Adventure Archives masterfully bridges the gap between raw survivalism and academic inquiry, offering a rare, multi-layered perspective on the Texas landscape. It is a sophisticated reminder that understanding a place’s history and ecology is just as vital as mastering the gear to traverse it.
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Backpacking in the Texas Hill CountryAdded:
In the heart of Texas lies a special gem of a park. It is neither as renowned nor as vast as some of the places we've hiked. But step foot onto its trails, and you'll soon discover a wonderland of natural beauty. Today, the Full Adventure Archives crew, plus Sierra, will embark on a journey to see this park's wonders for ourselves. Come along as we hike across golden grassy meadows, explore peculiar rock formations, and take in the stunning sweeping views of Lost Maples State Park.
our journey started with some dectible pastries at Thomas's home in San Antonio, Texas.
It was a peaceful February morning and the warm Texas weather beckoned to us as we prepared for the trip.
But as we packed up our gear, we ran into a slight complication. Thomas's uh permits are for next weekend. This is very out of character for Thomas to to have made a mistake like that, but we might have to camp in the trails in his neighborhood.
>> Thank you so much. Really appreciate your help. Bye.
I fixed it.
With everything thankfully smoothed over, we were now headed northwest to Lost Maples State Natural Area.
The urban environment of San Antonio faded away, replaced by towering rocky bluffs, bison ranches, and a stunning savannah landscape.
Before long, we had arrived at Lost Maples.
We went to the headquarters, grabbed our permanent map, and then reviewed the plan. Our plan was to hike counterclockwise around the loop, starting at campsite A and then at campsite H along the West Loop Trail before finishing the hike out.
>> Now, it was a short drive to our starting trail head. We made the final preparations for our gear, and Sierra even got a little bathroom break in.
We weren't sure if the creeks along the trail would be dried up, so we were hauling in some extra water.
>> Eventually, it was time for the four of us, plus Sierra, to head out onto the trail. Tailway.
>> Ready to go. Ready to go, doggy?
>> Do you feel weird right now? I feel a little weird.
>> A little weird. Yeah, it is a little weird.
>> There is zero wind. I don't know what season it is right now. I don't even know if it's sunny or not. Is it sunny right now? Is it hot? Is it cold? And we've got a very short hike, which is also kind of weird.
We made our way across the parking lot.
Before long, we were on the actual trail where Andrew had already spotted some interesting plants.
>> So, right here, we've got a Texas mountain laurel, Sephora Secunda Flora.
It's a type of messcal bean, and it grows really well in rocky limestone.
Pretty smart, huh?
>> Oh, >> we can split up. You >> want to do a split seat?
>> Yeah, let's split up.
>> Sure. We'll I'll stay on the low road with Sierra.
>> This is another dramatic split up. See you on the other side.
>> I think that's where the actual maples are up there, so keep an eye out for them. Okay, >> Thomas. Yo, >> the maple one of these.
>> It's this one right here.
>> There's one there.
>> Wow. Amazing.
>> I feel like we're not coming in the uh most ideal time of year to see the beauty of the maples here. So, last time I came here, I came just at the beginning of summer and uh I almost had heat stroke. It was so hot.
>> Yeah.
>> And so, it's very nice to kind of be back here and just feel like the park actually wants me to be here rather than it trying to burn me alive.
>> Hello, humble way at Tuna.
How's the trail?
>> Actually pretty pretty. Got some nice rocky cliffside things going on.
>> Pretty happy with our decision. I am too.
>> The eastern trail had a bright open repairarian landscape while the western trail had a forested rocky feel. It was a surprising contrast considering we were only about 10 ft apart from each other. Can you feel the vastness that separates us? It's almost like I can't see them walking right over there.
>> If you couldn't actually see them over there, it would be interesting with how different it is from here and over there.
>> Yeah.
>> So, Lost Maple State Park is kind of in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. And growing up in Ohio, I'd never even heard of the Texas Hill Country. When I think of Texas, I think these big wide open ranches and then maybe in West Texas, some, you know, some desert. And when I moved out here in 2020, this was one of the first places I wanted to go because it kind of exemplified everything that the Hill Country stands for. You got these limestone peaks over here, all these big shrubs, all these big junipers all around you, and you just kind of feel like you're you're you're tucked away in the hills themselves.
So, we're trying to figure out where Brian and Andrew's trail is going to meet up here. And based on this map, it might be just a little further ahead. I think we got to go across the river one more time. I don't want to spoil it, but we're almost halfway there.
So, one thing you'll find a lot of in these trees is something called ball moss. You can kind of see in the branches all around here. There's these clumps of vegetation just growing on the branches. Despite its name, it's not actually a type of moss. It's kind of related to plants like Spanish moss, also not a type of moss. Um, it's actually a flowering plant. And even though it grows on the tree, it's actually not parasitic. It gets all its nutrients and all its water through its leaves. So, it grows on the plant, but it's not actually harmful to it. Even just laying all around on the ground, there's multiple balls. You could juggle them if you knew how to juggle. They're just made up of all these little leaves tangled up together and they have little flowering bits that are kind of dried up right now.
>> Would this make good tinder like Spanish moss?
>> If it was dried out, I would imagine it would. But these actually still look kind of alive. So, >> yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> This almost feels to me like we've done international travel. Like this feels like we traveled to a different country because the environment is so different.
I've just come from like 20 degree weather and like there's nobody around and it's like so quiet. This feels so weird.
>> Yeah, we're not too too far from the border to some degree. I think you're kind of right. We are pretty close to >> international >> international spaces here.
>> Yeah, >> we had hardly traveled any distance and it was an easy trail so far. There was absolutely no need to take a break. But >> when a nice chair presents itself, even if we've hiked like 02 miles. No, not even that. We must sit.
>> There's actually a nice view. There's like some cliffs over there.
>> Yeah. Sun's kind of coming out.
>> You're not telling me this is already the meetup point.
>> Yeah, this is the meetup point.
>> Have we ever done a split where we didn't beat Brian and Andrew? Nope.
Meanwhile, all right, so behind me is a sycamore tree, and this is a tree we've got back up to the north. Likes to grow along rivers, and these trees can get pretty big. They tend to have this sort of flaky white bark that almost looks like a camo pattern bark, and then it flakes away and reveals this really beautiful white bark. And a lot of times people confuse the leaves that fall from these trees for the maples that grow here at Lost Maples. But if you look, these are just not at all the same size.
And sycamore leaves can get twice as big as this at least. If you hold them one in front of the other, you can kind of see a good size comparison there. But >> not bad. I see. Brian, >> did you have a nice time?
>> Yes. There were uh several nice benches.
>> Oh, she's excited. Brian back. Go say hi to Brian.
>> Hi, Sarah.
>> I had been straggling behind, stopping too often to look at random trees and plants, so I hurried to catch up with the others.
I got lost in the maples. Oh, I get it.
You guys ready to go back?
>> Well, that was the whole loop, guys.
>> See, says end of maple trail. Now we go back.
So apparently the park lost maples gets its name from these maple trees in this region. And this specifically is a large tooth or big tooth maple tree. Despite the name big tooth, the leaves themselves are pretty small. But the loes on the leaves are pretty pronounced. But this is a maple tree that grows in the west. And during the ice age, maples got spread to this region of the US even though they typically prefer a colder climate. And then when things warmed back up in this area, the maples just seemed to stay around. And it's sort of like a relic from prehistoric times, hence the name lost maples, cuz everywhere else in this area, you don't really find these. So, like a lot of maple trees, these trees can also be used to tap for syrup and and make like maple sugar and things like that. Also, this big tree behind us has a ton of that ball moss that me and Brian saw earlier. Pretty cool.
>> We continued along the trail here. Vast wide open spaces were flanked by impressive stone bluffs.
The scenery was striking and it was made all the more so by the comfortable warm weather. From a dry stony riverbed, the path now led into a woodsy section. Here we saw more signs pointing out some of the local flora, including a Texas Madrron.
>> All right, now the real test. Andrew, did you already know this?
>> No.
>> Yeah, this one I didn't know.
Further on the trail was a cozy grove of shrubs where we decided to stop for a snack break.
>> You got a knife, Andrew?
>> Pet peeve in my life is when something says tear here and it doesn't work.
>> You know what my pet peeve is about that tear.
>> Yeah.
>> When someone tears the whole thing off.
>> It doesn't leave a little >> dangling chad. I've softened on the dangling chads.
>> I do get it when it's not a wet food and you don't want to have the chad to deal with like on those fruit snacks because that chad is especially like light. So if you totally tear it off, it could easily fly away. If you leave it dangling and the since the gummies are not wet, it's not that big of a deal.
>> If after a year of reflection, we can meet in the middle on the dangling Chad principle. Maybe there's hope for all of us.
>> Touch my sandwich.
>> That was a moist moisted evening.
>> Give me some of the corn nuts.
You guys want some of Brian's corn nuts?
>> They're good. Actually, before this trip, I had a stomach flu, which is why I'm eating I'm on the brat diet.
Bananas, rice, apples, and toast, which is why I have bread and bananas.
>> Never heard that before. Have you guys?
>> I haven't heard it either.
>> Oh, really?
>> The brat diet?
>> This is what dreams are made of.
It's like the sun is setting. There is nobody else here. We have nothing to do, nowhere to go. This trip really does feel like the fact that I smell life and vegetation that just adds to that feeling of like, oh my, I feel rejuvenation now. It was time to move on. We passed by a trail camera mounted on a tree and the path led us from the woods out onto another stony creek bed.
