LSHT Club Beginnings
By Cathy Murphy (aka TrailGuide); Founding Board Member, 1995 to Present
Before we were the Lone Star Hiking Trail Club, we were the trail maintenance crew of the Houston Sierra Club.
January 1994 Sierra Club Trail Maintenance Crew
Front Row, Left to Right: Mike McGowan (Current Member); Clay Coco (Current Member/Hike Leader); Middle: Mary Shelton (Founding Treasurer); Second from far right: Silvia June (Founding Board Member); Far right: Rich Dutch (Founding Board Member, Deceased, 2024): Back Row: Second from Left: Don Brewington (Founding Member and Author of Thru-Hiker’s Guide for the Lone Star Trail, Deceased); Middle; Jane Prentiss (Founding Member/Past President); fourth from right: Rhoda Butler (Founding Member); Cathy Murphy (Founding Board Member); Dave Sykes (Founding Member, Deceased); Lou Celusniak (Trail Maintenance Crew Leader).
We used swing blades and loppers to clear the trail. The trail was overgrown and we often could not see it. The swing blades were so dull that I thought it would be easier to just bend down and chew my way through. We were told to cut close to the ground and to throw the cut branches away from the trail so that a natural effect would result. We cut our way through the tangle of American beauty-berry bushes, yaupon holly shrubs, and dewberry vines. I came to love these plants so much that I planted beauty berries and yaupon in my front yard in Houston as a way of bringing the trail home with me.
It was hot and dusty work. Some of us had hydration packs but most of us just carried bottles of water. I had the bright idea of using an empty bubble bath bottle to carry water. Do not do this; the water will always taste like soap.
There were few trail markers on the trees along the trail; no signs at trail intersections; and the mile marker posts were sometimes missing. The original mile markers were wooden posts with the mile engraved on the top of the post. You can still see some of these original posts along the trail.
Original mile marker post on the Phelps Section of the LSHT seen by the author, Sept 2024
The original trail markers were triangular. These were swapped out to the current rectangular ones sometime in the 1980’s. I recall doing trail maintenance in the early 1990’s in Big Creek Scenic area in which we painted blazes on the trees as an experiment. The blazes did not last long.
Original triangular trail marker seen on the Richards Section of the LSHT, October 2024
On Earth Day 1994 we participated in a Lake Conroe Cleanup on the Stubblefield Section of the LSHT. We scoured the shores and gathered a nice pile of debris. My favorite thing to collect was pieces of Styrofoam. It is lightweight and easy to carry but takes up a great deal of space---lots of bang for the buck!
April 1994 Earth Day Trash Pick Up on Lake Conroe/Stubblefield South Section
Back Row left to right: Mike McGowan (Current Member); Marge Dutch (Founding President); Jane Prentiss (Founding Member/Past President); Richard Olson (Founding Member; Deceased, 2000); Front Row, Middle: Alan Pape (Founding Board Member); Second from right: Mary Shelton (Founding Treasurer); Far Right: Clay Coco (Current Member/Hike Leader)
In June 1995 on National Trails Day we gathered at Double Lake Campground and formed the Lone Star Hiking Trail Club.