A Remarkable Experience

Rocky trails. Crazy HEAT. Gorgeous views. And a huge surprise at the end of it all. This is Crockett Gardens & Falls. Located northwest from central Georgetown, Crokett Gardens & Falls is a huge trail, settled right around Lake Georgetown (Address: 1065 Eagle Point Dr, Georgetown, TX 78628). And on May 28th, my family and I decided to set off on a mini adventure there.

After a good lunch, my family and I got into the car, and set off towards Crockett Gardens and Falls. With Crockett Gardens and Falls being 30 minutes away from our home, it took quite a long time to get there. While my parents were talking about last-minute planning, I on the other hand started thinking about the Falls. It was crazy hot outside with the weather forecast showing that it would be 97°F (36°C), and since I didn’t want to get burned in the hot sun, it would be a nice experience to play around in the falls to cool off. I was anticipating that we’d get to the falls in a quick hour, so we didn’t have to stay in the sun that long… But it turned out that I was wrong.

Once we parked our car, we walked over to the Park Headquarters to check-in, get a trail map, and then get an insight from the park rangers on how far the falls would be. I was thinking about a mile or so, but I got a real shocker. The Park Ranger said that the falls would be a whole 3.5 miles hike! 3.5 MILES?!! As for me, I thought it was exceptional, for there would be beautiful views and the cool falls at the end, but my sister thought that it was crazy and extremely outrageous. Throughout the trail, she kept on groaning and loathing herself around, trying to express how she was feeling burnt in the sun’s heat, and once even started crying -But that’s about her, now back to the main part! We headed to the trailhead, where it had a huge sign which said “San Gabriel River Trail”, and showed us the direction we should go.

We started the hike at 12:30 pm. The path was pretty flat, with lots of greenery around it, but things started to get pretty rocky once we crossed about 1/4 a mile of the trail. There were oddly shaped rocks that looked quite old all over the place, and were embedded into the ground, so we had to watch where we were going. Things started getting boring, until we hit a huge rocky formation, which we got to climb on to get back on the trail.

My father said that I should make a couple landmarks along the way so that we don’t get lost or confused on the way back. I scampered around trying to find materials. You see, I’m not a native man who’s lived in a forest his whole life! All I could find was a red rock and a couple sticks. Then, I placed the rock next to a fern, and made a big fat X on the muddy ground before the red rock, which I called Mars! It looked as if there was a fern coming out of the red rock (Mars), and the X before the rock (Mars), was the hidden Martian treasure! (LOL) Once I was done, we kept at the hike, awaiting the surprises that would unfold upon us!

A few minutes later, we got our first gorgeous view!!! Lined with ferns and beautiful flowers was a lakeside view!

We stayed there for a couple minutes, observing the ferns, flowers, and the water, which was a cool shade of teal! Subsequently, we got back on the trail. Even though the temperature was rapidly increasing, we kept on walking. And right now, what I mean by “we” is my mother, father, and I, because my sister was at the back of the group, groaning and crying. You can tell that she doesn’t prefer the heat! What kept my sister going was the ice-cold water that she was gulping down. A few moments later, I, being at the head of the group saw some beautiful red wildflowers up ahead, and not realizing about the curved ledge next to my right foot, I almost practically slipped, and was inches away from tumbling down into Lake Georgetown! Thankfully, I grasped onto a rock next to the wildflower, and my mother helped me up.

Once we got back onto the rocky trail, my parents and sister got a bit tired, so we made a quick pit stop near a tree so that my parents and sister could have a quick snack. I, on the other hand, didn’t feel that hungry so I stood around, thinking about how far we were from the falls and what the cool water would feel like on my burnt back.

Once we were back on the trail, we met a few fellow hikers, and asked them if we were on the correct path. We thankfully received a yes as a response and also were told that we were a whole 3 miles away from the fall!!!! WE SPENT 1 WHOLE HOUR FOR 1/2 A MILE!?!??!?!?!?!? Stunned we continued, this time determined to get to the falls, and not to be bothered by the heat!

