A Day Hike To Louisiana's Grand Canyon

Last Saturday was the perfect day.  The air was cool and crisp.  The skies bluer than blue.  The sun sparkled brilliantly.  We had plans to go hiking.  The weather certainly cooperated.  We packed up and headed north for 68 miles to our ultimate destination.  We've hiked the Smokey Mountain National Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.  We planned to hike on a few trails in Louisiana's Kisatchie National Forest.

The turnoff to get to the park (and hike) was at Historic Camp Claiborne, named after Louisiana's first governor.  Camp Claiborne was the site of the 1940 and 1941 maneuvers in which 500,000 soldiers mobilized to train for ultimate deployment in WWII.  Hard to believe, but Camp Claiborne was once the third largest city in Louisiana.

A more interesting (to me) and personal tidbit about Camp Claiborne is that its construction is how I came to be.  You see, my grandfather, a Norwegian farm boy from South Dakota, was sent to Camp Claiborne to train.  South Louisiana must have seemed like a foreign land to him.  He was ultimately deployed to the European theatre of the war where he took part in the Battle of the Bulge.  But let's rewind a bit.

While he was training in Louisiana, my grandmother, from nearby Oakdale, Louisiana, went to a dance that was put on at Camp Claiborne, like the one in the photo below.  The rest, as they say, was history.  They were married and later my mom was born and then my uncle.  Upon returning from the war, they settled in Louisiana where my grandfather owned and operated a grocery store called the Kinder Supermarket.

So, it was quite an adventure to hike through the woods where my grandfather, some 80 something years ago, walked and trained!  My bride, my oldest son, Russ, and I first hiked the Wild Azalea Trail.  A small part of it, at least.  It is 23.9 miles long.  Tricia was concerned about ticks.  I pointed out a wild bush called the Wax Myrtle, that is supposed to be a natural tick repellant.  My enterprising bride fastened some wax myrtle twigs to her shoelaces to ward off wayward ticks.  Russ and I laughed until our stomachs hurt!

The tall Longleaf Pines rose above us and the wind blew through the needles.  We were all alone on the trail.  It was peaceful, serene, beautiful.

There were magnolia trees and pines and holly trees.  We'd like to plan another trip when the dogwoods and wild azaleas are in bloom.

The trail is rustic, but navigable.  Tricia walked ahead with her head on a swivel, scouting out ticks and snakes and Louisiana Black Bears.  

We each found walking sticks.  They really help.  Russ read from a National Forest Information Board to try to get our bearings.

Hiking will cause you to work up an appetite.  We had packed some trail snacks.  We sat in the pine straw beneath that sign and ate like kings.  Actually, we ate King Oscar Sardines (Mediterranean Style), radish dip and crackers and energy bars.   

The next trail we hiked was only 2.4 miles.  It was called Tim's Canyon.  It was beautiful.  It is a trail that is also a horseback trail, so you had to watch your step a little, but it goes through the woods until it comes to Tim's Canyon.  The 'canyon' is a pretty deep canyon that looks carved away by water, although it was dry at the bottom.  Note the big pine tree that fell across the canyon in the upper right of the photo below.

Despite Tricia's urging, I couldn't resist and had to cross it.  It was a long way down!  The long proved to be sturdy and strong, however.

The rest of the hike was on a dry, sandy creek bed.

It was a great day to spend outdoors, enjoying beautiful surroundings and good company.  We'll do it again!