A hiking trail – and goats! – at Jester King Brewery

A hiking trail – and goats! – at Jester King Brewery

 

Visitors hike the new nature trail at Jester King Brewery west of Austin. Photo courtesy Jester King Brewery

Two known cures – at least in my books – for the Covid blues? Nature walks and goats.

Jester King Brewery, located on 165 acres of rolling Hill Country land west of Austin, just announced the opening of a 2-mile nature trail, which loops past the brewery’s goat barn, home to a herd of happy Nigerian dwarf goats. Those who don’t want to walk so far can take a shorter, half-mile farm loop trail.

I love Jester King’s goats. Their herder, Sean Peppy Meyer, invited me out two years ago to go for a mile-long goat run, and we rambled up and down hills and through patches of cactus with the bleating group of animals. (Read the resulting article at https://www.austin360.com/entertainmentlife/20191004/now-you-can-run-with-goats-at-jester-king.)

A herd of Nigerian dwarf goats resides at Jester King Brewery. Pam LeBlanc photo

These days, just getting out and walking someplace other than from the bedroom to the kitchen and back is cause for celebration. We’ve all had to spend a lot of time penned up at home, and getting out and moving is one way to lift the fog that has settled around us.

Turns out the beer’s pretty good, too. The brewery sells beer, pizza and smoked meats, which make for a nice post-hike snack.

To reserve a spot, go to https://jesterkingbrewery.com/reservations. (Walk-ups are allowed, but reservations are encouraged.) Facemasks are required, and visitors should maintain a 6-foot physical distance from staff and other guests.

Visitors need a reservation to visit the brewery. Masks must be worn. Photo courtesy Jester King Brewery

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Butler Trail updates: New bathrooms, a new deck, floating islands and cheese for a cause

Butler Trail updates: New bathrooms, a new deck, floating islands and cheese for a cause

A new deck and rain gardens has opened near the Four Seasons Hotel. Photo courtesy The Trail Foundation

And now, some updates about the Butler Hike and Bike Trail, which for the moment remains open …
• First, you’ve got one more spot to pee, people. The new Festival Beach restroom has opened, replacing a crappy (sorry) facility at Edward Rendon Sr. Metro Park.
• You’ve also got a new place to take a different kind of break. A new deck has opened on the north side of the river, next to the Four Seasons Hotel. The unofficially-named Brazos Bluffs area features bench seating, rain gardens and behind-the-scenes infrastructure to prevent erosion. The project cost $438,000, according to Heidi Cohn, executive director of The Trail Foundation.
• Antonelli’s Cheese Shop will host a virtual cheese tasting on July 17, with a portion of proceeds benefitting the Trail Foundation. The “Cheese 1010: The Seven Styles of Cheese” class will costs is $40. Participants will pick up their cheese plates curbside the day of the event. (Wine pairings are also available.) The hour-long class will be followed by a 15-minute question and answer session, all done via video conferencing.
• Notice those floating islands of vegetation at the east end of Lady Bird Lake? Those aren’t lily pads, they’re wetland structures that provide habitat for plants and animals, and help with carbon sequestration, water quality and temperature regulation. The foundation installed the structures in February.

A new restroom has opened on the Butler Trail at Fiesta Gardens. Photo courtesy The Trail Foundation

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Big Bend National Park limits services amid coronavirus

Big Bend National Park limits services amid coronavirus

Pam LeBlanc checks out the view from the South Rim at Big Bend National Park in January 2019. Chris LeBlanc photo

Big Bend National Park remains open, but has limited some services.

Visitors centers and entry stations will close, and back country camping is open only to sites available through advance, online reservation. The hotel will remain open, but restaurant services will be limited.

Here’s the full press release from park officials.:

Effective Tuesday March 17, 2020 until further notice:
-All Big Bend visitor centers will be closed including Big Bend Natural History Association bookstores
-Entrance stations will be closed
-All formal interpretive programming and special events scheduled for the next 60 days will be cancelled
-The Boquillas Port of Entry will be closed effective March 18, 2020
-Camping permits will be impacted – group campsites will be closed when current parties vacate
-Backcountry camping will be restricted to those sites available for advance reservation on recreation.gov
-All activities will be restricted to the CDC’s guidelines of 10 persons or less including guides
-The hotel will remain open, the bar will be closed, the salad bar will be closed. The restaurant will attempt to maximize takeout meals
-Restaurant and patio capacity will be restricted and tables spread out to maximize distance between diners, patio dining will continue through April unless there are negative trash or animal impacts.
-The RV campground at Rio Grande Village will remain open.

Please note that park staff realize these are significant changes to daily operations, and will negatively impact the business of many park partners, concessioners and area businesses. Park staff feel strongly that these restrictions are in line with CDC’s guidance. They will work to keep the park open so that visitors can enjoy the open, solitary spaces. But they will keep both visitor and employee safety at top of mind.

Full details will be released by Big Bend National Park staff tomorrow, this briefer has been shared with the permission of the superintendent. We will post any information from the park here as soon as it is received. Thank you for your patience as we all work through these challenging times.

