LSHT Section History and Highlights Part I: Trailheads 1-7
By Cathy Murphy (aka TrailGuide); Founding Board Member, 1995 to Present
Trail Head # 1 RICHARDS: Western terminus of the LSHT. There is a small pond with a bench just off the main trail a short distance past the Little Lake Creek Loop and Main Trail intersection, The bench was built and installed by a Girl Scout Troop as a service project. This secluded spot is the perfect place to relax and listen to the birds.
Girl Scout Pond
Trail Head # 2 SAND BRANCH: On March 27, 2019 a helicopter went down near Trail # 2. USFS Firefighter, Daniel J. Laird, a Captain on the Tahoe, California Helitack crew, was helping with a controlled burn in the Sam Houston National Forest when the helicopter crashed. He died at the scene.
2019 Helicopter Crash near Trailhead # 2 Sand Branch (Texas Department of Public Safety)
Daniel Laird Memorial near Trailhead # 2 Sand Branch
Trail Head # 3 NORTH WILDERNESS: In the mid-1990’s Sam Houston National Forest Ranger Tim Bigler asked Trail and Recreation Manager Glenn Elms to flag a new trail in the Little Lake Creek Wilderness. Using swing blades, hand saws and Pulaskis, the Lone Star Hiking Trail Club trail maintenance crew worked to clear the new North Wilderness Trail, establishing the North Wilderness Loop.
Kelley Section: From the Trailhead # 3, cross FM 149 and enter the Kelley Section named for Kelley Sigler, one of the trail's creators. He was Ranger for 22 years on the Sam Houston National Forest. Details of his life can be found here: https://www.shmfh.com/obituaries/Charles-Sigler-35928/#!/Obituary
Ranger Kelley Sigler, 1976 (NFGT Historic Image Gallery)
Trail Head # 4: CANEY CREEK/LITTLE LAKE CREEK: Cross FM 149 and enter the Little Lake Creek Wilderness, one of five designated Wilderness areas in Texas. It was officially designated as a wilderness area in 1984 by the U.S. Congress through the Texas Wilderness Act.
Little Lake Creek Wilderness Boundary
Because this is a wilderness area, use of motorized equipment is prohibited. Mowers and chainsaws are not allowed and all trail maintenance work is by hand. Downed logs blocking the trail are cleared by a crosscut saw team.
Crosscut Saw Crew: Janis, John, Bill, Dave and Carlos (2023)
Trail Head # 5 SOUTH WILDERNESS: There is no longer a TH # 5; it was located just off FM 149 across from Flamingo Lakes Road at 30°27'19.5"N 95°41'43.8"W. It was built in the early 1990's and closed some 15 years later due to lack of a required environmental assessment (NEPA) study. From TH # 5, a 1.5 mile spur trail traveled North West and connected with the lower South Wilderness Loop. Although the TH's are numbered 1-15, there are actually only 14 Trailheads.
Previous Location of South Wilderness TH #5 and Spur Trail
LSHT Club Group Photo at the Intersection of the South Wilderness Spur and LLCLoop (2007)
Trail Head # 6 STUBBLEFIELD SOUTH: Four miles north of Trial Head #6, the LSHT runs through Stubblefield Recreation Area. In 1966, an African American unit of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked to build Stubblefield Recreation Area.
CCC Workers at Stubblefield Campgound, 1966: Corpsmen construct tables at Stubblefield Lake Recreation Area - left to right - Johnnie Ray, Ray Galvan, Joseph Johnson - Campers already enjoying the fruits of their labor in the background - Sam Houston National Forest. (From ScholarWorks, a service of Stephen F. Austin State University Library: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/do/search/?q=sam%20houston%20national%20forest&start=0&context=11516354&facet=
The enacting statute for the CCC forbade discrimination based on race, color, or creed. Still, the 200,000 black enrollees were often segregated, especially in the South.
To read more about the CCC in Texas go to: https://www.thehistorycenteronline.com/uploads/resources/1936_CCC_Annual_for_web_2019.pdf
Trail Head # 7 HUNTSVILLE: Originally, the Lone Star Hiking Trail went into Huntsville State Park. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department decided to remove the trail from the state park because hikers were entering and not paying the entrance fee. (Brandt Mannchen: A Short History of the Sierra Club and the Lone Star Hiking Trail)). In the Spring, the Carolina jessamine is in full bloom. In the winter, yaupon berries turn red.
Carolina Jessamine in March
Red Berries on Yaupon Bush over Small Pond near Mile Marker 29
Stay tuned for LSHT Section History and Highlights, Part II: Trailheads 8-15.