And just a bit ahead was a landmark called Monkey Rock. It's right here. I'm prepared to be underwhelmed.
>> Why do you think we're going to be underwhelmed?
>> I don't know. There's just no buildup.
>> Thomas was very just like, "Oh, we can check it out."
>> Whoa, this is actually super cool.
>> Yeah, I was going to say >> I think it looks a lot like a monkey.
>> Yeah, >> like one of those rare times when someone says, >> "Oh, yeah, >> it's a monkey." And you're like, "Okay, maybe a Nope, that looks like a monkey."
When I saw the sign, monkey rock, I didn't really know to what to expect, but it wasn't a rock that actually looked like a monkey.
>> Same. Actually, >> it's interesting. If you look, there's a lot of rocks inside the monkeykey's mouth, and I think people from the shore here have been tossing them up there.
>> Oh, you think that's what's happening? I was wondering about that.
>> Yeah.
>> And this is all limestone, I believe.
Right. That's kind of what gives this place some of its extra charm that separates it from the rest of the Hill Country is there are a lot of caves and just kind of carved out areas of the hills here that give it kind of this otherworldly look.
After taking in the sculpturesque rock formations, we headed back to the main trail where Brian had some pleasant news for us. The campsite's pretty much around the corner, so I'm just going to scout ahead, make sure we claim something. Well, this specific environment with the kind of swampy water and big cliffs is super cool.
>> Yeah, I feel like Thomas was trying to undersell this place a little bit so that we wouldn't get our hopes up, but I watched the video that he did here and I was like, "This looks pretty cool to me."
>> I think one of my problems was I it's all a blur cuz I got like this close to heat stroke.
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah.
>> And I just remember the last two hours of it and being like, "Oh my god, what have I done?"
>> Look at this giant platform of rock right in front of us. It almost makes me feel like I'm a miniature person.
>> And then check out all this algae.
>> Wow. Look at that.
>> This looks like >> What?
>> Radioactive. Oh, and there's a little frog. Oh, >> we're actually already at the campsites.
Are here.
>> We're like calling for Brian. He's already sleeping.
Ryan, yo, you found a spot?
>> I did.
>> So, this is one option right here.
>> This is one option, but the bathrooms are further down that way. We'd be pretty far. Plus, we're sandwiched between people.
>> Okay.
>> The one that I found is across from the bathrooms and we're kind of pretty much remote. Like, we're not near anybody.
>> Wow. There are a lot of primo campsites here.
>> This is really great.
>> Yeah, I can see why they tell you no ground fires, though. This whole thing is just covered in dried tinder grass.
You'll see my uh chair.
>> Excited. Oh, there's the bathroom.
>> Brian. Oh, man.
>> Good job.
>> Good job, Brian.
>> Got a pretty great view, too.
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Plus, there's there's one campsite further down that's not really that nice. It's like mostly flattened grass, so it's not great.
>> I love it.
>> More people show up.
>> Let's do it.
>> If you feel like you can set the big tent up there, I'll put mine closer and then maybe we can put the tarp above us so that when it rains.
>> Big tent here. Small tent here, maybe.
>> Yeah. Look at this. A lost Chad.
Plus one for the dangling Chad.
>> We got settled into camp. It had been overcast most of the day and Robbie had to do a little bit of gear repair. At some point I tripped on this wire and I broke this. And last time we used this tent in the rain with this just flopping against the tent. Our feet got wet. So we do need to fix this before we do anything. What I'm going to do is cut a piece off.
Oh, I'm going to tear a piece off.
>> Yeah, >> we cut a hole in the middle of the tape so that we could feed the guideline through it. It was a bit fiddly getting the tape attached neatly, but we eventually got it on the rainfly.
>> So, this piece nice and strong now. And then we'll just tape the rest of these holes as well.
>> While Robbie finished up his repairs, the rest of us got our shelters set up.
Now it was time to see if our rainfly repair had been successful. See if it holds up. Doesn't need to be too tight, so I'm not going to push. It seems good.
Keep us dry at least.
>> After that, we deliberated about the best way to set up a tarp as we were anticipating rain and wanted the extra protection.
>> We decided to hoist it over the space between our tents so that we could have a little rainproof camping foyer, but we wanted to make sure it wouldn't just end up pooling water and dumping more rain onto our tents.
>> What do you think, Andrew? Is this a bad idea?
>> Nah.
>> Feel a lot more confident if you feel confident about it.
>> No, it'll be good.
>> I'm not confident about it.
>> Yeah, I could see it pooling a little bit up here. Unless we get it high.
>> Let's calculate where we need to put the water jug so we can collect all the rain water. It'll >> probably around here and maybe fall off this edge here.
>> Want to remind the council ultimately this was Thomas's idea.
I don't want to jinx it, but I think this might be one of the best ideas we've ever had.
>> It's pretty cozy.
>> I think it could be.
>> How's the campsite feeling? Great.
>> Sierra's like partway into her water bowl.
>> With camp set up, it was time to relax.
>> You know what's going to be fun, guys?
Getting in that big tent.
Sure.
>> This is like a Voltron tent.
>> I should have brought more snacks here.
>> Sweet and salty.
I mean, we can cook dinner if we want to.
All right. Be prepared tomorrow, guys.
We're going to have a a grueling 350 ft incline.
>> This actually feels a lot like our early backpacking trips. It does. Yeah.
>> Barely hiking anything. The smell of some season in the air.
>> I mean, it's incredibly appealing.
Honestly, this is like what I fell in love with originally.
>> Yeah.
>> I feel like you got to go for what you want. And there's nothing wrong with going back on the things that you used to like or didn't like or whatever.
>> Yeah.
>> I remember when I first did my ep my first episode with you guys. It was with um it was in the I was like, "Let's go climb mountains. Let's go see epic scenery. Let's go do all that stuff. We got to go go." And I felt like I was failing if I wasn't doing like at least 8 miles a day.
>> Yeah.
>> What a what a fool I was.
>> None of us are in our 20s anymore.
>> Homer Simpson had it right. I enjoy all the meats of our cultural stew.
>> Sometimes you like the distance.
Sometimes you like eating granola bars around.
>> Truly, no wisdom encapsulated in a quote could better define this trip than Homer Simpson.
>> Evening had now set in, and we decided to get water boiling for some dinner.
>> While we waited for our meals to cook, we discussed some important matters of the day.
>> What did you just say, Andrew?
>> You know, Chadless might be the way to go with these meals. Actually, we we will concede on that.
>> You know what makes trips like these so good? You have literally no care in the world. Not even worrying about like how many miles you have to hike or what you have to get done next. It's just nothing. You don't have to do worry about anything, >> which really is the true joy of camping in my opinion.
>> Yeah.
>> Well, I know we're waiting for our food.
I got a I got a little treat for you all. Hope you like cowboy music.
I saw that on your kitchen.
>> I wanted candy.
>> I didn't realize you brought that.
>> Hold on. Hold on.
>> Oh, say, "Can you see?"
That's what I thought.
>> Something from Red Dead.
>> It's like if you're building a rickety house.
>> Just like that.
>> You've got a hammer and a nail and a hammer. I forget the lyrics. Yeah.
Oh, that sounds good.
>> Oh, man.
>> For dinner, I was having beef stew and Thomas was enjoying some mac and cheese.
All right. I'm actually trying one I haven't had before, which is den some egg fried rice.
>> I've got the creamy tuscan chicken, which I believe Dean sent to us. Thank you, Dean. This is very good. This is actually pretty good fried rice for being a camping meal. Only downside is this doesn't have the walk.
>> It wasn't >> the what?
>> The walk energy. It wasn't cooked on a giant walk with a flame on a gas stove by an angry Cantonese man.
You know how there have been times in the past where we start a hike and we're like, man, I want to get into tent already. This is as close as we're going to be able to get to doing something like that.
>> We got out of the car like an hour ago >> and you know what? Lives up to every amount of Yeah, >> it's just as good as I've always wanted it to be.
>> Temperatur going to be really nice tonight. And if it weren't for the certainty of rain, the scorpions on the ground, the boores around here, the tarantulas, the snakes, I wouldn't mind cowboy camping.
>> That would be kind of nice. This kind of feels like a no frrills backpacking trip. Like not much hiking, not much cooking, just the pleasantries of our company.
You're right. This really does feel like our early backpacking trips.
>> That's kind of what I was hoping. We could have gone out to West Texas. This would have been like a 6-h hour drive or 8 hour drive.
>> Like, nah, I want you guys to around the house. I want to have fun.
>> Dusk slowly faded into night, so we packed up our belongings and got ready for bed.
>> I see. Let's go.
It's not as good as a yurt, but it's still pretty good.
>> Oh yeah, I've missed the big tent.
Cannot deny the goodness of the big tent.
>> Oh, that's great. I love being horizontal.
>> It's always looks like he's an elf in the workshop making toys for us.
>> Yeah, >> it is a whole season warmer inside of this tent.
>> You need to keep your body from moving for the next 10 minutes to adjust.
>> I legitimately might go sit outside for a little bit.
>> Yeah. Come join me.
>> Oh, you're out there already?
>> Yeah, I'm about to be.
>> Look at this. So, we got like some atmospheric lighting like >> Oh my god, look at that.
>> Is that the jug?
>> Yeah.
>> This is what Thomas has always wanted.
>> This is tent city.
>> Cuz believe me now.
>> Thomas has been trying to make tent city happened for years.
>> My only complaint about this is I wish we could put the tents a little further back and then have this as like a congregation area underneath.
>> Yeah, that'd be great.
>> Yeah, this is great. If we want some vibes, we can just shake this jug up and now we have these water ripples everywhere.
