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| Hiking | 6.19 Miles |
801 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.19 Miles | 2 Hrs 42 Mns | | 2.81 mph |
| 801 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Finding Hiking trails in Texas is like looking for hens teeth. Caprock and Palo Duro Canyons are the two more obvious ones. I had the opportunity to go to Borger Texas (I know where the hell is that) north of Amarillo this last week and near Borger is Meredeth Lake National Recreation Park. I looked this up on the web and there are a couple trails along the lake that looked promising. The Harbor Bay Trail and the Turkey Creek Trail looked like two that would be the most interesting. Arriving in Borger in the afternoon I headed out on the Harbor Bay Trail at about 4:00 in the afternoon.
The Harbor Bay trail is a 3 mile well maintained trail that goes from Harbor Bay To a point overlooking the lake. There are two 1 mile loop trails that have the potential to make this an 8 mile round trip hike. This trail follows along the lake with a few small under 50 foot ascents and descents as it traverses Fritch Canyon. The trail seems to overdo the route along Fritch canyon going further up canyon than necessary but I guess when the lake is higher this is the shortest rout. Once past Fritch Canyon the trail begins its ascent of about 250 feet up to the Mesa Overlooking the Lake. Once at the end of the trail there is a signed trail head and an outhouse. This point is also accessible by car. There are nice views overlooking the lake. Probably a good sunset spot.
I did not start this hike til 4:00 in the afternoon with a temperature of 90 degrees with a slightly overcast sky. This was going to be a quick 8 mile hike including the two loops so I just put my boots, hat and pack on and went wearing my genes and a tee shirt. I brought 1 quart of water figuring that would be enough, after all it's a fairly level trail. Soon after I started the hike the cloud cover disappeared and my GPS said it was 98 degrees when I was in the sun with a relatively high humidity. I wasn't too concerned about the water because there was a huge lake right next to me but the short sleeve shirt was definitely a mistake. I didn't get sun burned (probably because of the tough Arizona skin) but My body was definitely stressed. Up on the mesa there was a breeze but below in the canyon it was still, hot and muggy. I kept thinking I'm going to feel pretty stupid like the idiots in the paper that have to be rescued because they went out on a hike and succumb to heat exhaustion because they weren't prepared. Once up at my turn around point I rested in the shade of the outhouse. Luckily there was a nice breeze and the outhouse was down wind. I drank some water and was ready to head back. I did not do the two 1 mile loop trails, I figured I wouldn't press my luck.
This is a pleasant hike and if you ever find yourself north of Amarillo for what ever reason I would recommend Meredith Lake, hopefully cooler weather though. As for me, lesson learned: go prepared for a hike no matter how easy it seems. Seems I learned this lesson a few times before just don't remember when. |
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Route Editor
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