After a few months hiatus, the high point adventure continues. This time, I visited my home state of Louisiana.

When you think of Louisiana, you probably think of New Orleans and the French Quarter, Baton Rouge and the crazy LSU fans, great seafood, and crazy cajuns that sound like Ed Orgeron.

You probably don’t think of mountainous peaks.

And you are right. There aren’t any mountainous peaks. But there is Driskill Mountain. Driskill soars 535ft above Northern Louisiana, positioned roughly between Shreveport and Monroe. No ice axe, crampons, microspikes, or even trekking polls needed this time.

The trail to the summit starts at a small church with a really cool, sprawling oak (I think).

The trail is only 1.8 miles round trip, so I threw on some tennis shoes and shorts and went for a stroll. The weather was absolutely perfect; 60 degrees and clear, sunny skies. I drove from Dallas, TX which took…well… too long. It was great to finally get out of the car and use my legs.

The trail starts right behind the church and consists of what is mostly an old logging road.

While not mountainous, there were some brief climbs and the hike provided an enjoyable stroll through the woods.

 

Pretty quickly, you find yourself approaching the top of Louisiana. There you find a sign (woohoo), a pile of rocks (I always make sure to add one myself), and some benches overlooking Jordan Mountain.

I spent a few minutes at the summit but I was pretty tired and ready to get to my hotel and rest some, so I went ahead and made the hike back to the car.

While lacking in intensity, it was a pretty walk and I enjoyed the fresh air. I hopped back in the car and drove about an hour to Monroe, LA where I spent the night. I decided to eat healthy (carrots, apples, and some other veggies) and skipped out on a celebratory beer this time.

However, this morning I made a quick stop that I have always wanted to make.

 

If you don’t know what this is, this is the Duck Commander warehouse, where the formerly hit show Duck Dynasty was often set. They have a store you can visit, and apparently the cast is there from time to time.

Unfortunately there were no cast members around at 10:30 AM. I think its duck season and they are probably hunting.

I did find that nearly everyone in West Monroe looks fit for the show, though. When I first got there I thought I saw Martin, but it was just a guy in camouflage that looked like him. I thought I saw Si at a gas station, but it was just an older guy with a beard that looked like him. I saw 7-8 look-a-likes in my 10 minutes in the area.

With that I made the return trip to Dallas so I can catch a flight to Memphis and continue my trip.