What are you guys up to?
>> Just lying down.
>> I'm looking at cat pictures.
>> We got Sierra inside here.
>> Yeah, this tent city is pretty great. I I don't know what's going to happen when it starts to rain, but at least right now, this is great.
>> You know what we should do is just have someone sleep right in between these tents.
>> Just lay flat like >> I need the hammock to just run right between the bed.
>> Yes. Yeah, that'd be great. So, we're not going to leave here until after 12:00 p.m. when it stops raining, right?
>> I'm okay to wait as long as we think we should.
>> I was actually thinking about that, too.
If we're all on board, I'm down.
>> The weather that I saw did say it was like kind of intermittent throughout the day. So, I don't know if we should put all of our dogs in one basket or whatever it is.
>> Our dogs in one tent.
>> Yeah, >> I guess we'll decide in the morning, >> but I'm in it for the long haul if we need to.
>> Thomas, have you been in the big tent yet? Not yet.
>> Oh, >> maybe we'll do that tomorrow.
>> Yeah, I'm too comfortable to >> Yeah, I'm I'm comfy here, too.
>> All right. Well, I'll uh >> I'll be closing my eyes now.
>> All right. Good night.
>> Eventually, we drifted off to sleep beneath a starry sky.
We awoke to a light drizzle pitterpattering against the rainflies.
None of us were particularly excited to get out of our tents, but eventually the rain seemed to lighten up, so we got up.
It was kind of misty. It was a bit of a gloomy morning, so I decided to brew up some coffee to help perk us up.
The thought of a warm beverage coax me out of the tent and Sierra followed behind.
>> There she is.
All right.
Sierra seemed excited to be out in the open air again, and we might have lost sight of her in the golden retriever colored grass if it weren't for her leash.
There was a slight chill in the morning air, so I made sure Sierra was wearing her jacket.
S the water had finished boiling, so it was time for some instant decaf coffee and a few snacks.
We got these animal crackers from Deborah. Thank you, Deborah.
>> Just like I remember. So, were we all up at 3:00 a.m. to 4:30 or so?
>> I know there was the time where we were fixing the tarp, but I don't know what what time that actually >> I think that was like close to 5, >> was it?
>> I couldn't fall back asleep for a while after that, but then I did. It didn't help that there was a group of younger dudes hooting and hollering.
>> Yeah. Like 6:00 a.m., >> which is funny cuz they were up late, too.
>> Yeah.
>> Mhm.
>> Ah, to be young.
>> Yeah. My only regret is I wish I had brought my summer bag. The winter bag was too hot.
>> Just more humid than I expected. I think >> that's Yeah, that's a big part of everything. Yeah, >> which is kind of dumb. I guess in retrospect, we should have known it was going to be wet.
>> A light haze rolled through the waves of golden grass, leaving delicate dew drops on each strand. It seemed like the rain had passed, so we started packing up.
After getting our gear out of the tents, we packed up our bags and began tearing down camp. We didn't have a ton of hiking to do today. It was less than 5 miles to our next campsite, so we took our time packing up.
As we packed up, a fine mist rolled over the distant hills.
After packing away the tents, we dealt with the tarp, which was covered in moisture.
>> I think you're mostly just bouncing the water from one spot to another.
>> After wiping down the tarp, we untethered it and to Thomas' delight, folded it up quite neatly.
>> You know, I'm going to give this a duo non-buff.
This looked very well scripted.
>> Like, we know what we're doing.
>> Real question was, was the uh tarp worth it last night?
>> Yes.
>> Okay.
I enjoyed it.
>> I'm on team tarp.
>> Yeah.
>> Put on a show.
>> After getting the last bits of our gear situated, we headed out on the trail.
It felt good to get hiking again. And only a short distance from our campsite was a pleasant rocky riverbank flanked by large cliffs. Jutting out of the cliffs were mushroomlike rock formations that hung over the rubble below. Nearby, a few cars had been stacked up. We wanted to take a moment to enjoy this peaceful scenery, but it seemed mother nature had other plans in store for us.
>> Have I ever mentioned to you guys how much I hate the rain?
>> The rain is the worst.
>> We doing okay? You guys want to head back, set up camp again, and just stay?
>> Sure.
>> Do we want to tarp it up for a few minutes and see if it gets lighter? I don't know, dude.
>> I Okay, let's just go.
>> Yeah, >> this kind of sucks.
>> Yeah, >> I like how the rain waited until we finished packing to start just so it could fool us. It was like, "Oh, no, don't worry. You're just going to get a little misting."
And >> as soon as we packed up, it was like, "Okay, here's full force.
>> Keep going."
>> I don't know.
Man, rain is like a such a huge damper on everything.
>> Well, what what's the rain like here?
Does it do the same thing everywhere else where it'll be really hard for a bit and stop?
>> Yeah, it's hard to tell. It hard to tell.
>> Otherwise, I was going to say we can always just bail.
>> Hope we can't bail.
>> Let's go.
>> Sorry.
>> Just thought I put that out in the universe.
Thomas is like, "Oh, I should have pretended I couldn't get new permits."
>> We hiked onward for about a minute before things became too untenable to continue.
>> We have decided to go back to the campsite and set up a tarp. There's too much rain right now. The rain was so heavy that it was seeping through our raincoats and it made filming anything a nearly impossible task.
Think Greo is enacting his revenge on us.
>> For what? We didn't do anything.
>> We We switched to the Pequard.
All protective rainear has failed at this point.
>> This nicely wrapped up tarp we just put so much effort into folding and rolling.
I guess that makes this easier at least.
>> Challenge.
>> Hey. Uh, we're doing a lean tube.
>> I know.
>> Are we doing a lean too or are we keeping it wide?
>> I thought you said lean tube.
>> No, I said wide.
>> Why?
>> Let's set something up, guys. Come on.
>> A lean tube is not an afraid. A lean tube.
>> Okay. Well, whatever.
Once we get this tarp set up, it will definitely stop raining.
>> It's fine.
>> If we've made it stop raining, that's good enough.
>> That's true. This is all tangled up at the bottom here.
>> I just said that you were doing it the wrong way. I didn't actually look to see if >> Well, I was going to pull like this.
>> Andrew, you're in charge. Tell everybody what to do. Go.
>> Let's go this way. Do we have room to pull?
We'll start moving our stuff under here.
The tarp was set up a bit half-hazardly, but our tripod made a great impromptu pull.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Go, go, go, go.
In the words of Falco Lombardi, this is horrible.
>> We never should have left.
>> We need to remind each other if it starts raining and we have any opportunity to have a tarp, we have to do it immediately. Cuz I don't know what we're thinking. We were just like, "Oh, it's raining. Here we go."
>> It didn't start raining this hard yet, though.
>> No, for sure. After easing Sierra's anxieties, we settled into our places beneath the tarp to wait out the storm.
>> Is this rain harder than a lot of rain we've dealt with? It definitely is, right?
>> No, it's about the same as hard rain we've dealt with before.
>> We also have a dog, too. And a dog just kind of complicates things.
>> Yeah. And yeah, if it weren't for the dog, we we totally cut this out.
>> Yeah.
>> How long do we wait once it stops to make sure it's actually stopped?
I'm okay taking another 20 minutes.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah, that sounds good.
>> I think that's >> As the rain continued to fall, it pulled up in the sagging pockets of the tarp.
To keep us entertained, I asked Thomas to pose one of his famous would you rather questions. Would you rather be pushed into a lake and go underwater with all your hiking gear, but can get back to shore really easily, or have to hike in this for 3 hours? Uh, get pushed in the lake.
>> Get pushed in the lake, especially if it's sunny out because then you can just dry up on the beach. Yes. But you run the risk of damaging everything inside.
Well, >> the rain kept on, but it seemed to be lighting up slightly.
>> It's not that bad.
>> It's definitely lightening up.
>> Yeah. Let's give it another 15 minutes.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
>> Yeah. Give it as long as we can. I think we need some snacks, though.
You guys want biscuits or nuts? And by biscuits, I mean cookies. It's a Nutella biscuit, which is just a Nutella cookie.
>> Brian, how's the biscuit?
>> It's good.
>> Dry.
>> I gave you guys my biscuits and this is the this is the reaction. Dry.
>> Well, if you don't like it, give it to me.
>> I like your biscuit. It's good.
moisture right out of your mouth. Isn't that what you want right now? All the moisture sucked out of you right now.
>> You want to add moisture?
>> Go out there.
It's more comfortable to stand up. So, I'll I'll act as the A-frame or whatever. What if you were by yourself and you just put the tarp over and you were just standing here in the forest like a ghost?
>> What if you just walked with the tarp on you the whole time >> with a little two eyeballs?
What if we had a fifth person? Four people took a corner. The fifth person just cared a little to like a little stick in the middle and we all stayed dry.
>> Right as the rain seemed to let up, a heavy downpour started falling once again. To keep us entertained, Robert was now playing the role of TV stand.
>> But finally, after getting through an episode of Rick Steves, the rain seemed to actually be easing up for good.
>> Wow. Feels pretty good.
>> It was a relief seeing the sun poking through the otherwise overcast sky. And it seemed the storm was heading in the opposite direction of our hike now.
>> Um the weather's going this way and it looks very grim in that direction, but it looks a little bit nicer in this direction. So the bad weather is going that way.
>> We used our GPS device to get a quick weather update.
>> Okay, so it says 100 p.m. 70% chance of rain.
>> Oh jeez.
>> 3:00 p.m. 40% chance of rain. 5:00 p.m.
