The Louisiana state highpoint, Driskill Mountain, weighs in at all of 535 feet above sea level. A good trail and set of old roads lead right to the summit. And yet, I failed on my first visit in January 1997! Without a map nor my trusty guidebook, I entered into the dense forest and went up the wrong hill. As I drove off I started to get the uneasy feeling I missed the proper highpoint, but it was too late to go back... so I bided my time and tried again two years later during my Spring Break vacation, 1999. Then, five years later my wife and I journeyed to Louisiana for Christmas to see New Orleans and to explore the state. We did a number of parish highpoints as well as a visit to Driskill, for Beth's first time and my second. Over my three visits here - 1997, 1999 and 2004 - I have seen the nature of the land change dramatically. In 1997 it was all dense forest. In 1999 the frontage along the highway had been heavily logged and the area was an ugly mess. In 2004 new trees were growing and it looked pretty again.

Second Visit, First Successful (March 1999): Two days ago I left my home in Chandler, got as far as Black Mesa in Oklahoma, then from there to Eastland, Texas, a town on Interstate-20... more than 1,200 miles in two days. I had made a decision on the spot in Lubbock to go east and get the Louisiana highpoint, a little wooded hill that somehow defeated me in January 1997, when I was in the area doing the state highpoints and visiting some friends in Baton Rouge. That time, I followed the directions in Holmes' highpoints book but blundered, hiking up one hill and not seeing anything that verified my being at the highpoint. I left but got the feeling a couple hours later I had failed (at the time I figured I had done it). So I discounted my 'success' and decided to go back later and do it properly. Hence this trip.

I awoke very early on Monday the 15th, and began my drive from Eastland. I had about 380 miles of one way driving to do before I’d get to Louisiana’s Driskill Mountain, and more than once I doubted my sanity, but I pressed on anyway. I almost made it through the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex without any hassles until a nasty traffic snarl prompted me to exit the Interstate and make an unplanned detour through the housing projects of Big D. Once back on Interstate-20, I encountered no further delays, passed through Shreveport and drove another half hour to the town of Arcadia, and my jump-off point to Driskill. After gassing up, I drove the little routes to the little country church that sits at the driveway of the highpoint. Wow, how had the scenery changed! The region has been logged extensively and an entire tract of trees near the church and along the highway were gone. I drove my truck in about a quarter-mile along the muddy access road, parked, and proceeded in.

In 1997, on my first go-round with Driskill, I had neglected to bring a map or my guidebooks and as such, had no clue where to proceed once in the trees. The dense trees hid the land forms and it was not obvious at all where the true highpoint was. This time, I had my map and found the highpoint with no difficulty whatsoever. As it turned out, it was one hill to the north of where I had gone the first time. Oh, so frustratingly close! After spending a few minutes surveying all before me, I hiked out back to my car, completing the round trip in about 30 minutes. Nearly 400 miles of one-way driving for a thirty minute hike up a little bump in the Louisiana wilderness? If you’re a highpointer, you’ll understand. Highpoint #26, check.

Now it was back home, only about 1300 miles away. I pretty much returned the way I came in, making one stop in Bossier City to lose $20 in their slot machines. I had great weather and no problems getting back through the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. By this time it was dark, and I just wanted to get as far west as possible. I had dinner at a small road-side diner near Mineral Wells, and made it to Abilene before I gave in to my fatigue and took a hotel. Mileage for day 3: 807 miles. Day four was just another marathon drive back home to Arizona, with some side trips thrown in here and there. Total mileage for the 4 days was 3,007. I haven't put on that many miles in that short a time since.

Third Visit, Second Successful and Beth's First (December 2004): After a few days in New Orleans and the Bayou country of Acadiana, highlighted by the only Christmas Day snow ever in the Big Easy, Beth and I made the long drive to Natchitoches, which bills itself as the city of lights during the Holidays. We arrived about 6 p.m., got a hotel and drove into town, had dinner, then walked the waterfront and viewed the beautiful display of Christmas lights strung out everywhere, some even spanning the river that passes through town. The next day we had a number of easy parish highpoints on the docket, highlighted by our visit to Driskill Mountain, which would allow Beth to double her state highpoint totals from one to two in one easy hike! After very quick visits to the Winn and Lincoln parish highpoints - the latter just a few miles up the road from Driskill - we arrived at the little red Baptist Church marking the trailhead, so to speak, of the Driskill hike. The weather was cool but nice, and clear. A gate now spanned the road so we parked at the church.

We followed the road into the trees and within 15 minutes or so arrived at the highpoint. The landowners have erected a sturdy wooden sign and past visitors have erected a good-sized cairn at the top. We spent some time here and enjoyed the visit, then returned to our truck. Two more parish visits were on the docket, and we spent that night camped at Lake Claiborne State Park, where a cute black kitty made friends with us that evening.