to hear you loved it. When I first hiked the trail and ran into a cool lady named Vivian, I learned that there's a lot of hidden history there. When I got home, I started reading and researching and was absolutely amazed......I just had to go back and share it with you all. As always, thank you for supporting my little channel and God bless!!
I'm doing some research for an upcoming adventure out here, and I've watched every Goodwater Loop video on RUclips. Yours is *easily* the best -- thank you!
Awww, thank you so much for that compliment! There's so much more to trails and areas we hike through than just neat waterfalls and great views. I can't help walking through an area and not wonder who or what roamed along there in the years and centuries before us. I hope you have a wonderful hike and really enjoy that hidden gem of a trail and thank you for stopping by to check out my little channel.
So informative! Very cool history!
Isn't it though? I love hiking through areas that are so rich in history. Thank you for watching the video!
This was a fantastic video!!! Thanks for sharing!!
I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Such an incredible area with so much history. I also bought some Venture Wipes and tried one on this hike.....they're awesome! So a huge thank you for that tip in your last video. Thank you for watching and happy trails!
Love the channel. Just binged 3 episodes. Native Texan here, and i can't wait to fallow on some of your footsteps.
That's awesome! Thank you for checking out the videos and taking the time to comment. I plan to try and get more Texas backpacking trails in, just have to figure out which ones. Do you have any suggestions other than the Lonestar Trail?
Enjoyed the video! I live in Gtown and hike the trail regularly, and I’m planning to backpack it one day. I didn’t know all the history…very interesting! The overhang at the falls was lost in Dec. ‘22 when we had a hard freeze. It’s still beautiful, but I’m thankful I got to see it in all it’s glory.
I was blown away by the amount of history I found on the area. The more I dug, the more I found, and it was a really fun endeavor. I love hearing that you found it interesting as well. I remember when the overhang fell, that freeze was a bad one and I was so bummed that I never got a chance to see it before. But, that's the way of nature, always changing and reforming. It'll be interesting to watch how Mother nature sculpts and molds her next work of art in this spot. Thank you for stopping by to watch my video and I hope you get a chance to backpack the loop whenever this weather cools down.
I have hiked sections of this trail and am planning to backpack it sometime soon. A couple of times I had trouble finding the trail when traversing one of the parks. This video has been helpful! I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Ah!! I'm delighted to hear you found this video helpful! I'm guessing you're talking about that road crossing at Russell Park? We also couldn't figure out where to go from there the first time hiking this trail, so I wanted to make sure it got into the video next time around. Thank you for taking the time to comment, I love hearing people's thoughts and experiences.
@@jetgirlhikes9155 yep that was the crossing. I am quite grateful. Happy trails.
@@jetgirlhikes9155 yes, that was the crossing. 😋
What an awesome video!!! I hiked this trail last year the weekend before the big freeze and I'm so glad I got to see it before it was damaged. I had no idea about all of the history stuff. I was with other people so I didn't get to stop and look at all the historical markers like I would have liked. This year I'm going by myself so I'm so happy to have found all of this info on the history of the area! Are you a teacher? You're very good at this! Thank you so much for this video!!!
Aww, shucks! Thank you for the compliment. No, not a teacher....I'm an airplane mechanic (hence the whole Jetgirl thing 😁). I find the history of the areas we hike through so interesting, and when I realized the vast history of the Goodwater Loop area, I felt like I had won the lottery! There was so much more to share, but it would've made the video too long so I stuck with the super interesting stuff. I hope you get to poke around a bunch, look at fossils and imagine all of those who have walked there before you on your next trip. Thank you for stopping by to check out my little channel.
Cool video. Thank you for taking us alone.
Thank you, this was a fun one to prep for due to the large amount of history in this area.
@@jetgirlhikes9155 for sure
Love it. You did such a great job and now I want to hike it!
Yes!! It's such a great hike. Hopefully you can get there while the wildflowers are still showing off!
Good to see u out and about! I hope your ankle is doing well.
I'm equally glad as well and excited to be back out there sharing the trail with y'all. Thank you for watching and happy trails!
Really nice video. I like the historical information you provide. I attended the local university in the early 70's and use to hike/fish for miles above and below Georgetown on the San Gabriel. (probably should have been in class more!) When someone was having a party on the river they would just post the booty number on a board and you would know where to go.
Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I find that super interesting that even in the 70's people were still giving locations based on the Booty number. I'm glad you took the time to tell this story. I love it! I hope everything turned out well despite all the classes you missed. Lol.
Thank you for watching the video and taking the time to comment.
Great video. Loved the history. Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to comment! I'm always excited to learn the history and geology of an area becsuse it makes the hike much more interesting. Thank you for checking out the video!
Loved all the history! It makes it all that much more fun to hike it. Texas hiked it for Ultimate Hike Curesearch this week, and I heard a few of the hikers say they took a wrong turn, so hopefully your directions help people. Hope to see you on a trail soon!
I can believe it. I'm honestly pretty surprised that a trail that's so popular and heavily used isn't blazed. I got an idea in my head to get a little group together to camp and blaze this trail over a weekend. I've just got to figure out who I need to contact first to make sure it's ok.
Very nice video and very educational. I liked and subbed
Thank you! This video turned out to be a lot of fun to research for and I'm glad you enjoyed it as well. Thank you for the sub as well!
Great job? ❤ the history and the details of the trails. I’ve been planning to visit my grandson in Texas. Hopefully we can work this into our plans.
That would be awesome if you could! It's pretty interesting to hike in a place like that so close to a city. Although you never really forget you're in a city area with the noises in the distance and the amount of people in the areas close to trailheads, it's still a beautiful place and an area you should try to hike while you're in Texas. I'm interested for you to come back here and let me know what you think. Thank you for watching and happy trails!
Thanks for making this video for me!!😊 I plan to be out there next weekend. How was the cell service on trail? Also, was the spot you parked paid or free?
Hi! I parked in the free area outside the gate. My Verizon phone and a friend's AT&T phone both had service at all times.
Great walkthrough. I'm having trouble understanding the parking situation for backpackers who aren't reserving a campsite. I know some folks park for free outside and walk in. I'd rather park somewhere more secure though. Do the day passes allow you to park overnight inside the park?
That is correct. You can buy them online and purchase for the amount of days you need. Print out the sheet and leave it on your dashboard...and they're plenty used to backpacker's cars being there for multiple nights. I hope you enjoy your hike!
Great video of a nice looking loop! Is this in the Hill Country?
Hi Chris! Yes it's in the Hillcountry and such a neat little hidden gem. The first time I did the loop, I was so surprised to find this was very close to a city. I hope you get a chance to hike it. Thank you for the comment and swinging by to watch the video!
I haven’t been to Austin in a few years, may have to combine a trip & check off some Texas backpacking! Looks really nice.
It truly is! I'd definitely recommend ending your hike with the southern shore of the trail, because in my opinion it's the prettiest.
I loved your Ouachita series BTW....you definitely had no shortage of water.
Hey, thanks! Sure is nice carrying just a liter, & not having to stress about it. Water everywhere! Who do I need to contact about adopting a mile/section? Y’all have inspired me to give back, I owe a lot to the OT!
No Facebook for me - but I’ll reach out to FoOT. Thanks for the info!