30%. 7:00 p.m. 30%.
>> So, you want to sit here for another hour or so?
>> No, I'd say you can just go.
>> I say we wait until that 1:00 1:30.
>> That might not be a bad idea.
>> Why don't I give you my seat? Maybe that'll change.
>> I'm not I'm okay with whatever. If you guys want to wait it out, that's fine.
We kept waiting and I tried one of Andrew's twoingredient brat diet fruit gummies.
>> Thomas, watch this. Just for you.
Actually, it's for me, too. But I'm going to leave the chat on because it's a dry food. Slightly inconvenient, but it's more convenient than having to find a place for the chat.
>> Oh, I never thought of that before.
>> Do you think it's Do you think it's whether it's dry food or wet food, or do you think it's how big your Chad is?
>> Cuz if it's a big Chad, you know you're not going to lose it. It's a small Chad.
You just >> That's also a factor. That's true.
>> The size of your Chad.
>> Yes, I heard you the first time. The size of your Chad.
>> Before long, the rain started pouring yet again. It's coming down pretty hard again.
>> What if your vacation gets rained out?
Well, you all just sit there and do nothing like idiots.
Oh my gosh.
>> It seemed we had made the right decision by staying under the tarp. And now the inclement weather only continued to get worse.
Feel like this rain has only gotten harder.
>> Yeah, I have an idea. And you guys tell me if this is a crazy idea. And next time the rain lets up, what if we set up the tent? Then what?
>> Wait out the rain. And if the rain keeps going, WE'LL JUST STAY HERE TONIGHT CUZ AT LEAST then we could have a nice dry place to actually hang out and enjoy ourselves rather than being cold and uncomfortable.
>> Eventually, the rain did seem to let up again, but we knew it would surely only be a short-lived reprieve. So, we got the tent set up like Robbie had suggested.
>> In this episode, we dismantle our tent and then put it back.
>> Uh, do you guys want to flip it this way? So you walk out this way.
>> It would have been smart.
>> Yeah.
>> Shut up, Thomas.
>> Sorry.
>> I got rain madness.
>> Finally, the tent was set up, so Brian, Andrew, and I hopped inside.
We should never have gotten out of >> Actually, it is really unfortunate because if it had started raining in the morning, we would have waited it out.
From all the weather reports, it made it look like it was going to stop raining around noon, not start raining at noon.
>> Yeah, that would have been great.
The good news, I guess, is that because this trail is so short and there's so many different options that it's pretty easy to adapt.
>> That's true. We do have lots of time.
>> Yeah.
>> Morale check. morale check. All right, I'm going to give you a visual representation of our morale right now.
How low can I go?
>> You know what's kind of funny is I almost feel like we could have reached another campsite instead of camp right now.
>> Thomas, how you doing out there?
>> Doing fine. How you guys doing?
>> Not bad. Not bad.
>> Have you noticed that the rain has completely stopped?
>> I did.
It does feel like if we pack up and start moving, it's going to start again.
>> We'll just wait until uh 2:00.
>> Okay, >> sounds good to me. It's 1:43 right now.
Now, we'll just stare at this tent wall.
>> As we stared at the tent wall, we noticed the distinct glow of natural sunlight.
>> Oh my god, that sun is beautiful.
>> Not much rain.
>> Uh not much rain. Yeah. And there's blue skies uh in the distance.
>> Now, it seemed like the storm had actually let up for good.
>> Yes, truly. Actually, for real this time, and the sunshine was here to stay.
>> This is a world of difference.
>> Yeah.
>> This is only a half hour after it was pouring so heavily.
>> Andrew, feel this. Feel that.
>> Oh my god.
>> This is quite a turn. Things are looking up.
>> It is so warm. It's in moments like these where we start to deeply understand why ancient civilizations worship the sun. It was such a relief to be out from under the tarp. And Sierra was certainly happy to be able to move around again.
Oh, let's try it one more time. You got this. Ready?
There you go.
While Sierra was happy as a clam, we were running into another problem thanks to the rain.
>> This camera is moving on its own.
>> This moving on its own and this being like that. This one is also like that too.
>> This This is a big reason why we can't just keep hiking in the rain sometimes.
We don't like to talk about the filming aspect, but that is a big a big reason why >> a huge aspect. Look at this stupid thing.
>> If it weren't for filming, we could have just hiked through all that and been fine. But we have a a thing to make.
For the second time today, we broke camp and started packing away our tent.
With our soggy gear stowed away, we started hiking yet again. But just as we crossed the same stream, another bout of rain started falling.
>> Are you kidding me right now?
>> Oh, >> I refuse to accept this.
>> No, I'm going to tell myself it just sounds like it's raining more than it is cuz it's hitting the water over there.
Oh my god. Are you serious?
>> Thankfully, the rain was much lighter this time and hiking and filming in it was much more feasible.
>> And hike on we did. We now came to another clearing by the riverbank that was just past where we had turned around. You know, this might have been a good place to have set the tarp if we if we had walked like 30 more yards.
>> Well, this is the grotto. This is marked on a map.
Yeah, it's interesting because I know caves have a lot of limestone in them, right? So, you can see how it has the same stelagtite formations. And also, you can see all these remnants of the maiden hair ferns. And there's even a few green leaves just clinging on towards the bottom here. And they get moisture from water that seeps through these rocks. I don't think I appreciated this last time, but this is just one big maple tree. And it's impressive how much smaller the maple leaves are compared to what we're used to up in the Midwest.
This really reminds me of the Japanese maples, which just feels like someone plucked one of those trees and put it right here in the heart of Texas.
After that, we followed the trail onward. From the grotto, it now led up a stony staircase built into a hillside.
>> I'm really liking that they have stairs.
At least it was not bad at all. The incline was a bit steep, but nothing too terrible. And at the top, we were rewarded with a nice view of the surrounding landscape. Wa! It's quite a nice view. Wa!
Okay, that's pretty good.
We hoped that the pleasant scenery was just the start of a turnaround of the day's fortune. As we continued up the grally hillside, I spotted some cool rocks. So, I don't think this is quite flint, but it might be flint or it might be CH. You can see it's got these smooth pieces that have been flaked off. So, it has the properties of a stone like that.
It's got this like higher pitch glassy sound to it. But, this is the sort of stone you might have in the stone age used to make stone tools. A lot of times you'll take a big piece like this and flake off a smaller piece. You can see these missing chunks and then work a piece like that into something like an arrow head or a spearhead or whatever.
>> Yo, this is fairly intense. I think Brian said it was 350 ft elevation.
Morale check. Morale check.
>> Well, if that sun comes out, I'll feel better. But at least I'm not too concerned about getting cold right now cuz heating myself up. This is the bad kind of that'll warm you up.
We continued up the soggy, rocky hillside, and the exertion of the climb acted as an important reminder for us.
Even though I want nothing to do with wetness right now, it's important to remember to hydrate. Drink your water.
It does actually help with this.
Sar, you better drink that water.
After the five of us finished hydrating, we continued our uphill trudge. We were soon rewarded for our efforts as the higher elevation revealed an incredible view of the surrounding hills and valleys.
The skies were still overcast, reminding us of our rainy morning. But with a higher elevation came a variety of different plants, including some you wouldn't usually associate with rainy weather. All right, so one unique thing about this area is there's kind of three distinct bio regions that conjoin and meet in this area. Apparently, it's got a lot of vegetation from plateaus, plains, and deserts just all kind of meeting together. Especially lower in elevation. We were seeing a lot of species that we actually sometimes see back home like sycamore, other types of deciduous trees. And now up here, we're seeing some desert species like this prickly pear cactus over here. You can of course eat the paddles. Uh it's kind of hard to harvest that cuz you got to get rid of the needles, but they also have an edible fruit that you can eat.
Like >> what do the paddles taste like?
>> I actually have ordered them from a Mexican restaurant near me. They make a salad out of it. It's kind of like a like a slimy bell pepper almost.
>> That sounds horrible. Yeah, it's it's doesn't seem appealing at first, but the way they mix it with the onions and the peppers and the spices, the fried tortillas, they're really good. Nearby, we also saw some shrubs, Texas mountain laurel and juniper.
>> We could see some blue skies breaking through the clouds, but the ground was still soaked from the earlier storm.
>> It's really slick.
>> It doesn't help that there's like an inch of mud accumulated on my soles.
>> It looks like we have snowshoes on right now because of the mud.
>> Yeah.
And smattered throughout the mud were strange weathered rocks riddled with holes.
>> Looks like something out of a video game.
>> Yeah.
>> So, Andrew, what type of tree is this?
>> It looks like something in the white oak family. Uh I can see some of the leaves clinging on. They've got these smooth loes shaped like oak leaves. Yeah, a lot of times you'll see oak trees growing alone and they have this beautiful kind of big branchy shape to it. There are a bunch of little lychans growing all over these trees up here. And it's a lot like when we're in Grayson Highlands or Dolly sods. You're on this kind of a bald. And I think it's just because these trees are exposed to so much rain and moisture up here that allows this lykan to thrive. It's like an old wire fence here. The only the bottom half is completely exposed though. We had finally reached the top of the hill.
Here the landscape opened up and electric poles stood tall against a sky of dissipating clouds.
>> Yo, now that is a beautiful sight. Blue skies all around us.
>> I was telling Thomas earlier that I spent all my mental energy being angry at the rain and this is just like filling that bar back up. Mental energy.
All right, so this is the junction and that will take us towards the Sabinol River Valley O overlook. I mean, I think it's like one of the only overlooks on this trail. So, we definitely got to check it out, especially with the sun coming out.
