Hooper Road Trail

Lately I've taken an interest in hiking. So I decided to try some trails that are close to home. BREC has a couple of mountain bike trails that I read also make for some pleasant hiking. My first solo trek was at the Hooper Road Trail in north Baton Rouge.

When I pulled up to the trailhead parking, mine was the only car there. For the first few minutes of the hike I felt like a city boy stepping into the heart of darkness. Immediately, something moved in the brush. Squirrels? Mountain bikers? Is a bear out there? Are people watching me? I thought I heard Deliverance banjos in the distance.

Then I caught a face full of spider web. As I tried to peel it off of me, spitting, and turning my head, I stopped suddenly. My eyeball was within an inch of a spider that was the size of my face.

Having trouble seeing her? How about a closer look!

I quickly turned back and found a good walking stick, so I could clear the path ahead of me as I walked. The paths were obvious, but when I reached the first sign, pointing out the main trail and another trail, it became clear to me that I had no idea where I was. I had a map, but the several trails all loop around each other and cross each other at different points. So I tried the strategy of taking nothing but all left turns.

I crossed a canal and walked some nice country underneath a tall canopy.

When I crossed the canal again, and hit the trail, I realized from the direction of the trail that I was not where I thought I was. Finally I ran across another sign, maybe it would tell me where I was.

I guess mountain bikers don't need to know where they are going. I tried to puzzle it out, looking at my map and seeing if any of the trails had an "M" in it. Strangely, none of them did. I came out here to get back to nature, not to do crytogram puzzles! I started to wonder if I had the correct map.

So I came up with a bold new strategy. I'll take all right turns for a while. I found some fun trails that went up and down some small bluffs. They actually had some hills and things to climb. I had to jump across a big hole in the trail. My trusty walking stick kept me steady. After about a half hour or so, as I thought I was still heading down some new trail, I ran across the same sign again.

But this time I saw what I had missed on the way in, another sign that said "Goat Trail". Hey, at least that's on my map! I tried a left turn this time and ended up on Powerline Trail.

There, I think I accidentally got off trail for a stretch, as I had to fend off sticker bushes and other undergrowth. I finally found my way back to a clear trail, and as I crested a small ridge, I caught a glimpse of the tail end of a thick black snake just ahead of me heading back into the undergrowth. If I had dived, I could have caught him by the tail. That's how close it was. From then on, every ten seconds or so I'd call out "Coming through! Make way!"

I finally found some of the lakes, which are more like what I expected to see on a Louisiana trail.

Then I hit the Lake Trail, which is flatter and wider than the first trails I had been on. This lake was pretty nice.

Here's a picture of my walking stick and my map. In some ways, the stick was more useful than the map.

I left the stick at the trailhead. Maybe someone else will find it as useful as I did.

I walked most of the 5 miles of trails in about 3.5 hours.

I may have left my walking stick there, but the trail gave me something in return. The next morning I pulled two ticks off of me.