Time passed as we continued to hike along the rocky trail, observing even more gorgeous lakeside views, and having fun amongst ourselves. We crossed the 1-mile mark, but didn’t really notice it because we were distracted and having a good time!

The Rocky Trail and The Lakeside Views

For one whole hour, we continued hiking on the rocky trails, and burning conditions, and were really rewarded when we saw this:

We finally hit the 2-mile mark, and were so excited, but tired at the same time! After looking at the sign saying “H20″ we had a good laugh and then gulped down some water, and set off once more!

Time passed by as we hiked, going through the rocky trail, crossing creeks, and trudging through thick grasses. We were burnt, and drenched in sweat and wondered when the falls would fall before us (lol). But little did we know that this path would lead us to a surprise:

COWS!

We found some cattle inside a fenced ranch right next to the path and had one fun time talking to Joe (the brown cow on the right) in cow! Moo-Moo Mooooo!

After a couple minutes of talking in cow, and with no response but a headshake from Joe, we kept on going. A couple feet away from the fence, there was a stony contraption, with a wooden sign that said “Crockett Garden Falls” and an arrow pointing which direction.

Knowing that we were heading on the right path, we waded through cricket-filled fields and then approached a rocky area, which had a little lagoon next to it. The lagoon was filled with algae and smelled! Dragonflies were swarming around it, so my sister, who got scared of the flies ran off and of I went after her! I thought that this would be a regular 2-minute sister-brother chase, but it wasn’t. This was the chase that stunned me, for I saw….

THE FALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In simple words, it was a BLAST!!! Our whole family kicked off our shoes and waded through the chilly water and went inside the cave! It was so cool in there, and we felt so refreshed. We played around in the wet cave, explored the area, climbed up towards the water source, climbed up the waterfalls, and so much more. I even did a little cringy happy dance!

Honestly, that whole hot 3 hours of hiking was worth it!

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We spent a whole hour playing and had a great time full of elation and rejoice, but once my mother checked the time, she decided it was time we headed back. Surprisingly, our clothes dried off in the hot heat, and we quickly wore our shoes, and were ready to go in less than 5 minutes!

When my father picked up our snack bag, it was filled with ants! My mother and father got to work to take out the ants, while my sister and I looked around the rocky area and the lagoon. We saw a couple Six-Lined Racerunners (A type of lizard), and 4 SNAKES!!! We ran to our parents, told them about our findings, and all four of us raced to observe the snakes closely. But, as soon as we approached, all four of the snakes, one by one dived into the water, and it was hard, but I managed to get a photo of one of the snakes. According to Google.com, the snake was a Texas Watersnake!

Starting to walk again, with my family behind me, I started to think that we’d have to hike a whole another 3.5 miles!!! I was totally going to go crazy today.

When we crossed the sign and the fence, we noticed that Joe and all the other cattle were gone. Disappointed, we continued right on the same path as before. Once we crossed the 2-mile mark, we saw another scenic lakeview, and then stopped to take a quick break.

As soon as we were back on the trail, with 0.5-1 mile leftover, my father challenged me to a race till the end! It was a challenge, but it took the dare! We ran and ran, almost leaving my sister and mother in the dust. With only a couple yards remaining, I crossed the finish line!

My sister and mother were quite behind so to surprise them, my father and I hid behind some trees and bushes, and jumped out when they came! My mother was expecting it, but my sister did get a real shocker!

When we were walking back to the car, I realized that all of us had each walked a whole 7 miles in one day!! For me, that was unbelievable! It was my first time hiking for so long, both in time and length! Oh, what a tiring day!

I learned quite a lot from this experience, such as how things may seem boring, but always have a surprise at the end, how water is a bare necessity, how to never give up and stay determined, and always watch out for yourself when you’re surrounded by the wilderness. I also enjoyed this experience a lot, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did experiencing and writing it. If you liked this post please leave a like, and do share your comments/thoughts/feedback. For more, please subscribe to my blog!

-Kartik Lakhwani

(PS: If you ask me what I rate Crockett Gardens and Falls, I’d give a 5 stars! Don’t believe me? Well, see for yourself!

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