>> 35 miles one way.
>> Yeah, something like that.
>> Yeah, we can do that.
>> All right.
>> All right, let's do it.
>> Now, we followed a wide, stony path along the hilltop. It was such a relief feeling the sun gradually drying out all our wet clothes and gear.
>> And it seemed we had even more relief in store for us. Not only were the skies continually getting bluer, but the trail here was flat and easy to hike as well.
As we hiked, we caught a preview of the views waiting for us at the overlook.
Along the way, we also came across a strange arrangement of rocks and some sandy antills covered in ants scuttling about. Before long, we had arrived at the overlook.
>> This is everything culminating into one enjoyable moment for all the suffering we were just enduring. Like, >> we've got the blue sky, the sun roasting our wet skins.
Oh yeah, this is what I've been hoping for all morning and afternoon.
>> Some just hit >> right in there, too.
>> Look at all this blue sky we have. This is beautiful.
We got up to the overlook there. It kind of reminded me of Hansen's Point from Red River Gorge. I don't know about you guys.
>> Definitely feels like a lot of overlooks that I've been to, but I was getting like Grayson Highland vibes at some point.
>> Whatever it is, it's great. Moments like this when the sun is out, this is like every time it's just so euphoric.
>> Yeah. Just earlier when we were sitting under that tarp, it felt like it was never going to end.
>> Yeah. And now you just feel like, yep, there's so much potential left.
>> So much hope in the day. So many things to see and do. I just love how quickly the sun dries everything out, too. Yeah, except for this wet, sticky mud.
Thomas is drying out his insides with his pretzel stew.
We left the overlook and backtrack to the main trail. Once we reached the junction, we came across a trail map and checked how many miles there were to the junction leading to our campsite.
>> 57.
Yeah, it's barely two miles.
>> After that, we continued on through the sticky mud.
>> My feet are getting heavier and heavier, though. Feel like my left foot is heavier than my right. I bet this trail was really nice yesterday. We enjoyed the hike in spite of the mud. The grassy upland savannah provided a unique feeling backdrop to our adventure.
And that wasn't all. Every so often, the trail would run right along a cliff edge, affording us more incredible views of the surrounding landscape. Man, I love this these open, sunny sections so much.
From the clifftops, we could see a widened portion of Can Creek, which glistened in the afternoon sun. And on the horizon, distinct looking trees stuck out on the distant hilltops. We enjoyed the view for a moment, then continued on. It seemed that all along this section of the trail, there were more little scenic overlooks.
The path continued at top the plateau.
Besides the mud, it was a dream to hike.
The weather was beautiful now, and the trail was flat and wide, which made it easy to navigate to all the different lookouts.
>> It's funny what a far cry this trail is from earlier today. That seems like a lifetime ago.
>> Yeah.
>> Wow. Now this feels like Texas.
>> Yeah.
>> We hadn't hiked very far thanks to this morning's rain. So Brian and Thomas came up with an idea for a change in plans.
>> So we've got an hour and a half of sunlight. We got two miles to go. So, either we mind our time and we get to the campsite, or we can camp at B, which is just up ahead.
>> Mind you, the best part of this whole trip, the trail, is like this part that we're about to go do down there.
>> I'm okay with doing B.
>> B it is, baby.
>> B for baby.
>> Well, since we are stopping so early though, someone's going to have to take up the Thomas position of waking us up at 6:00 a.m. so we can have more of the day to hike.
>> Now, we approach the campsite. All right. So, we definitely want to do this, though.
>> 100%.
>> Okay. Okay.
>> 100%.
>> And it's another quarter mile off the path to the campsite.
>> Sounds good to me.
>> All right. We were excited to get to camp despite only having hiked a total of three and a half miles so far.
>> This trail feels a little bit weird because we're doing this backpack and we got all this gear and then there's dayhikers passing us who literally have nothing but their clothes on their back.
>> And on the trail, we saw evidence that there were more than just day hikers in the area. I'm curious if some of this land is still used as a ranch or just like grazing lands because me and Brian also heard >> Oh, watch out.
>> Cuz me and Brian also heard some moves earlier and clearly this place is littered with some cow patties. Look at this. Whoa, man. It looks like mud.
>> Luckily, our boots were caked only with mud as we continued our stroll through the golden grasslands.
Eventually, we arrived at the primitive camp area and came across a nice looking campsite.
>> Oh, baby. Looks like there's another person just on the other side that we might want to find another more secluded spot.
>> There's some fresh cow down here, too.
So, >> yeah.
>> And so, we continued our search down the path. Eventually, we came to an open area just by the trail.
>> This looks good to me.
>> Yeah, we could drop our stuff. Someone want to go scout further ahead? See if there's a better one?
>> Sure, I can do that. While the others settled into this campsite, I went further down the path. But the only other sites I saw weren't that different from ours.
>> We rested and relaxed. The warm evening light cast long shadows that stretched across the ground.
Before setting up camp, we dealt with the sticky mud that was caked onto the soles of our shoes. And we each had varying methods on how to get it off.
>> One of those definitely flew in my direction.
So, Brian was saying that uh this is great because this also gives us a chance to dry our gear out, which we wouldn't have had as much time to dry it out if we had gone to the other campsite.
>> This is a great example of us being adaptable.
>> This was always the best campsite for us.
This was always the only choice.
>> After some rejuvenating relaxation time, we got the tent set up for the night.
>> Thomas is tent maxing right now. I'm going to be nap maxing in here.
Everybody's going to be maximizing something.
>> Once the tents were set up, we got some of our sleeping gear situated and then spread out anything that had gotten drenched so that it could dry in the sun and the wind. With the tent set up, we got our stoves out to prepare dinner.
We waited for the water to boil and our meals to cook. In the meantime, Robbie had another snack for us to try out.
Okay, this is also from Deborah. Coco Classics Chocolate Supreme Cocoa Mix.
Oh, >> so she sent us a little note and it's got a nice little drawing.
>> It's Sierra, too. Look at that.
>> Hi guys. Here's my way of celebrating the first Patreon early release of 2026.
And wow, South Manitou had it all. Well, except for Brian and Thomas. And wait, what's this about? Not enough snacks.
So, here's a few of my favorites to take on a future trip, plus some hot beverages to bring that cozy vibe.
>> It says so right on the Cocoa label. And then from our good friend Jared, he got us some stickers.
>> I see some black trumpets, some oysters, chicken, morelss, puffball, indigo, milky. Oh, there's Skies of Philem Commune right at the bottom there. Thank you, Jared, for these stickers. These are awesome.
Dink it.
>> That's good.
>> I am feeling cozy. Morale check.
>> Better morale is looking good.
Man, it was low this morning.
>> Yeah, >> it could not have been much lower. I was I was crouched under that tarp just looking at Rick, Steve, just being like, >> "Yep, >> I was saying, man, it just feels so hopeless sitting under that tarp. Like, you feel like, how could this trip ever get be good again?"
>> Turns out what we needed was a big open meadow at the top of a ridge with a lot of blue sky and sunshine. This the sky is completely cloudless right now.
>> Yeah. Well, I got one last piece of joy for y'all.
>> Mhm.
>> Oh, >> our food is ready.
>> So, I'm doing another new one. I'm doing the venison country casserole. Ground deer in a creamy sauce with rice and vegetables. I think at this point I'm going against the brat diet.
>> I've got the butternut bot >> and I will be doing the homestyle chicken and rice.
>> Wow, it really is gy. Very delicious.
>> What a turn, man. Where's Sarah at?
So today is actually Valentine's Day. We have abandoned our significant others with their permission. We got to celebrate in style. We got three chocolates.
>> You know, I could be spending this day with my fiance, but instead I wanted to spend it with my fine friends, >> broances.
>> My broances.
>> Thomas actually bought this and it's he he's giving each of us one shot cuz he wants us to be his Valentine.
>> Oh, I got to get a video of it.
Ready?
>> No, I'm not ready. You're getting that chat off of there right now.
>> Will you be my Valentine?
>> I to choose you.
>> Will you be my Valentine?
>> No, they're all different.
>> Okay, >> it's better.
>> Me and Thomas will split this one, but I've also got >> Oh, >> yeah. This is from White Rabbit Adventures. Thank you.
M >> I'm snack maxing right here.
>> Don't tell her.
>> So, what are we thinking? Post dinner nap. Get up for a bit, then post nap sleep.
>> I don't know why we have to get up for sure.
>> I'm not Heat. Heat.
You know, one nice thing is it's actually kind of chilly right now, so it's going to feel really good to sleep.
>> Yeah, it was too warm last night.
>> Yeah, >> not miserable, but not good.
>> We're also not sweaty or humid today.
It's going to make a big difference.
So, I think Texas is an interesting and a fickle place cuz it's so big And whatever your thoughts are of Texas, you're both right and you're wrong.
>> This is your third official trip out here. I'm glad you guys got to experience the Hill Country now.
>> Yeah, this is great. This is amazing.
Yeah. It's funny you say what you think of Texas, you're right and wrong, cuz all of that downpour is not at all what I would have expected with Texas, but this right now feels like quintessential Texas to me. Like big open sort of deserty meadows. I think a lot of times people think of Texas as being this barren sort of deserty area, but this shows a little bit more of that like lush vegetation kind of biome.
>> You really don't think about moisture when it comes to Texas, but >> clearly it is a possibility.
>> I was prepared for rain, but not prepared for that much rain.
>> Yeah, that was Man, that was a downpour.
