The Louisiana Hiking Club

LA HIKING CLUB ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

MARCH

4th - LHC meeting at Bluebonnet Library, Baton Rouge
7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Our regular March meeting will be held at The Backpacker in Baton Rouge at 7656 Jefferson Highway near where Corporate Blvd/Old Hammond cross Jefferson. FEATURED SPEAKER & TOPIC: new member David Steiner will give a presentation about a trip he took to Nepal. David is a life long hiker from New England. As an unofficial member of the 4,000 ft club he has climbed most of the 44 4000 ft peaks in the White Mountains. As a new member of the LHC has volunteered to speak about his three week trip trekking in the foots hills of Nepal. A current resident of Plaquemine he joined our club to meet others, learn more about Southern LA and try to lose the six pounds gained in 4 months here in LA. Thanks to Dale for arranging this location for us. And thanks to Michael for allowing us to use the meeting room at The Backpacker.

5th - 7th - LHC Annual Campfest, Chicot State Park
Just a reminder to everyone to mark your calendars for another great weekend of fun, learning and camaraderie at this year's Campfest from March 5 - 7th at Chicot Lake. We have lots of terrific speakers, vendor booths and activities lined up including hiking, paddling, an orienteering course and campfire music and singing. See the brochure for more details.

This is not a weekend you will want to miss.

13th - Hike at Wild Azalea Trail, south of Alexandria
This hike will be on the last(or first, depending on your perspective) 3 legs of the Wild Azalea Trail, from Valentine Lake to Evangeline Camp. We will meet at Evangeline camp at 10am, and carpool to the start at Valentine Lake. This would be the reverse course of Day 3 in Janina Baxley's book, "50 Hikes in Louisiana", if you want to read up on it. It appears to be 8 miles, but there are several crossings at which a car can be placed for a shorter hike. This is a relatively easy hike, with not much gradient. The Evangeline Camp trailhead is on Messina Road, between Twin Bridges rd.(Hwy 488) and Hwy 28W. Bring the usual - snack, water, bug spray, rain gear if necessary. Carpool leaves from Campus Federal Credit Union off Perkins Road no later than 8 a.m.

APRIL

1st - LHC Monthly Meeting
Meeting held 7-9 p.m. Place and topic to be announced.

10th - Hike at Clark Creek Primitive Trail, Pond MS
Hike at Clark Creek primitive trail, Pond, MS. Length of hike approx 4 1/2 mi., might be considered somewhat challenging due to some steep/rugged areas. We will meet at Campus Federal Credit Union off Perkins Road. The carpool will leave at 8:00 am. If you plan on meeting the group at the trail head be there at 9:30. To get there take Hwy 61 north, 3 miles north of St Francisville turn left on Hwy 66 at Baines (Angola Road). Follow Hwy 66 about 11 miles, turn right on Hwy. 969. Go about 7 miles turn left at the Pond General Store, the trail head will be past the store on the left. Bring the usual - snack, water, bug spray, rain gear if necessary.

April 25th - May 1st - Backpack/Hike Roan Mt. State Park, in TN
Springtime in the mountains, what could be better? Roan Mt. State Park, TN group sites G3 and G4. Arriving April 25 and leaving May 1. No limit on number of participants. If we have overflow, we will use regular sites. This will be our usual type of trip with focus on base camping and day hiking. Those who want to plan a backpack are welcome to plan it.

MAY

6th - LHC Monthly Meeting
Meeting held 7-9 p.m. Place and topic to be announced

8th - Hike at Tunica WMA, near St. Francisville
The Second Sat Hike for May 8 will be on the "A" Trail in the Tunica Wildlife Management Area (WMA) north of St.Francisville. Note: this is NOT the Clark Creek Tunica Area. This trail and two others in the same area were blazed by some of our members along with Americorp a few years ago. The "A" trail is about 4 miles long and is fairly strenuous with steep climbs and descents along with some sandy creek walking. It is a beautiful area with ridges and ravines and
rarely any other people. If you are not really old (not sure what that age is now since it has changed), you will need a hunting or fishing license or Wild LA Stamp to hike in the WMA. These can usually be obtained at Walmart. You should bring a trail lunch, plenty of liquids (because it will be hot), snacks, and rain gear. Carpools will leave the Campus FCU on Perkins Rd at Quail Dr in Baton Rouge at 8 am. IF you know the way, you can meet us at the trailhead at 9:30 am.

If you would like to add a hike to the LHC Yahoo Group Calendar, contact Cheryl at cturren@comcast.net or 318-925-9074 with some details and a contact name, e-mail and/or phone #. Would you like to lead future LHC Day hikes? Have any suggestions for a great place for a day hike? Contact President Nancy Hall at nanhall5@yahoo.com. Always looking for new places and people to lead new hikes!!

PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK WITH YAHOO! CALENDAR FOR ACCURACY!