In the morning, we got Loretta's Christmas stuff put away in her storage unit, and we drove to see some places around town.
In the afternoon we drove to a nearby trail in Kisatchie National Forest. It has several units sprinkled around the state, but this one was close. I hiked the Lost Man Trail and part of the Sugarcane Trail. Loretta did a little less.
There are Upper and Lower Caney Lake. The trail begins by walking between the two and crossing the overflow stream. Even though this is a strictly functional waterway, the bridge makes it more attractive.
Upper Caney Lake was in the sun, and lovely.
This is the "deep" south, so it's great to see some different trees. This is baldcypress, Taxodium distichum. Their natural range extends as far north as southern Illinois, but there are occasional planted ones even in Michigan that have survived. It's the tree in the background with the flared base. The cool thing about this tree is that it will grow "knees" when it's growing in water or saturated soil. This allows air to reach the roots. The knees are the cone-like structures poking through the ground.
There was a lot of conglomerate rock. Some of it was in a dark red matrix, which has to be iron rich. I didn't find a lot of information about conglomerate rock in Louisiana. But there was enough of it that if I had time to check some local sources, I'm sure there are people who could tell me more.
American Holly, Ilex opaca, does grow in the north, but it's happier in the south. It looks just like holly is "supposed" to look.
Now, here's a tree you probably won't see in the north. This is longleaf pine, an iconic tree of the south.
The bark is pretty distinctive, and the needles are usually in threes.
I finished almost at sunset. This was across Lower Caney Lake. The trail was a lot of fun. There was just enough topography to make it interesting. I'm pretty sure the Lost Man Trail was designed for bicycles with lots of dips and twists. These are annoying on a long-distance trail where you are trying to get from point A to B. But for a day hike, they give you a lot of trail for the available space.
I'm not complaining at all about the other hikes I've been able to take on this trip. Any off-road walk is a win. But this one- on natural surface with topography and deeper woods- was fantastic! Loretta walked two miles. She'd previously seen most of what she did today.
Caney Lakes in Kisatchie National Forest. Lost Man Trail and part of the Sugarcane Trail. 3.5 miles.
 | See Fun, and Games |
2 comments:
That's rather fascinating about the tree with the knees. That rock looks like an alligator to me and it even has an eye.
Lulu: "But did you find that poor Lost Man? Is he like Charlie on the MTA???"
Post a Comment