>> It's funny how much of a challenge that posed cuz the rest of the trip has just been super nice and easygoing, >> which is also been fantastic. I feel like this is really kind of getting back to our roots. You know, I think we kicked off Adventure Archives with the idea that anyone can go backpacking. At times it's harder to appreciate that and this is one of those trips where if you force yourself to focus less on the mileage and more on the journey, it reminds you like what matters most. I think >> that's what appealed to me from the start, man. It was like just this sort of this exact vibe right now.
>> This this trip has been lacking nothing.
>> Yeah.
>> Besides a little bit of extra dryness.
when Sierra really enjoyed you guys coming out and being on this trip, too.
Dusk now faded tonight, and we got ready for a good night's sleep beneath the starry sky.
The next day, the tent was a glow with the morning sunlight, and it rippled calmly in the breeze.
Outside, the grass swayed in the wind, and everything was bright and cheery.
With such a welcoming morning, we were quick to get out of the tents.
And as we meandered about, we noticed there was a friendly cow grazing nearby.
>> Wow. This is a a morning that I have dreamt about for ages.
>> Wow. What a turn, man.
>> Yeah. Such a contrast from yesterday.
>> I don't see a single cloud.
>> No.
>> Anywhere.
>> We're much more likely to get sunburned today than get rained on.
>> I like that much better.
>> It was very windy last night.
>> I woke up around like 5 and I had trouble falling asleep for a little bit cuz the tent was just going.
>> Sierra slept okay. I love her and she's a pretty smart dog, but she will go anywhere in the tent where she's not supposed to.
and she will find the coldest part of the tent and just sit there. I tried to wrap her in my blanket. I tried to wrap her in my sleeping bag. Uh, so I know she still got a little cold last night, but she seems to be doing pretty well right now. She's running around right now. She's trying to regain warm her body temperature back up a little.
>> Why is she lying in the shade? Are you sure she wants to be warm?
>> Fair enough.
>> All right, we better back up before Thomas' tent blows away. Yeah, Thomas' tent keeps going like this.
>> We tried to pack up with some swiftness, not only because the heavy winds almost blew our tents away, but also because we still had most of the loop left to hike.
It would still end up being under 5 mi of hiking, but we didn't want to be racing against the clock on our final day. After packing up, we hit the trail and immediately heard some cows moving nearby.
So, we kept an eye out for them as we hiked.
>> Oh, I see it. I see it past these bushes.
Is he giving birth?
>> Oh yeah, there's a bunch here.
>> And the shrubs near another campsite were about a half dozen cows. They seemed to pay us little attention as they peacefully grazed.
We watched the cows for a little while longer and then continued hiking.
After a short jaunt, we arrived back at the main trail.
>> I don't think anybody got a chance to enjoy this bench yesterday. I'll do it for you now.
That's some good benching.
>> That's some good benching there, Luke.
>> Just a short distance from the bench was another incredible view.
Wow.
Holy cow. Hey, there's the outhouse that we're going to hike to. Yeah, >> that's a swimming hole down there. Yes.
I >> think we might have to take a swim.
The picturesque view was certainly something to behold, but because we had still only hiked less than half of the trail loop, we decided not to linger for too long.
>> From the overlook, the trail now led downhill into the valleys below.
The rocky hillside was a breeze to hike today, thanks in part to the warm sun drying everything out.
>> Hiking down this yesterday would have definitely been the worst option.
Staying at B the good idea.
>> Yeah, doing this on wet rocks.
>> Yeah, we made the right choice.
As we navigated down the rocky hillside, we bumped into some friendly hikers who had seen our videos.
>> Shout out to Adventure Archives.
>> We loved watching your Emory Peak hike.
It was epic. It inspired us to go to Big Ben and do that hike ourselves. And we'll be there doing it on Thursday.
>> Yeah. Super formative for the first time.
>> Have fun.
>> Good luck on your adventures since first setting up just for us to give a little shout out.
>> No, of course. Thank you. Thank you.
>> Eventually, we reached the bottom of the hill where the lake and the outhouse we had seen from the overlook were.
>> Clebody need to take a clevis number two.
Oh man, this is so nice.
Oh man, that looks great. Seems like the perfect opportune for a snack break.
>> Yes.
All right, Sierra. She's a water dog.
Careful. Oh, somehow it's also muddy in the water.
Sierra, come on. Come on. After Sierra had her fun in the water, we took full advantage of the picnic table to have a snack break and enjoy the beautiful scenery all around us.
>> Amid all the beautiful scenery around us, we saw a tufted tip mouse perched in the trees above.
So, in what might be another questionable food decision, I brought a whole can of leuches.
No sugar added, though. So, but I don't know. I kind of want some refreshing fruit on the trail.
That's good. Yeah, we we couldn't find too much at the supermarket for Chinese New Year, but Scan of Witches will do just fine. What do we say when we >> uh Shinyan Quaila?
>> Yeah. Shinyang quail.
>> Shinyang quail.
>> Mhm. Just happy new year.
>> I mean, it is like a pop of refreshing juiciness that you don't usually get on the trail.
>> Pretty good.
>> Yep.
>> So, just me and Andrew are swimming.
>> Yep.
>> Yeah.
>> Nothing like a nice swim after eating a whole can of leis.
>> I'm not sure how nice this is going to feel.
Looks a little alol right at the >> Is it slippery?
>> Yeah, it's definitely slippery. It does feel very nice though.
>> Besides the immediately sinking into the mud.
>> Wa. You can't go much further cuz it does sink really deep.
>> Thrilling.
I think you guys made the right decision in this case.
>> Let me see if I can go out a little bit.
Let me >> My legs are totally numb.
Oh, I'm coming back.
That mud is so deep.
Also, the water is incredibly cold.
>> Feels really good when you get out, though. Clean the mud off is going to be a little bit annoying. Despite the muddy riverbed, the cool water had been refreshing. Getting to relax by the water on such a bright, sunny afternoon had truly raised our spirits.
It felt like we could have spent the whole day relaxing here, but alas, we had to keep moving. We grabbed our gear and headed out.
The trail ran parallel to a stream before eventually intersecting with it.
>> Wow, this is really cool. This almost looks like a little dam or something.
>> Now it's feeling like Texas. Yeah, this is a really interesting water feature.
>> I wonder if this would have been here yesterday.
>> Oh, yeah. Like how much it would have been filled up.
>> Well, this part's definitely overflowing.
>> Was this an old road or something? It was definitely constructed or something cuz there's these marks here.
You can see the water kind of moving over the edge into the lake we were just at over there.
So down here we've got all of these tomato looking berries. Most of these are yellow by now, but this one is still green. And I can tell just from how the fruit looks that this is in the nightshade family. The most common night shades we see are in the grocery store.
Things like eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes. But in the wilderness, a nightshade plant could either be edible or it could be really deadly, toxic, and poisonous. So, whenever you see something like this, even if it looks like a tomato, that's no guarantee that it's edible. This was most likely western horse nettle, a highly toxic species.
>> Look how clear this water is. You can see fish swimming in there.
See the fish over there?
>> Wow.
The calm waters rippled gently, accentuating the tranquil landscape that surrounded them, which seemed both exotic and familiar. This feels weirdly like anywhere in the Midwest that we've hiked right now. If you just cut out all the other amazing stuff we saw, this just feels like we're in Zeleleski again or something.
>> Yeah, even the species of trees are kind of similar.
>> Oh, really?
>> Yeah. You've got like these deciduous oaks and just on the surface level, they really look like things you would find in the forest in Virginia or something like that. And also all these brambles.
>> Oh yeah, the bramble.
>> This looks a little more unique, but >> yeah, definitely.
Water surrounded the white rocky riverbed on which we hiked. Vibrant thicket of algae carpeted portions of the shallow stream.
The distinct bleach white rocks and gnarl trees gave this section of a trail an especially dreamlike atmosphere.
It almost felt as though we were walking through a surrealist exhibit in an art gallery, especially with the contrast between the almost unnaturally green algae and the stark white stones and boulders.
From the creek bed, the path now ascended up a small hill and we entered another open grassy area.
Along the trail, we saw some spiny barberous trifoliata plants, which grow edible red berries in the late spring.
The path now wound back down into another gully filled with the same white stones, which we followed to a beautiful natural spring. So, I think we found the spring up here.
>> Wa! Feel like this is the very definition of a spring. Holy cow.
>> Are we filling up here? I think we should if you want to.
>> This looks like a little fairy grotto.
>> Yeah, >> I bet this is even more beautiful in the springtime when all these ferns are green. Wow, this is incredible.
>> This is really great.
Water trickled down smooth weathered limestone while minnows darted about in the clear pools below. It really felt like we were in an enchanted spring that was home to pixies and sprites.
After a while, the water had finished filtering. And as we refilled our supply, Andrew and I looked for some cool stones. Look at this rock. Whoa.
There's a little bit of sea shell in here. You can see this is a great one.
>> There's a shell here. And then there's some shells here.
>> Takes me back to my childhood when I would just look at every rock on the ground.
>> Yeah, this one's pretty awesome.
Do you see the sparkle on this?
>> So, the rocks out here are super cool.
There's another really beautiful piece of flint just lying here. And you can see all these little bands of color along the flinty part of it. But there's also tons of limestone. And limestone is known for having lots of fossils.
Although I actually haven't seen that many fossils, but we found a couple here. Here's one that's uh got a little sea critter in it. But when we were kids, we used to always dig around in piles of limestone rubble and look for fossils.
>> Yeah, you can see one right here. I just picked up a random one.
>> Oh yeah, there's a little something in there.
>> Yeah. So super cool.
All right, let's go.
>> Now, we headed back uphill, following the path through a section filled with stands of shrubs and trees.
