This past Saturday I went to Inks Lake State Park for the day. During the afternoon, I went on a little hike in order to find a nice spot to sit. The weather was very dry and hot. The sunlight felt very strong as it hit my shoulders, and it was also very bright when it reflected off other objects. It got to mid 90’s Farenheit; however, the dryness made it feel like it was a bit higher. I found a nice place to sit on a rock with a great view towards the lake. It was very peaceful, little movement.
As I sat in the same spot, wind picked up at some points and stopped at others. From the period of time I sat there by myself, there were two short periods which felt like the heat decreased. This was because of momentary shades from clouds. The longest probably lasted about three minutes, and then quickly cleared and the heat resumed. The heat felt like it was surrounding me, and breathing became heavier at each passing moment.
The wildlife was minimal during my time there. In the lake, I saw fish jump out of the water on four occasions but no more than that. Birds were minimal in this area as well, it might have been due to the lack of shade and trees. The area was full of patches of bushes, but no noise from them like the week before at Lady Bird Lake.
The sun felt like it was moving pretty quickly, and the heat began to decrease after a certain period of time. I could see the movement go in a straight line with its reflection in the water as it moved from point A to point B. It was almost as if I could have seen the slight and discreet movement as it changed the period of day from morning to noon.
I decided to get up and into the water; it was probably the heat’s doing. The water was not too cold, it was just right. People had told me that the water usually gets pretty cold, but not that day. Maybe it was the fact that I was sweating bullets from the sun, but it felt great. Close to the edge, the water seemed to be very clear, but once you moved further away from the edge the water became darker. With every step I took I could see my feet less and less until the point where I couldn’t touch the bottom and my feet were harder to spot. The bottom of the lake felt very slippery as I walked on the algae and the producers. At first it felt weird, and, at one point, I even slipped and tried to dig my foot into the floor to prevent myself from collapsing but I ended up cutting myself with some rocks.
Once I got out of the water I noticed my skin to be much more red than it was earlier that day. I dried off and got back to my campsite. It was a good weekend.
