OCTOBER 1999
| Friday, Day 1: We arrived in Turkey about 1pm. The event window was 2-3pm. This gave us plenty of time to explore the town. The walk registration was at the Turkey Hotel. The hotel was built in 1927. It is now run as a Bed and Breakfast. Turkey is the home of Bob Wills and there is a "Bob Wills Reunion" in April with crowds ranging 10-15,000. After registration we took a shuttle out to the walk start on the Caprock Canyon Trailway and we walked back into Turkey to the start. The Trailway is an abandoned railway that runs 64.25 miles through Floyd, Briscoe, and Hall Counties. We had light rain at the start and 67 degree weather. The walk was accompanied by thunder and lightening in the distance and the threat of heavy rain kept us walking at a brisk pace. Saturday, Day 2: The event start was in Caprock Canyon State Park. There was an 11K trail, and a 12K trail with an option to make it a 20K. We elected to do the 12K and were told it was extremely steep and rugged. I would divide the trail into 4 section. The first part was mostly along the bed of the South Prong river. After the rain the night before, the bed had water in it, but not deep. Part two would be the climb up 600 feet of canyon wall. I literally crawled up the side of the cliff in places. I needed a helping hand from Carol and Ed a couple of times. Part three was the walk across the top of the hill and the descent (much gentler this time) into another canyon passing fern cave. My walking stick came in very handy here. Part four was the trek back to the start. It was mostly level broken up by frequent creek crossing. I think it was the same creek, but we crossed it about 10 times. When we finished checking in, we headed toward home. We stopped in Wichita Falls for the night. Sunday, Day 3: We got up and did the Lucy Park YRE. We have done this event in the past, but the route had to be changed due to highway construction. I enjoyed the new route a lot more. I hope they keep it this way. |
Click thumbnails to open website with pictures
[Day 1] Turkey and Caprock Canyon Trailway |
[Day 2] Caprock Canyon State Park
|
[Day 3] Wichita Falls Lucy Park YRE |
