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Enchanted
Rock by Jerry Cates
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A ranger station is located at the entrance to the park. Visitors older than 12 years of age are required to pay a daily entrance fee of $5.00, unless the vehicle being brought in has an annual passport ($50.00 at the time of this writing).
Unlike limestone, which becomes smooth- even slick- when it is used as an oft-trod pathway, weathered granite has a high coefficient of friction even in heavily traveled areas, with a surface similar to that of coarse sandpaper. Consequently, even though the average slope of the rock, in the area shown in the photograph at right, exceeds 30%, hikers feel comfortable jogging down from the top. Note the five hikers in the lower right of the photo, all of whom are running. Appearances are deceptive, though. The gentle slopes of Enchanted Rock's south and southeast sides contrast with the steeper slopes of the rest of the rock. While the average incline of its southeast, east, north and northeast slopes is 30%, its northwest and west slopes boast inclines of 40-50%, making them suitable for advanced climbers only. The park receives about 350,000 visitors a year, and averages over 80 serious emergencies annually. Most emergencies are the result of simple dehydration, but a significant fraction are fall-related. |
Lt. Jim Karnes,
with the Leander, Texas Fire Department, accompanied me to Enchanted Rock on
August 1, 2002. At the time I was serving as training officer for high
angle rescue at LFD, and our purpose was to identify high angle rescue training
sites for a class to be held in the future. For training exercises, the
clean, hard granite found at Enchanted rock is preferable to the soft,
crumbling limestone typical of most Williamson County cliffs.
The photo at left was taken on Ranch Road 965, several miles from the Park. Enchanted Rock is in the background, rising out of the relatively flat plains of the Llano uplift. Enchanted Rock State Park contains six prominent rock formations. Of these, Enchanted Rock is the highest (1825 ft. above sea level, 425 ft. above the surrounding terrain). Much of Enchanted Rock is devoid of vegetation, so complex training evolutions can be conducted with all elements completely visible to everyone on the team. That is preferable to an evolution on a thickly forested slope where team members will not be able to visualize all that is taking place. Several inclines are also available, so evolutions can range from flat to challenging, all within a relatively small area.
The park has several vehicle parking areas. We parked at the northeast parking lot, and walked to the nearby pavilion that served as the trailhead The wide-angle photo on the left was taken of Enchanted Rock from the pavilion. At this time of the year, the heat keeps many would-be visitors from coming. Still, as the telephoto image below shows, a number of hikers were on Enchanted Rock (it was 1:00 p.m., and the temperature was in the low 90's).
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