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Dream about your next backpacking trip with ‘100 Hikes of a Lifetime’

Dream about your next backpacking trip with ‘100 Hikes of a Lifetime’

This new book from National Geographic had me dreaming about my next backpacking trip. Pam LeBlanc photo

When I sit back and think of the best moments of my life (so far), they’re always set against a backdrop of green (or sometimes blue).

I’m hiking. I’m backpacking. I’m paddling a canoe, riding a bike, sticking my feet in a mountain creek or scuba diving in a forest of coral.

When a copy of “100 Hikes of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Scenic Trails,” by Kate Siber (National Geographic, $35) landed on my desk, I couldn’t wait to flip through it.

The book, a 400-page combination guide book and photo album, takes readers through a selection of hikes – short and long, beginner friendly and challenging – around the world.

I’ve hiked the John Muir Trail, the High Sierra Trail and parts of the Tahoe Rim Trail. I’ve lugged a pack up trails at Yellowstone National Park, Big Bend National Park and Glacier National Park.

Still, I’ve barely made a dent in what the hiking world has to offer. The book includes itineraries and basic information about each destination, from how many days you’ll need to set aside for the adventure and the best time to travel, to the mileage and difficulty level of each one. There are gear lists, tips on packing light, suggested post-hike activities and more.

Siber, the author, covers science, the environment, travel and outdoor sports for publications including Outside Magazine. She lives in Durango. Noted long-distance solo hiker Andrew Skurka wrote the forward.

Part of the fun of the book is seeing which hikes you’ve completed that made the list. I’ve done parts of several of the trips – the Sierra High Route, Angels Landing at Zion National Park, bits of Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica, the lower parts of 19,393-foot Cotopaxi Volcano in Ecuador and the Cinque Terre in Italy.

The other fun comes in daydreaming about which trips you’d like to do. For me, that list includes the Via Dinarica in the Western Balcans, the Kalalau Trail on the Napali Coast of Hawaii, snow leopard territory in Bhutan and Havasupai in the Grand Canyon.

 

 

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In the Swiss Alps, take time to walk from village to village

In the Swiss Alps, take time to walk from village to village

Every tree branch and blade of grass was encrusted in ice. Pam LeBlanc photo

With this week’s cheese, butter and chocolate consumption off the charts, I needed to hike.

Fortunately, that’s easy to do in Switzerland, where you can explore the countryside via a network of well-marked gravel pathways.

Ice crystals formed on every surface. Pam LeBlanc photo

I squeezed in two hikes my last full day in Gstaad, starting with a chilly walk along a twisting river in Lauenen, where cows outnumber humans and an overnight storm had put a delicate crust of diamonds on every twig and blade of grass. When the sun broke over the mountains, the entire forest shimmered.

I passed frozen stacks of hay, shaped just like the ones Van Gogh famously painted, and crossed a narrow wooden bridge over a half-frozen stream. My walk felt like a tour inside a glass-blowers factory.

The Swiss make the best hot chocolate! Pam LeBlanc photo

After an hour, my fingers turned to popsicles, so I stopped in the coffeeshop at the Hotel Alpenland, where I ordered hot chocolate. You can get two kinds here – the classic type, made with dark chocolate, or a maltier version called Ovomaltine. I opted for the darker stuff, which came in a ceramic mug with a small cinnamon cookie and a sifting of grated chocolate.

In the afternoon, after the other journalists in my group had departed, I hitched a ride to Schonried, a 20-minute drive from Gstaad. From there, I followed the “wanderweg” signs (I love the Swiss term for hiking). Even though it had snowed a day earlier, the trails had been cleared, another indication of that perpetual Swiss tidiness.

I struck out for Gstaad.

I soaked up this view while hiking around Gstaad. Pam LeBlanc photo

My route began with a dip alongside a ski lift that was busily whisking skiers up a nearby slope. I shivered a little, as snowflakes stacked up on my knit cap. I stopped to snap pictures, then followed the gravel path as it swung around a corner and headed into the farmland. I clomped past farmhouses and the occasional bed and breakfast, inspected some pumpkin-sized cowbells hanging from a barn, admired fields frosted in white, and followed the trail as it led me across a ridge with views of old chalets and hillside villages.

At one spot, I discovered a wooden cabinet holding an array of milk and cheeses for sale. What a concept – just pop your money in the cash box, using the honor system instead of a credit card, and help yourself to a snack.

Many farmers sell cheese from self-service boxes in the countryside. Pam LeBlanc photo

At one point, the trail forked, with signs pointing in opposite directions, both labeled Gstaad. I stood perplexed for a few minutes, until a farmer pushing a cart magically appeared and asked if I needed help. (The people here seem to pop up just when you need them, eager to offer assistance.) I told him I didn’t know which trail to take, and he directed me toward a snow-covered route marked by poles. That, he pronounced, would take me to Gstaad Palace, where stars including Richard Burton, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor have all stayed.

Perfect. I stuck my tongue out to catch a few snowflakes, descended into the village, passing the palace’s striking turrets, and found my way back to Park Gstaad, my temporary home away from home, in an hour and a half.

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