Among those shrubs was one species that popped with color against the understated earth tones of the surrounding landscape. So, all through this park, there's all of these juniper trees. That's one of the main things that's giving it this green look, even though it's in the middle of winter. And one of the great things about juniper is it has really flaky bark, which you can actually see on this tree right here.
Just all these pieces shedding off. And that bark is great tinder if you need to start an emergency fire. It's really fibrous, really dry, perfect for catching a spark. These ash juniper trees are highly resistant to drought and their wood is naturally rot resistant as well. We now came to another map and we realized that we had not hiked very far at all.
>> Started there today and we're here. Yep.
So, we were going to camp over here. So, now we're going to go through Mystic Canyon, and then it's a about a mile and a half back to the the car.
As we hiked through Mystic Canyon, we noticed that the vegetation here was growing particularly dense.
>> Thomas, do you remember what this section of the trail looked like when you did it? Cuz something I always wonder, there's all these trees that are that have shed their leaves, so it feels really open right now, but I'm wondering how like claustrophobic it felt.
>> Uh yeah, you know, I think it was probably a little more claustrophobic, but it also was a lot cooler between the base and the top. I wonder if we'll still feel the difference in heat between those two.
But before long, the foliage opened up, revealing unique rock formations that ran along the trail's edge. Canyon is feeling more mystic with every step that we take. Look at these mystic cave walls.
Look, this little pocket here has rocks in it, too. I wonder if it's the same thing where people are throwing them in there.
>> Whoa.
That goes pretty far back.
It is also significantly cooler in here.
>> Oh, yeah.
Well, the ground the sand here just feels so cool. 40° or something.
>> Look at that. The tree root right there that's coming from the >> Oh, wa >> base.
This is a plant called witch hazel. You can just kind of tell from the brown leaves that are still clinging on, although it's a little easier to tell when they're fresh and green. But the other giveaway is that this branch has these little yellow flowers. And later in the season once they grow fully and it'll look kind of gnarly. But witch hazel is a medicinal plant. It's a an astringent. So a lot of times it's used for skin ailments and things like that.
>> Later in the year the flowers develop long spindly petals that have an almost fungal appearance from afar. Up ahead we encountered some rocky terrain that seem to confound Sierra.
>> Ready?
Ready up. Up. You got this. Come on up. Okay.
Let's go this way. Come see. Come up.
Up.
Yep. Up. See her? Up. Got this again.
Up. There you go. Good girl.
Certain sections of the canyon were more exposed and sunny than others. Man, there might not be much tree cover, but we're still lucky that there is as much shade as there is because the minute you step out of that shade in the sun, you really feel it. It is 74° right now.
>> Wa.
>> In the middle of winter.
>> We have not felt weather like that in what feels like a very long time. The trail now became even more exposed as it climbed out of the canyon and up another hill.
As we ascended up the hill, we couldn't help but notice how long it felt we had been hiking. This has been the longest feeling short and easy trail I've ever done. And I don't know why cuz it's like a mile just feels like two miles out here or something.
>> What it is is that we acclimated ourselves to doing one mile in a day two days in a row. So doing any more than that, you're like, why aren't we done yet?
>> All things considered though, this uphill, it's very steep, but I think because it's so short, it's really not that bad.
>> Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we still have a little bit more uphill to go after this. When we're up at the toilet, that's when we're at the top of the hill.
>> There's a bench up ahead, which means that house is probably not that far away. A nice tall bench.
>> I love a tall bench.
I like a short bench. I like a tall bench. I think we still have a little bit of ways. But if you guys want to take a break here, I'm okay with that.
>> Not as tall as I thought.
>> Yeah, let's do it.
>> Okay, get her in the shade.
>> Stomach's starting to complain. Yeah, I'm surprised how hungry I've been on this trip, too. I don't know if I'm just out of practice hiking or what. Like I mean the hiking itself feels easy, but it's just weird how long this trail feels and how hungry I've felt. Maybe my stomach fluid just made me really hungry.
>> Yeah. So, what do you guys think so far?
>> So far, it's been fantastic.
>> This place is awesome.
>> Yeah. One thing that struck me about this park is the variety. You get parts that just feel like home. Parts that feel uniquely Texas. Is this typical winter Texas weather?
>> Yeah, a little bit. Sometimes it's a little cooler, sometimes it's a little warmer.
>> Sounds like we might have to pay you a yearly winter visit. Yeah.
>> After our snack break, we reached another upland meadow. It was such an inviting environment and we relished the feeling of the breeze as we hiked. These prairies really gave this park a unique feeling. And for a moment, it felt like we had been transported far away from Texas.
>> You see, now we're back in the savannah.
And if you look carefully, you'll see some zebra over there.
>> Oh, this is uh campsite E.
>> Yeah.
>> Wow. I love this sort of environment.
These grasslands, along with all of the limestone rock formations and stands of juniper, were a unique feature of the Edwards Plateau in which Lost Maples is located. Getting to experience this environment on a sunny day was euphoric.
Up ahead, we came to one of the last trail junctions on the hike, after which the trail stretched back to the trail head. Last time, this is the part of the trail that really kind of drained me.
So, the more we push, the faster we push through it, the better. Just trust me on this.
>> It is pretty warm. been depleted.
>> Yeah, >> little cleav clevis one, two, and three all have been visited.
>> So then that trail over there goes to campsite F if you were camping up there.
And this is back to the future.
>> Oh yeah, we're pretty much back. Cool.
We left the intersection now and once again the path wound back downhill.
Just at the bottom of the hill was another junction leading to a campsite.
>> All right, so here's primitive camping area D. And I'm going to be perfectly honest, based on the entrance, it doesn't look like a great campsite.
>> Wait, is this a campsite right here?
Technically, just >> No, I think this probably just the entrance.
>> This looks like a campsite.
>> Let's check it out a little bit.
>> This one actually matches up with its grade ranking.
>> Yeah. Yeah. This is not This is not great. I'm sure it's fine.
>> Yeah, >> it's it's passing. D is passing.
>> We We definitely camped at work.
>> This is uh really giving me last day of school vibes.
>> It's like we're uh getting out for summer break right now and just like, oh, we're almost done, almost getting to the bus.
>> That is a really perfect way to describe this.
>> This for me, this really does feel like the end of one of our season 1 trips. We didn't really do too much. So, we're all in high spirits just chatting away.
Nobody's just like slumped over, just like wishing the hike was over.
>> I think there's a lesson to be learned here, which is hike less miles.
>> Turns out we were right all along.
We've done the whole gamut and now we know which one's better.
For centuries, lost maples in the surrounding region were inhabited by indigenous American groups from the Jumano and Koawakan people to the Apache and Comanche.
In more recent history, this region was part of Mexico until 1848.
Then this plot of land was used by ranchers until it was acquired by Texas in 1973 and 74, finally opening to the public in 1979.
With such a unique array of biomes and landscapes, this park is a shining gem in the heart of Texas. We were thankful that a place as beautiful as this was protected for all to enjoy. And part of us wished we could stay another night or maybe even two. But alas, our journey was coming to a close.
>> Wait, are we back at the road already?
Yeah, I think so.
>> This actually did feel fast. So, this is the ranger residence up this way.
Apparently, at some point, we're going to cross and go onto a road, but I don't know if we're there yet. That was quick.
We didn't hike that far or climb any mountain peaks, but we still experienced so many things. Rainstorms and clear skies, unique rock formations, and stunning valley views, and some classic good times around camp.
And like the park's story of history, this trip reminded us of our own past.
It was the perfect call back to our earlier camping trips where the focus was just hanging out in the middle of the wilderness.
We left Lost Maples feeling satisfied and fulfilled. And I was thrilled to have shown the crew more of what Texas had to offer.
There was still so much more to explore in the Lone Star State, but that would be a story for another adventure.
Thank you very much for watching. Hope you enjoyed the video. If you did, please check out our Patreon page at patreon.com/adventure.
You might have noticed that our videos don't have sponsors in them and we don't have these long breaks where we're trying to sell you something aside from this one where I'm trying to sell you on the Patreon. But patrons get bonuses like early access to the videos, bloopers, commentaries, and at some of the higher tiers, you can get your name in the credits, copies of the soundtrack, one of the special shoutouts, which you'll see in just a moment. And at the highest Greo tier, one of our new bonuses is we take instant photos during the trip. And each patron gets a one-of-a-kind unique photo just for that Greo patron. We brought back our free monthly podcast, Campfire Chronicles, and you can find a link for that in the description below. And in that podcast, we take questions exclusively from Patreon supporters. We have t-shirts for sale, and we're using a new t-shirt provider that has much better quality and shipping than our previous providers. Andrew is on a bit of a Miami Vice kick right now, so he designed a Miami Vice shirt. If you want to join Andrew on his Miami Vice kick, please check out that t-shirt. We write all of the music for these episodes, and it features drums by our good friend Nate Laguza. As mentioned earlier, if you're a patron of a certain tier, you get free copies of the soundtrack, but if you want to buy them, you can buy them in our Band Camp store. If you like watching 2-hour videos that don't have a bunch of ads in them and they don't have long breaks trying to sell you anything except for this one, then please check us out at patreon.com/adventure.
Thanks again for watching. Please enjoy the post psych meal and the shoutouts.
We'll see you in the next one.
Heat.
Heat.
Heat. Heat.
I think we got enough food.
>> All right, Lizzy.
>> This is how you dink the chops in the ghetto.
Okay, so we got to talk about why we eat we're eating Chinese food tonight cuz we're Chinese, >> including Thomas.
