Enchanted Rock | Fredericksburg
Trent, United States
Trip in United States ~ Beginner difficulty
Summary: Meandering 4.9 miles around a pink, exfoliated dome that rises 425 feet above the ground, 1825 feet above sea level, and covers 640 acres. It is a one of the largest batholiths (underground rock formation uncovered by erosion) in the United States.
Location: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Date: March 1, 2008
Trails: Summit Trail, Echo Canyon Trail, X-country
Picture Gallery: Click here
February 24 through March 7 I found myself in Austin for two weeks. After the first week crash-course covering the finer points of producing low volume, highly complex routers, I was ready to venture beyond the Marriot suite and the contract manufacturing facility to uncover what hidden treasures lie in the hill country of Texas.
A co-worker who resides in the suburbs of Austin highly recommended taking a two hour drive east to a German-heritage town called Fredericksburg. Fifteen miles north from the quaint town is found a gem of a state natural area: Enchanted Rock.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, “Tonkawa Indians believed ghost fires flickered at the top, and they heard weird creaking and groaning, which geologists now say resulted from the rock’s heating by day and contracting in the cool night. A conquistador captured by the Tonkawa described how he escaped by losing himself in the rock area, giving rise to an Indian legend of a ‘pale man swallowed by a rock and reborn as one of their own.’ The Indians believed he wove enchantments on the area, but he explained that the rock wove the spells. ‘When I was swallowed by the rock, I joined the many spirits who enchant this place.’” (source)
The summit ascent was rather short from the parking lot – from roughly 1400 feet above sea level to 1800 feet in about a half a mile. However, the vista from atop the pink exfoliated dome was beautiful. I was reminded altitude is relative to the surrounding formations – and Enchanted Rock was the highest peak within visible range.
The weather report as I was heading over to Fredericksburg stated a high likelihood of thunderstorms in the area. Needless to say, none of my fellow co-workers had the gumption to join me in playing rain roulette - especially since they did not come to Austin prepared with much wet-weather gear. I was both appreciative and disappointed the weather was absolutely gorgeous all afternoon while I perambulated about the area; although I hoped to finally test out the goretex jacket, the warm sun-rays and clear visibility were welcomed.
Enchanted Rock reminded me of a scaled down version of the final Half Dome ascent, minus the need for rails and the path to the top of Enchanted was not clearly marked. I headed back down into the valley down the side of the rock. The rock’s surface offered natural grip that made it easy to descend the steep grades.
Once on the valley floor, I set out to find the amateur rock climbing locations the park ranger mentioned when I began the adventure. I found two boulders against each other, dropped the daypack to the ground, and soon hoisted myself atop the larger boulder pictured to the left. As I perched on the top, a teenage kid remarked to his entourage how he attempted to mount the same boulders to no avail last time he was there. Something about the surface being too slippery. At that point, I was thankful for the traction offered by the Ecco boots.
Gaining confidence from tackling the twenty foot boulders on the valley floor, I set out for more substantial challenges. On my way around to Turkey Pass, I noticed an older gentleman resting in the shade. He must have been in his 60s, but remained active and healthy. On the side of his hat was stitched an emblem of the Brazilian national flag. Having lived in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais for a couple of years, I engaged him in conversation for a few moments and went on my way. Turns out that he had recently returned from a business trip down there and his Paulista hosts had presented him with the cap as a gift.
Since the area of the park with substantial and rapid grade changes seemed limited, I zigzagged around the valley walls making my way in and out of various crevices and down a number of precipices before returning to the vehicle. I consider myself a calculated risk-taker, but will acknowledge that I don’t always exercise the most cautious foresight. There was only one point where I questioned this lack of foresight. It was when I suspended myself between two boulders 15 feet above the closest point of graded soil and had to shimmy my way safely down. Fortunately, the search and rescue party out on the rock that day was simply undergoing training exercies.
According to the trusty Garmin GPS, all told I spent about 4 hours and covered 4.9 miles. Before returning to Austin, though, I returned to Fredericksburg to replenish my famished system with an authentic German meal. True to Hill Country form, a live band jammed while I relished the buern schmaus, sauerkraut, and horseradish mashed potatoes.
