528. Brrr Rabbit South
A vey short hop to this CCCCold Snowbunny on the Four C Trail in Weches, TX!

Because we've somehow managed to spend a good part of the last couple of winters in warmer climes, people have started to ask us if we've become "snowbirds". "No", I always reply, "we're still snowbunnies, who enjoy our winter hikes, X-C ski trips and such, just not quite so MUCH of that cold weather as when we were younger." Well, wouldn't you know, the cold weather seems to be following us wherever we go anyway! In the early winter of 2014, we headed down to Florida twice with ice storms nipping at our tails each time, and sub-freezing temperatures just about every night we camped along the Florida Trail! Then by the time we finally thought we were in the clear with warm temps after our Caribbean cruises, wouldn't you know that temps in Texas dropped from the high 70's to the low 20's in a single day just as soon as we got back there!

Anyway, we'd hiked the northern half of the Four C Trail from Weches to Walnut Creek after TALE 6, so we were pretty determined to hike the southern half down to Ratcliff Lake after TALE 11, even if in the freezing rain! The following morning after finishing our hike and camping, however, we were so cold (22* with a wicked windchill!), that we didn't even feel like going to check on the boxes we had planted last time through, as we'd originally planned to do (figuring they'd probably gone missing by now anyway), and could barely manage to drive back out to the northern trailhead and hike just a little ways back down the trail to plant a stamp we just happened to have with us that seemed very appropriate for the occasion: a stamp I'd carved around Christmas time of a very long-eared "snowbunny" with a scarf around her neck!

So, to find this little snow bunny, simply find the northern terminus of the Four C Trail, which is near Neches Bluff Overlook, about 8 miles west of Alto, TX on Hwy 21, then .6m south on FS 511, and then .4m east on the Neches Bluff spur road. From the kiosk there on the right, proceed south on the white-blazed trail a scant tenth of a mile to near the edge of the bluff where the trail curves right. At this point, there should be a small tree with a white blaze on each side of it immediately off trail on your left and a log with two silver nails in it immediately off trail right. To the left of the silver nails, the log sports a long-eared "rabbit hole", and in the right side of the "rabbit hole", nestled under leaves, is a small (less than 2 inches long) gray rabbit-ear shaped stone. Turn it over to reveal that silly scarfed snow bunny perhaps still shivering from that CCCCold day in Texas!!!!

Copyright (c) Wanda and Pete. All Rights Reserved.

BEFORE YOU SET OUT, PLEASE READ THE WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER.