Louisiana Hiking Club
Si
Louisiana Trail Blazer
2013 Second Quarter
page 1 - 2
President’s
Message
page 3 - 4
Grand Isle
Boardwalk
page 5
Campfest
page 6
A Sticky
Situation
Page 7
Culinary Corner
page 8
Harvey’s Hike
page 9 – 11
West Feliciana
Parish Park
2nd Saturday Hike
page 12 – 14
Hawaii
page 15 – 17
On Backpacking
The President’s Message
Greetings
to
you
all!
As
the
new
president of the Louisiana Hiking Club, I
would like to thank all of the hard-working
folks who helped make Camp Fest 2013 a
success. To start the weekend off right, Rick
Fonte, Darryl Pry, and Nancy Hall arrived
early to open the gate, place signs, and set
things up at the conference center. They were
also
very
helpful
to
me,
Camp
Fest
Coordinator, in providing guidance and advice
in
“coordinating”
Camp
Fest
activities.
Thanks to Jonathan Trumps for volunteering to
be head cook for the BBQ! This was his first
time to cook for a large group and he did an
excellent job! Everyone enjoyed the delicious
BBQ chicken and sausage. Thank you to Mike
Van Etten, Nancy, and others who assisted
Jonathan. Our presenters deserve special
recognition for their contribution to Camp
Fest.
They
all
gave
interesting
and
informative
sessions.
They
are:
Dale
Matthews, John Williams, Rick Fonte, Maryann
Hoskins, and David Booth, Don Richard and
Randy
Hebert
of
LeChien
Cookers.
John
Engelsman, aka Pickle, braved the cold and
wind to lead the canoe expedition on the
lake. Gilford Bush helped warm us all up in
the evenings by stoking up the fire in his
fire pit. Thanks to the efforts of Don
Larson,
Curt
Auzenne,
and
President
Katherine, we had ample door prizes so that
everyone left with something! Larry Langlois
graciously stepped up (and out of retirement)
to once again serve as Pancake King. Thanks
to Larry, and his assistants Rick Fonte, John
Engelsman, and Dale Matthews, we all enjoyed a
hearty breakfast after a cold night. Finally,
sincere thanks go to all who pitched in to help
clean up the conference center before leaving! As
Camp Fest Coordinator, I want you to know that I
really
appreciate
all
of
your
help
and
participation!
Now, I would like to share a bit about myself as
your new club president. I was born and raised in
Opelousas, Louisiana and graduated from Opelousas
Catholic High School with fellow club member, Curt
Auzenne. I earned a degree in Zoology from LSU and
started working for the State as an Environmental
Scientist. I retired last year with 30 years from
the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
where I managed water quality programs for the
protection and preservation of our state’s bayous,
rivers and lakes. I have always been an outdoors
girl, fishing with my dad and later, with my
husband. Our family vacations have always involved
trips to the beach or the mountains for swimming,
fishing, and hiking. Shopping is not my idea of fun!
When I take a vacation, I want to be in the great
outdoors, close to nature. Although I haven’t made
an overnight backpacking trip, I hope to learn from
you who have and someday do so.
When I first read an article about the Hiking
Club in the Fun Section of The Advocate a few years
ago, I thought, “This is a club I should join.”
Although I didn’t join until last year, after
retiring from my career, I have learned a lot
already and have enjoyed the hikes and new friends.
I am happy to serve as president of the Hiking Club
and will do my best to fulfill the duties of the
president. I look forward to sharing more hiking
experiences with you.
Emelise Cormier,
President
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Grand Isle Boardwalk
by Rick Fonte
In mid-March, several members of the
Chain Saw Gang, most of who are also
hiking club members, made a three-day
work trip to Grand Isle to assist The
Nature Conservancy on a project. The
objective was to demolish and remove a
240 foot boardwalk at TNC’s Grilletta
Tract , and then to rebuild it – quite an
ambitious goal to accomplish in just three
days.
