It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Weekend. So, Really, Go Hike the Buckeye Trail With Jim Flood.

By Alexa Schirtzinger Fri., Mar. 20 2009 at 5:10 PM

Categories: Things We Like

Alexa Schirtzinger

Here comes the Flood -- which is to say, Jim Flood, the man who's happy to take you on a hike.

Once every spring, and only for two weeks, Texas buckeyes burst spectacularly into bloom. The tree is generally small and understated, with symmetrically grouped pale-green leaves and bunched blossoms; close up, the flowers are tiny and exquisite, with artful splashes of orange-red on the intricate, cream-colored petals. And just a few miles from downtown Dallas, along a stretch of the Trinity River across the levee from Rochester Park, volunteer naturalist Jim Flood guides hikes through the forest to find the buckeyes.

Flood has been leading hikes on the Texas Buckeye Trail for more than 10 years. The forest here is breathtaking: towering oaks, long stretches of bright green rye grass, tangled vines. But this morning, a lone bulldozer was finishing work on the new concrete ADA-approved trail, part of the city's Trinity River Corridor Project. Flood led a group -- families, naturalists, retirees and the AmeriCorps volunteers who will be in Dallas for eight weeks to help with trail work in the Great Trinity Forest -- off the beaten path. We were there to learn about the forest, from edible plants to ancient trees. And, of course, to find the buckeyes.

Flood is leading the last two buckeye hikes this Saturday and Sunday. Meet at 11 a.m. at 7000 Bexar Street. We'll have a slide show Monday for those who can't make it. Which would be a shame.

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Thanks Julie!!!
Ned Fritz should be acknowledged and thanked for his tireless efforts with the Buckeye Trail and many other areas. Jim Flood has been leading hikes here for many years. When he joined the North Texas Master Naturalists he was able to get the Buckeye Trail on the list of projects for the North Texas Chapter. Volunteers from the Master Naturalists have contributed over 2000 hours for trail clearing, trail maintenance, invasive plant removal and designing (Jim Flood), installing, and maintaining the trail signage, as well as installing the footbridge that currently exists there. Thanks should also go to Groundwork Dallas for donating needed funds/supplies for the Kiosk at the parking area. The trail to the river overlook (now paved)was cleared by Master Naturalists as an alternative to paving the trail to the Buckeyes as it is unknown how the weight of the bulldozers would have impacted the grove of Buckeyes. The now paved trail was originally intended to be decomposed granite and would have been ADA accessible. However, the city of Dallas says they were told by the Army Corps of Engineers that the project (building in floodplain) would not be approved by the Corps unless the city used concrete. So, while the paved trail is not ideal, it is an acceptable compromise to allow ALL to visit the this forest. A side note: All the recent rain received at the Buckeye Trail in Rochester Park did not impact the trails at all. The forest did it's job in absorbing the water and the trail hikes went on as scheduled (with the exception of the day it rained all day).
This post should not go without a tip of the hat to Ned Fritz (the dean of Texas Environmentalists) who originally led this walk. He recently passed. He is the reason we don't have clear cutting in our national forests. So a tip of the hat--
Today was ideal. Jim was in the 'zone' and the turnout was terrific and not wimps. This trail is fun, as always. And by no means were all the trails paved. I tend to hate the paved trails as much as anyone since this is the woods, not a park or an alley. BUT. What was paved since I was last there somehow made sense in the sense that it looked nice and was VERY nicely done. I am sure if I was in a wheelchair, it would have been Shangrila. I mean fair is fair. I'd die without my time in the woods. And I (or you) could be in a wheelchair as easily as anyone else. All it takes is a reversal of fortune. It's not like when you lose your use of your legs you lose the interest in the woodsy outdoor depths. This was a nice compromise. Take that from one who cried foul initially and likes walking only on dirt paths in undisturbed forests. Thanks for a pleasant trek on a wonderful day and the pleasant surprise.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for mentioning our wonderful Americorps Team- at this very moment they are learning all about sustainable trail design and building so they can start putting their skills to use this week.
I also appreciate there are some other factors like durability, especially in a floodplain that makes concrete beneficial. I think the jogging trail along White Rock Creek is an eyesore. I don't understand why they cleared such a vast space for the trees. I wouldn't care if they made the trail 2-3 feet wider but why the 30 ft on either side. I sure hope they haven't done that there. I really don't think that is acceptable. I am a fan of decomposed granite on a road base substrate. That is vastly cheaper, easier and you can roll a wheelchair over it. I suppose a big part of my objection is the cost and the limits it creates. However for far less money much more vast trails could be made passable for many. And especially on that flat terrain it could pass ADA requirements.
Hey, hike is at 11:00. It'd be great to see other unfair park types there. Gonna be a glorious day.
Scott, I used to agree with you until we were at Bear Lake, an alpine lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is the only alpine lake easily accessible by car. There is a paved self guided nature trail around the lake. For those who want and can do a more aggressive hikes there are lots of trails going further up the mountain. However, it was nice to see elderly people and those in wheel chairs getting the experience of the alpine lake, the only one that they would ever see.
Nothing says nature trail like a concrete path with a sign pointing to it "NATURE TRAIL"