Hiking the Davis Mountains

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain,

but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”

- Andy Rooney

Davis Mountains State Park has some of the most incredible hiking that RDB and I have experienced in 10 years of camping.  In fact, at some point in our 4 miles of hiking I mentioned to RDB that I should go back and change any post that says we were 'hiking' to 'walking on trials' or anything else - because this was hiking.

We had planned to hike on Friday, but the first snow of the season made us change plans.  When we woke without the predicted 8-15" of snow Saturday morning, we bundled up and planned out the trails we wanted to hike.  

Before I dump a whole lot of incredible photos on you, I thought we'd share a few items we've collected over the years that will make your hike much, much more enjoyable:

Camelbak - Having an appropriate amount of water while you hike is important, and I'm not one for doing a whole lot of math on this blog, so I'd refer you to REI's great article about Hydration Basics. RDB and I both have our own Camelback - not just for the very convenient hands free way to carry a gallon of water each, but also b/c they make great small carry-all back packs for other small items you may need. 

Trekking Poles - This was the first time we've used these (and also the first time hiking serious terrain) and I can totally see the appeal.  They give you two additional points of contact to the ground, help you navigate up or down crumble/scree surfaces, and help to engage your full body in the hike by keeping your arms moving along for support. 

Hiking Boots (and socks) - These are perhaps one of the most important items for comfortable hiking: a really good, sturdy pair of boots. RDB and I both have a pair of Keens - his are lower cut, mine are higher up on the ankle.  After a long day of hiking, we both felt that we had the support we needed to comfortably navigate the rocky terrain. 

And perhaps one last, fun item: Sunglasses - With a need for RX glasses, and knowing that I tend to scratch or lose them (often), I'm all about an inexpensive and fun pair for outdoor activities.  Zeelool often has frames dirt cheap, and lenses for under $50.  Shipping takes forever in this two-day-Prime world, and the will send you text deals way too frequently, but the quality and price are prefect. 

Now that you're all geared up, here's our hike: we started at the Headquarters Trail, then on to Montezuma's Quail Trail, connecting to the Indian Lodge Trail (marked: challenging) and then creating a loop by walking back the camp road till we could pick up Headquarters Trail again back to our car... and a loop or two around the ranger station to get us to that full 4 miles we wanted.