The participating Chain Saw Gang
members were Darryl Pry, Bob and Joy
Loudin,
Bob
Ordineaux,
Phillip
Legendre, and Rick Fonte.The Nature
Conservancy group included Richard
Martin, Amy Smith Kyle, Bill Rivers, Jean Landry, Tom Pardu, Alex Entrup, and
Tom Lydon. On Saturday morning a group of five Tulane students and their TA also
showed up to help.
The Conservancy treated
us like royalty. They put us
up Friday and Saturday
nights in their comfortable,
recently remodeled lodge,
and kept us well fed and
hydrated. It was a pleasure
to eat breakfast each
morning on the back deck
watching the sun rise over
the sparkling Gulf. And
Jane Landry provided
home-cooked meals each
night, including delicious
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desserts.
The work was hard, but
the weather was ideal,
cool and sunny; which
helped compensate for
the clinging muck we
had to slog through each
day and the hordes of
hungry
gnats.
And
despite
delays
in
material delivery, and
the usual complications
that always occur on
these kinds of projects,
the
work
flowed
smoothly and a new
boardwalk slowly began to emerge.
By Saturday afternoon we had the structure ready to install the decking, which was
due to arrive the following week. The camaraderie and experience of shared hard
work, and common difficulties faced and resolved through group effort - plus the
sense of accomplishment felt as we looked down the boardwalk Saturday afternoon
are what keeps the Chain Saw Gang doing projects like this.
4
Campfest 2013
by Mike Van Etten
photos by Jack Curry and Becky Jackson
LHC Campfest 2013 at Chicot State Park was great fun as usual.
The weather was very nice, all things considered - no rain, campfire weather at night
and not too hot for tent camping. Nice sunny days with a light breeze much of the
time.
As you can see in the group
photo, there were many smiling
faces and no shortage of food.
The large ice chest on right side
of food tables kept the smoked
bbq chicken and sausage warm.
Due to lower turn-out this year
compared to recent past years,
many were able to bring home
some of the leftover cooked
meat.
Gil kept the fire burning outside
and the stories rolling.
During the Sunday morning birding outing, we saw at least three different types of
woodpeckers (Pileated, Red Headed & Red Bellied) along with Yellow Rumped
Warblers, and some other common birds, ...and all
near where we were camping
around the
Conference Center.
A few new members that paddled on Saturday
afternoon saw a group of approximately 10 hogs
cross the gravel road not far from our camping
area, so they are still having problems with hogs
at Chicot.
We did a good job recycling to minimize trash
and waste, and the facilities looked clean inside
and outside as we left Sunday.
5
Sticky Situations
by John Engelsman, aka Pickle
I was rushing to get ready to drive to Campfest on a Friday afternoon when I caused
a glass bottle of maple syrup to leap from the pantry to its doom, smashing into a
thousand pieces of glass and sticky syrup on the kitchen floor. If you would like to
make a godawful mess, you can’t do much better than this. The next half hour I
spent, after a 5 minute cussathon, on my knees scrub a dub dubbing. I was rushing
because I wanted to scout the canoe trail before leading the Saturday afternoon
paddle. I hadn’t paddled the trail in 3 years and it’s considered bad for group morale
if the trip leader gets lost. It was all Chuck Cantrell’s fault. Chuck, who knows
Lake Chicot like the back of his hand, was scheduled to help me on the paddle but
had the audacity to get sick and stay home. I didn’t miss Chuck particularly, but I
sure could have used one of his martinis.
Hastily throwing up my tent, I sought paddling companionship for my scouting trip.
Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. It was breezy and chilly. Solo paddles are
not recommended, but I went anyway. I launched at the East landing and headed
north along the eastern shoreline. The parking lot at the launch was completely
empty. This was not a good sign. I made it to the junction with the trail to the North
landing without much difficulty. The trail nestles in the cypress trees and the lake is
always pretty, with wood ducks shrieking and woodpeckers drumming on dead trees
along the way. I headed west from the trail junction and made it to the canoe
campground ok, but the sun was rapidly setting and had no intention of slowing its
pace to suit my needs. It occurred to me that I should have brought a headlamp or
flashlight. Oh well. I lost a few precious minutes of daylight finding the trail and
finally got to the cut between the mainland and the island where the new Lafayette
Paddle Club campground is located. I hastened south along the western shoreline.
Trail markers became few and far between. I gazed forlornly toward the east in
search of the East landing, but couldn’t spot it. The idea of camping alone along the
shore was very unappealing as was the thought of calling for help on my cell
phone. There was no motorboat traffic to help me pinpoint the landing. The trail
went south and then west. Finally, I heard an engine and saw a truck ahead. It was
crossing a bridge and I recognized it as Walker Branch. That reoriented me and I
paddled back across the lake and reached the landing as the sun was setting. I
walked over and kissed my truck.
The actual paddle the next day went fine and I boldly led the group as if I knew
what I was doing. And maybe I did after the anxiety of Friday’s paddle.
6
Culinary Corner
by Karla Coreil
TRAIL PIZZA
Everyone loves pizza. Right? Well, almost everyone! But there's no delivery in most
places we hike and camp, so a little know-how can go a long way in making a
delicious and savory dinner.
Start with a hearty round-ish bread, like a pita or naan. Tortillas don't work nearly as
well for regular pizza because they are too thin, but are great for Mexican pizza
(details below!).
Top with pizza sauce. This can be sauce you've prepared or bought, and then
dehydrated at home. If you dehydrated your sauce, it's most likely the texture of fruit
leather; if so, tear it into thin strips and add a tiny bit of HOT water to rehydrate. Or,
you can use individually sized packets of prepared sauce. Either way, you've got
your base.
Top with copious amounts of cheese. For cheese, you can use shredded cheese,
dehydrated shredded cheese (again, add a tiny bit of hot water to rehydrate), or a
chunk of cheese. The latter is my preferred method because chunks of cheese tend to
stay good longer than shredded cheese, and I can usually get shelf-stable chunks
perfect for hiking trips. For chunks, simply slice the cheese thinly and place all over
pizza.
If you'd like other toppings, add them now. Shelf stable pepperoni is usually pretty
easy to find, and I love dehydrated black olives, onions, peppers, and mushrooms
(again, rehydrate before using). Add whatever you'd like, but remember not to add
too much because it will be hard to "bake" with excessive toppings.
Place your prepared pizza in your largest skillet, then cover; if you have a skillet that
fits inside another pan, even better! "Bake" on your camp stove over fairly low heat
until the cheese is melted through. Voila: Trail Pizza!!
MEXICAN PIZZA: Use two corn tortillas. Place one corn tortilla in skillet, top with
rehydrated refried beans (I like to add a little taco seasoning to mine!), place second
tortilla on top of refried beans. Top with cheddar cheese (see above for cheese
methods), peppers, onions, black olives (rehydrate before use), ground beef
(rehydrate with HOT water, if using). "Bake" as above. Top with taco sauce (either
leftover packets from a fast food or other place or rehydrated taco sauce). Yum!
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Harvey’s Hike Near Home - March 24, 2013
by Harvey Landry
8
Second Saturday Hike – March 2013
West Feliciana Parish Park
St. Francisville, Louisiana
by Mike Van Etten
photos by Becky Jackson
For the 2nd Sat Hike in March
2013, members of LHC hiked the
trails at West Feliciana Parish
Sports Park near St. Francisville,
La.
We had a very large group of
approx 43 to 45 hikers, I believe.