>> Actually, specifically this day, it's Chinese New Year's Eve, so we felt it was appropriate to eat Chinese food.
Now, there's usually a food that we eat on Chinese New Year's Eve called Ganga.
It's like made sticky rice cake.
>> Kind of like a Chinese mochi cake.
>> Mhm.
>> I don't think this restaurant had looked right.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> But we might get donuts instead.
We'll get something.
>> You can check the order so I know what to get next time.
>> Yeah, I can do that.
>> Man, this is super good.
>> This dish with the leaks. That's the wa.
>> That kind of char boiled taste.
>> Yeah.
>> What's the word?
>> In Cantonese, it's w in Chinese. It'si, but it's like the energy of the waq chi as in like chiong. Chi just means air, energy, or gas.
>> And this has that taste.
>> Yeah. Yeah.
If you taste like that kind of char boiled kind of taste, that's what that is.
>> The different graphs for every trip is interesting. Like this one was like like this one kind of tricked you. You thought it was just going to be high the whole time and had this huge dip.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
>> It was a crushing low.
>> That's why we got this dry chicken cuz we we wanted to be dry.
And look how dry this is.
>> Dry in a good way. Not dry in a bad way.
This is so exciting. It's great when you're really hungry because you get the excitement of eating it for a long time.
Mhm.
>> Sometimes you only get the excitement right at the beginning, >> but this >> there's nothing I like more than a big bowl of white rice with some foods on top. Saucy foods. Mhm.
>> In the pantheon of post meals, this is like maybe top five for me.
>> Wow, you demolished it.
>> Yep.
Don't mess it up.
>> Mondays are the building blocks of your dreams. Lay them strong. I do like Mondays for work. Like that's like you're like you spent too much time goofing off on the weekend. You're like, "Okay, time to get to business."
>> Great news will appear on your social feed.
>> Mine says, "Your education will help you make a positive impact on the world."
>> You will have a stroke.
>> Wait, are you serious?
>> Of good luck in your finances.
Hm.
>> We're on commission.
>> No, let me do that.
>> Keep your dreams big. They lead to extraordinary places.
>> I want more specificity in my fortune cookies. I want like next Tuesday at 5:00.
>> Oh, that is so funny. I just said that.
And this says, "Your dreams will come true in August."
>> Wow.
>> All right. Okay. Mark it down. August.
>> Okay.
Thanks for watching. See you later.
patreon.com/adventure.
>> We'll be back when we're getting donuts.
We'll be back right after these messages.
>> I'm going to sit at this table eating a donut by myself.
>> I do deserve a Do you think there are people who like are second generation Americans in other countries who don't speak English natively >> and they speak English the same way we do Chinese and they laugh about it? Oh, inside there's a hot dog.
Hello, my name is James Rkitzky. This is Flowers for You. How may I help you today? Hi, this is Alexander Bors. I wanted to get some flowers for my wife Hannah's birthday. I want the best you got. Absolutely. We have just the thing.
Our flowers will be delivered to you with the utmost care by one of our specialists immediately. Snake, this is Major Sano Zero. I've got some important news. We've been given the green light for the virtuous mission. What is it this time? Nuclear weapons, hostages, genome soldiers, flowers. Flowers? Yes.
We'll need you to deliver them to Hannah. It's her birthday. Snake, your code name for this mission is Ash. Got that? Ash. Ash, huh? Got it. I'm on my way.
Hannah, you got some big Amazon package.
All right, first up, we've got this handcrafted wood burned Adventure Archives logo. Do I see a wand? Starting at 100. 100. 100. Do I see 100? Do I see 200? 200. 200. I see a 300. 300. Is 300?
Is there 400? 400. Is there a 500? Do I see a 500? Going once, going twice. Sold to May be Murray over there.
All right. Up next, we've got a bonafide genuine crossstitch adventure archives home plaque. Starting bid is 500. Do I see 500? 500. 500 over there. Do we have a 600? 600. 600. Do we have a 700? 700.
We have an 800. 800. 800. All right.
Sold to Mary S. Cabbage.
Up next, we've got a slab of pine with a wood burned Adventure Archives logo.
Starting bid is 300. Do I say 300? 300.
300. Do I see 300? Do I say 400? 400.
400. Do I say 500? 500. 500. Do I say 500? Do I say 600? 600. 600. And sold to Christian Curly.
Up next, we've got a very rare item, a genuine Adventure Archives journal. We found this in the back of Thomas' closet hidden deep in a box. It's got all sorts of dark and deep secrets from Adventure Archives. And this is starting at $1,000. Do we have a $1,000? $1,000.
$1,000. $2,000. $2,000. $2,000. $3,000.
$3,000. And sold to Sunjan Hong over there.
Yo, what on earth happened in here?
This is not even Hannah's stuff. This is addressed to Aaron Steves.
Dear Mr. Aaron Steves, this is John Lorraineus of Suenton and Associates.
Your distant relative, one Mr. Jong Beandis, has unfortunately passed away.
He left a number of items to you along with this VHS tape.
Please watch the tape and let us know if you have any questions.
Theorizing that one could time travel within her own lifetime, Dr. Allison Costa stepped into the quantum leap accelerator and vanished.
How much? 6 to9 cents and a guess.
You all getting any rain up your way?
What way would that be? Well, I seen you were from Douglas by way of Jackson.
What business is it of yours where I'm from, friendo?
I didn't mean nothing by it. Just just pass the time. You live in that house out back? Yes, I do. You lived here all your life?
Uh, my wife Mela and her father Joey, this was their place originally.
You married into it. We lived in Shawn, Texas for many years. Come out this way about 4 years ago.
What's the most you've ever lost on a coin toss? What? What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?
>> Well, I don't know. I I I couldn't say.
Call it.
>> Well, I need to know what I'm calling it for. You need to call it. I can't call it for you. It wouldn't be fair. Do you know the date on this coin? No. 2004.
It's been traveling 22 years to get here. And now it's here. And now it's either Gavin Ryan or Kelsey Goodritis.
>> All right. Uh Gavin, then well done.
Don't put it in your pocket.
>> Well, where do you want me to put it?
>> Put it anywhere but your pocket.
Otherwise, it'll become mixed in with the others and become just a coin, which it is.
Okay, welcome to the inaugural shoutout Mario Kart Tournament of Champions. I'm Jess Labour.
>> I'm Brian Kit.
>> I'm Leon Linton. And I'm Jess Jennifer.
Jenna >> Jenna Spencer. All right. Okay. Jess Leore is about to smash everyone right now. Let's take that, Leon.
>> Leon Lynn got a gold mushroom and he's cutting across the >> No, we have to team up against Leon Lynn. All right, two red shells going in. Leon Lynn. No, not at me. Oh, and Jess Labour coming in from behind. Oh, and Jess Labour has a blue shell. Jess Labour.
>> Jenna Spitzer is in the lead now.
Completely silenced cuz she's so focused on the game. I guess >> Jenna Spencster, what a racer. We're nearing the end here.
>> Shortcut.
>> All right. Congratulations, Leon Lynn.
You move on to the next round.
Round two of the Mario Kart Shoutout Tournament of Champions. I'm Matis Vicard. I'm Lynn. I'm Brandon Labour.
>> I'm Sarah Kitsune.
>> All right.
>> And I'm in the lead.
>> Oh, Lynn, you better watch out. Lynn, you better watch out.
>> No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
>> Oh, just a banana.
>> Oh, Brandon Lord is definitely cheating.
Look how far ahead he is.
Yeah, just like came up from behind.
>> Whoever is going to be me in the next round, um I feel bad for them cuz they're definitely going to lose again.
>> Take that. Oh, >> I HAD A BOMB.
>> I HURT MYSELF.
>> I only hurt myself.
>> All right, Lul Leon and Lynn both made it through. Welcome to round three of the Mario Kart World Tour Shoutout Tournament of Champions. I'm Brian Yamagata.
>> I'm Aussie Yamagata.
>> I'm Evette.
>> And I'm Ren.
>> Aussie Yamagata is taking the lead.
>> Oh, who blew up that bomb?
>> Oh, take that Ren. Take that, Ren. Oh, gotcha.
>> Oh, no. That's a good clip.
Me, too.
I just fell off, dude.
>> The Yamagata first.
>> Easy win for Aiyama.
>> Oh, shoot. I didn't realize the last lap. I would have >> in second place.
>> All right. Congratulations to Aiiamaga.
You move to the finals. But also, I bet's moving to the finals cuz we need one more person. Do we? Wait, hold on.
Do we need Yeah, we need one more person for the finals. It's Evette. Welcome to the finals of the Mario Kart World Tour Grand Prix Fortune Festival 500 Tournament of Champions Shoutout Edition. I'm Lu Lin.
>> I'm Ai Yamagata. I'm Leon.
>> We're racing.
>> Yeah, we're racing.
>> Oh, I'm No, this is a couch. Shoot event. I'm in all the way fourth place.
>> Don't worry, I'm going to play badly enough that Lynn can lose this yet.
>> This is Leon Lynn's channel.
Oh, never mind. I just fell a third.
>> Lulu's got the triple greens. It's a battle for second. FIRST PLACE IS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION.
>> OH, YES.
>> OH, LEON.
>> OH, YES. Keep fighting each other back there.
>> No. No.
>> Oh, man. It's garnage back there.
>> Oh, no. No. No. You saved me. I'm going to win with the second place. All right.
Congratulations to Aie Yamagatada, first Tournament of Champions winner.
Your prize, nothing.
>> What a good name. Sierra or Brian?
>> Brian's mine.
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