………… So I did……… Oh yeah in case you forgot, I caught the sunrise on my next trip to Enchanted Rock.
The most enchanting thing at Enchanted Rock are the sunrises. This park opens early at 6:30 am so you can climb the rock and see the sunrise. It’s gorgeous. I arrived just as the eastern sky began to lighten in an pink shade. I quickly strapped on my headlight and day pack and scrambled towards the top. I stopped about halfway up as I was running out of time; the sunrise was behind me.
“We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness”.
Sapna Reddy
Enchanted Rock was once owned by Charles Moss. He sold the property to the Nature Conservancy of Texas in 1978 who the sold 1640 acres to the state. The Texas parks and Wildlife Division bought three more adjacent acres and added that to the park.
The mountains of the park are of Town Mountain Granite and Felspar.
Enchanted Rock is a dark sky park so viewing the stars here is popular treat. More than one quarter of a million visit the park each year making it one of the most visited and I might add, hardest to get into parks in the state. Enchanted Rock is also a National Natural Landmark and a National Archeological Landmark boasting about 1200 individual digs.
What a sight!
I could climb the rest of the way up but I’ve been there. The views are outstanding……
It’s a steep shade less slog to the top of the rock, I find that the views elsewhere are just as good. So I don’t bother to climb the rock every time. Enchanted Rock is 1825 Ft. There are supposed to be caves up top maybe I’ll look for them my next trip. After the sunrise I descended the rock and decided to start my hike through Turkey Pass. Turkey Pass runs between Enchanted Rock (1825ft), Turkey Peak (1680 FT) and Freshman Mountain, (1630ft) It is also the most rugged trail in the park.
From the Turkey Pass Trail I hit the Base Trail to the Loop Trail that takes you 4.5 miles around the perimeter of the park. To me this is how to see it all!
The Base Trail leads to the climbing areas of the park.
The Loop Trail is an easy hike. It takes you to an overlook on the backside of the park.
After the Base Trail I took Echo Canyon back towards the nearly dry (This Trip) Moss Lake
I continued on the Loop Trail to see the part I missed last time because I went up and over Little Rock into Echo Canyon. I passed this climbing area known as The Eggs.
I don’t know how tall they are but they seem to be a favorite of novice climbers as there were several climbers there preparing to try their skills.
Next trip I am going to find the cave I keep hearing so much about from other hikers.
Old Man Wandering 