This was the largest group that I
have hiked with since joining LHC
about four or so years ago. The
weather was very nice that day. Al
Troy led the hike and gave hikers
several easy options for places to
turn around and head back to the
parking area. This allowed hikers
to hike as far as they felt like
hiking that day. Al took us to all
the best scenic overlooks and other
interesting spots such as the wooden
escalator. A small group of us continued on
and hiked the remaining back section of the
trails to check out the rest and get a bit more
hiking in. It also worked out for the group to
be able to stop at the restrooms at the nearby
baseball park. The trails are multi-use type,
so we did share the trails with some energetic
off-road bicyclists.
9
More Photos from West Feliciana Hike
by Harvey Landry
Toothache Tree
Hollow Log
Holly
Trailhead
10
Mayapple & Trillium
Mayapple Bloom
The Escalator
Scaling the Escalator
Locust Tree
11
Hawaii
by Janie Doucet
The trip to Hawaii included three islands (Oahu, Big Island, and Kauai) with Sandra,
Bob, Sally, Carson, and myself. We hiked, kayaked, snorkeled, toured, and some of
us went helicopter riding or ultralight flying. The volcanoes were spewing, but not
flowing, on our visit to Volcanoes National Park. The weather was a little wetter
than in the summer and slightly cooler, but we saw much more wildlife (whales,
seals, and sea turtles) up-close in February than in July. Flowers were not as prolific
as they are in the summer and the water was a bit cooler to swim in February.
View from Diamond Head on Oahu Island
Kalai, Big Island – Southernmost tip of the USA
Alaska Falls near Hilo, Hawaii
12
Rainbow Falls near Hilo
Tunnel Beach on Kauai Island
13
Seal at Tunnel Beach
Hiked Kalalau Trail to see Napali Coast on Kauai
Turtle on Black Sand Beach
Whales along the Napali Coast
14
My Ultralight Flight over Napali Coast
ON BACKPACKING
by Joe Self
Why backpack? After all, carrying a heavy load and sleeping on the
ground in a small tent with freeze-dried meals cannot be all that rewarding.
True, but the rewards come from seeing places that can only be reached by a
multi-day hike, sharing an experience with friends, the freedom of selfsufficiency, and the challenge of bringing a plan into fruition.
I encourage any of you who haven’t backpacked to give it a try. Many
have and discovered that it is not their thing. Others instinctively know it is
not for them and that’s OK. But there are also many who with a little help will
try it and like it.
To that end, following are brief descriptions of trails within one day’s
drive of Baton Rouge which, in my experience, are great for backpacking for
one or more nights. I won’t get into the “how to” of backpacking. There is
plenty of information available for that. My goal is to encourage you to give it
a try or, if you already backpack, to try new trails. Since I am leaving soon for
the NW, I have given away all my trail info for the SE. By necessity then,
these descriptions are general.
Lake Chicot State Park
A 20 mile, well maintained, easy trail around the lake. It is suitable for a
one-night out and back or a two night, three day circumnavigation. For a one
night trip, you could leave from the south trailhead and hike about 5 miles to
campsites 3 or 4 and return the next day. The entire trail can be broken into
three 6-7 mile days for a longer trip. In either case, you should stash some
extra water at points near your chosen campsites as clear lake water is usually
not accessible. Water is also available at the Conference Center pavilion on
the east side. This trail is about a 2 hour drive from Baton Rouge.
Wild Azalea Trail
This about 30 mile linear trail goes through rolling hills with adequate
water sources. Hikes can be out and back or, with a shuttle, straight through.
There are many access points providing a lot of options for length of trip. By
combining this trail with other trails in the Lake Kincaid area, a “lollipop” twonight easy hike can be made. A number of members have made this trip. The
north end of the Wild Azalea is about a three hour drive from Baton Rouge
near Alexandria.
15
Backbone Trail
This is a shorter, approximately 5 mile, trail north of Alexandria which
can be hiked as a one night trip. It is best done straight through using a shuttle.
There has been a stream for water part way along the trail, but you may want
to carry all your water since it is a short hike. The trail is about four hours
from Baton Rouge.
