[at-l] Louisiana "Backyard" Hike Report

[mizwaterfall at yahoo.com (Nina Baxley Rogers)]

Very nice backyard hike report!

I wanted to go to a trail north of Baton Rouge this
weekend but didn't have access to a car, so I ended up
"trekking" the levee along the Mississippi River,
which borders the south Louisiana neighborhood where I
grew up. I didn't see any non-winged animals (except a
few inquisitive moo cows), but I did see quite a few
egrets and other birds. Mostly I just enjoyed the mild
weather, knowing I'd be on a place back to frigid
western NC the next day.

Waterfall
Freezing to Death in Asheville

--- Bluetrail@aol.com wrote:
> Felix said we oughta post even backyard hike
> reports, so here goes. I'm blessed with about 10
> trailheads no more than 30 minutes of my house: some
> are FT trailheads, others are Seminole County
> Natural Lands, and a few are St. John's Water
> Management District lands.  Winter's short days
> sometimes make for short (hour long) hikes.
> 
> Most recently I hiked from the Barr Street trailhead
> at the Little Big Econ State Forest, out onto the FT
> heading toward Oviedo--this trailhead is 7 minutes
> from my house by car.  Unfortunately, this trailhead
> is the most used of those close to me; it's a local
> "party in the woods" hangout.  It's amazing that
> full six packs aren't too heavy to carry into the
> woods, but the empties are too heavy to carry out.
> 
> Enough ranting.  If you take the trail to the right,
> you go through a a few big oaks and come out into a
> bit of an open space.  The Carolina jessamine vine
> twining in the trees is just beginning to open now. 
> Lots of the trail will be littered with its little,
> baby-powder scented, golden trumpets when the
> blossoms fall.  
> 
> The trail turns left and onto an old jeep road for
> just a little while.  This part can get muddy, but
> it was dry enough this day.  In about 200 yards, the
> trail turns left again and crosses a short bridge
> over an old drainage ditch.  Just past the ditch
> there's a large clump of wild coffee; its glossy
> green leaves make a perfect foil for the thick
> clusters of scarlet berries.
> 
> The trail rises a little and here the oak branches
> are thick with bromeliads, looking a bit dry around
> the edges this time of year.  Now I'm in real
> woods--Florida woods:  palmettos, oaks, hickories,
> and a very large cypress tree off to the left in an
> old sink hole.  
> 
> You can hear the raucous call of pileated
> woodpeckers from time to time.  After a few gentle
> ups and downs, the trail comes out on the banks of
> the Little Big Econ River.  Fish jump and plop back
> into the black water faster than I can see them, but
> we sure hear them.  At a point where the river
> splits into two directions, there's a huge new nest
> in a dead pine on the opposite shore.  This is the
> area where I've twice seen bald eagles in the last 6
> months; I'm not good at identifying nests so I can't
> tell if the nest belongs to bald eagles or ospreys. 
> I keep hoping to catch one of the birds on the nest,
> but no luck today.  The trail continues along the
> river bank, palmettos and pines to the right, oaks,
> hickories and willows on the left.  An ocassional
> sweetgum is now, in January, colored gold, red and
> orange.  
> 
> This area is where I sometimes see or hear Trim
> Trimmer, a Vietnam Vet who claims to have lived in
> these woods for 14 years.  He has a little boat with
> a motor, and says he's recently added a generator to
> his frequently moved stealth campsite (I've heard
> it) which powers his new acquisition--a TV with VCR
> built-in.  He calls the forest service folks the
> "green coats."  The Green Coats say they move him
> off the property from time to time because when he's
> drinking he's been known to scare people; however,
> they hate to run him off because he's a great land
> steward.  He picks up lots of trash and leaves
> little cardboard signs tacked to the trees:  "Clean
> up after yourself!  Don't mess up the woods!!!!"
> >From personal experience, I know he's great a
> yoggieing me out of any cashews I have in my fanny
> pack; he likes cashews a lot.
> 
> We turn around after about 30 minutes out from the
> trailhead, but not before enjoying the clearing
> where an old road allows access to the river edge. 
> I sat there on a leaning tree, just watching and
> listening.  
> 
> The yo-yo return yields only one new event--first a
> loud rustle in the palmettos, then the sight of an
> armadillo scurrying away.
> 
> We bag empty cans and bottles on the return and haul
> them home to the recycle bin. Even an hour in the
> woods is enough to destress the day.
> 
> Joan
> bluetrail@aol.com
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
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