Aug. 31
San Marcos is a river town, and we are a river people who measure out life in cubic feet per second. Our local nomenclature includes beautiful and beguiling terms like water safari, mermaid’s hair, night heron and paddling trails. Over the years, I’ve sussed out the first three terms, but only recently did I discover that a paddling trail was an actual thing.
When we moved to San Marcos, I thought paddling trails were social trails — informal, user-defined pathways rudimentarily defined by put-in and takeout locations. For example, “I paddled the Rio Vista to City Park trail yesterday,” or “Have you paddled the stretch from Spencer’s Canoe to Staples Dam?” Then just the other day, in a conversation with a more seasoned river rat, I discovered that official Paddling Trails exist, and furthermore, Texas Parks and Wildlife has mapped out over 80 of them on their website.
Curious to explore this whole new world of aquatic trailgoing, I packed up my inflatable paddleboard, called an old kayaking buddy and headed downstream to the closest official trail — the Luling Zedler Mill Paddling Trail (alas, there are no official ones in San Marcos).
There are certain luxuries we land lovers take for granted with our official trails: designated parking, clear signage and trail maintenance, to name a few. Luxuries I’ve never experienced on the river, where I usually park on the shoulder of a road, bail out when I see a dam and drag my boat over deadfall on a regular basis. But with official Paddling Trails, I followed clearly- marked blue and white signs to spacious parking lots with accommodating boat launches. I paddled past saw-trimmed limbs and exited the trail before I even heard the water fall at the old mill.
Being on an official paddling trail allowed me to enjoy the scenery on a deeper level. Too often, my paddling experiences feel like hiking off-trail, where I’m hyper- vigilant for the next obstacle or pitfall, and uttering phrases like “Oh snap, that wasn’t on the map.” However, because I could trust the path of an official paddling trail, my body, mind and soul could focus on other aspects of the journey, and I found myself quoting poets like Gerard Manley Hopkins who said, “As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame.”
The Luling Zedler Mill Paddling Trail covered six delightful river miles flowing through arching canopies of sycamore and pecan while carving out a serene path, sometimes 15 below the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Green herons guided our way, jumping fish provided entertainment and the pace of life slowed to something akin to a Faulkner novel. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, we realized the Texas Paddling Trail was a mere three miles away from the Texas BBQ Trail and City Market BBQ. Well played TPWD.
What’s a paddling trail? It’s a vacation for your soul. Do yourself a favor and book a passage today: www.tpwd.texas.gov/boating/paddling-trails