Black Creek Trail
This is a 30 mile plus linear trail which follows the Black Creek south of
Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The terrain is varied, but not difficult. The trail has
been rebuilt since being destroyed by Katrina. I have not hiked it since then.
The Forest Service in Wiggins can give you current information. The frequent
access to Black Creek gives abundant water sources. There are many good
campsites along the trail with some on sandbars. Part of the trail passes
through a wilderness area. You can self-shuttle, or the canoe outfitter in
Brooklyn, MS, will drop you off or pick you up at various points along the
trail. A good 3-day, about 18 mile hike is south from Janice Landing trailhead
on Highway 29 to the south end of the trail at Fairley Bridge camping area.
Part of the trail north of Brooklyn is not as scenic. The trail is about 3 hours
from Baton Rouge.
Sipsey Wilderness in Bankhead N.F.
There are many trails in this Wilderness area, but the one with which I
am familiar is the approximately 20 mile loop starting at a trailhead where a
highway through the National Forest crosses the Borden River. The trail itself
crosses the Borden River once by a bridge and again by a wet crossing. This
crossing can be waist deep or greater. It can be by-passed if necessary by
bushwacking back to the bridge to cross. The trail has some navigation
difficulties so pay attention to the map. Water is generally available. The trail
is located north of Tuscaloosa and about 8 hours from Baton Rouge.
Pinhoti Trail
The original Pinhoti Trail was 100 miles long but it has been extended. I
am only familiar with the original route. It is east of Talladega in the National
Forest of the same name. Terrain is varied with some challenging climbs since
it passes over the Alabama high point. About 50 miles of trail are north of I-20
and 50 miles south. About mid-way along the north half is Coleman
campground providing a good base area. You can hike the 25 miles from the
northern trailhead back to Coleman and re-supply and take a shower before
16
continuing on the next 25 miles. It is a linear trail so car shuttles are required.
Adequate water is available along with some shelters on this north portion.
The south 50 miles has the greater climbs and much of it is a ridge walk so
water can be scarce. We stashed water at road crossings. About in the middle
of the south half is a state park with restaurant. This is a good staging area for
a very nice loop hike of about 20 miles using the Silent Trail, part of the
Pinhoti, and the Skyline Trail. The Pinhoti is about 9 hours from Baton
Rouge. Incidentally, since the north half crosses many roads, this area can also
be day hiked over multiple days while camping at Coleman.
Ouachita Trail
This is a long linear trail running east/west across central Arkansas.
Some sections can be strenuous and void of water. However, there is a great
3-day, 20 mile, hike from a trailhead on Hwy. 27 to one on Hwy. 298 just west
of Hot Springs and north of Lake Ouachita. Shelters are located on streams
about 6 miles apart which is convenient for a leisurely hike. This is one of my
favorite backpack trips. Ouachita State Park on Lake Ouachita is an excellent
staging area for this hike. They have a scenic tent-only area on a peninsula
jutting out into the lake. This campground is abut 6 hours from Baton Rouge.
Buffalo River Trail
This is a linear trail near Jasper, Arkansas It follows the beautiful
Buffalo River, as the name implies, so water is generally available. I don’t
know the total trail length, but we have done a 3-day, approximately 20 mile,
hike. There are a number of campgrounds on the river which can be used for
campsites if you prefer. This trail is about 9 hours from Baton Rouge.
My suggestions for less experienced hikers is to:
1. Find one or more persons to go with you.
2. Get all the trail info you can from guide books and club members who have
hiked the trail. There are a number of members who have hiked all the trails
described above who would be more than willing to share their knowledge and
may accompany you.
3. With advice from members, books, and outfitters, minimize your pack
weight as much as your confidence allows.
4. Start with a short, easy trip, for which all the trails described qualify.
5. Pay close attention to water sources.
6. Don’t get in a hurry and enjoy yourself.
17