Louisiana Mini Loop: Recon

[thumper]

Since last fall, I've been working on a dirtroad route that connects 3 of the OHV trails in La. The idea came from my trip to Michigan last spring. They've got a huge 1200 mile loop that passes through several trail systems. So, I began by visiting each of the La. trail systems that I wanted to connect, Sandstone, Vernon, and Claiborne. I scouted the trails and picked the most logical sections for a DS route. Just by coincidense, the best sections are all on the northside of each.

The next step was to connect each system with dirtroads. I ventured out of each location and developed a few short routes and got some good info from Navaho6 on DSRL to help finish it. I also borrowed from a portion of TerraX's La. ride. Thanks Guys!

The last task would be adding a starting point. Harborlight from the East Texas Ride fit the bill perfectly.

All that was left was to prove it. So I twisted some arms and got a few riders that I've rode with before to help scout the entire loop. I knew they'd be okay dealing with time constraints, locked gates, and slugging it out on the trails with loaded down DSers.

The Riders:
Greasemonkey XR650r
CeeBee XR650r
TexasDR DRZ250
and myself

[note: photos are a joint effort from Scott, Ken, and myself]


The Plan:
Stay at Haborlight overnite, ride the next day, and get off the route the next night in Alexandria. Second day follow the rest of the route back to Harborlight.

Friday afternoon, we unloaded and moved into our cabin. That nite it poured and thunderstormed til' 1:00am.


To our surprise, the Ride Gods were with us and the next morning was looking real good.

The bikes were a little soggy, but no one mentioned a word. Seemed all were in the ride mode!

About the only thing noticed was this strange cloud formation across the lake in La.

 

[thumper]

The 1st Leg: Harborlight to Sandstone

I never had a chance to scout the very beginning of the route. With that in mind, guess what waited for us just off LA6.

We quickly went over a paper copy that I'd made and panned around on the GPS's.

Within minutes, we had a solution and were on the move again. This became procedure in the few areas necessary throughout the ride. Stop, consult the map, pan around for a second, then get rolling again.

The first dirt was eastbound on Zion Hill Rd. to Fisher.

Great way to get started! A "rarely" mantained logging road.

We took a quick break in Fisher and stumbled on this little restoration. Pretty cool place.

From there it was on to Snead Rd. and a few others eventually connecting with Long Leaf Vista and Sandstone.

After some nice twisty pavement on Long Leaf, we pulled into Sandstone Trailhead.

Out on the trail.

First break, Scott resets his rear shock.

Chuck and his XR Valdez. Cool bike!

And Ken on his DRZ250. His bike was suited perfectly for this ride.

The trails were great through here until later when we got to the freshly snotted red clay.

After a few miles of slipping and slidding down the hills, we bailed and started the second leg southward.

More later....

 

[Thunderchild]

Oh yeah, that's it! Just leave us hanging! Looks like a great ride so far.

 

[CeeBee]

So I twisted some arms and got a few riders that I've rode with before to help scout the entire loop. I knew they'd be okay dealing with time constraints, locked gates, and slugging it out on the trails with loaded down DSers.

Thanks Tim, for forcing me to attend! Couldn't have ridden with a better group of guys. Great roads and trails - Even got some signature "Thumper mud" riding in It was Great!!!

 

[thumper]

It was Great!!!

 

[thumper]

2nd Leg: Sandstone to Vernon....Southbound.

It was getting close to noon when we bailed on the Sandstone Trails. We left a lot of untouched trails behind us, but we needed to keep moving in order to make Alexandria by dark.

The route took us south down by Beasley Cemetery Rd.

I had run into gates here during hunting season, and thought they might be open now....well I was wrong. We soon found ourselves squeezed onto a pipeline.

Not that it was a bad thing!

We followed the pipeline down to Kisatchie Creek, hoping to pick up a way around the gates.

These huge concrete water barriers were a little tricky to ride down. The ground at the base of
each barrier was washed away. If you hit it strait on, it would result in a slow motion end-o.

Yup. There's the dang creek. We scouted for an ATV crossing, but no way. It was just to darn deep!

So it was break time and a chance to consult the GPS's.

We were on an ATV trail that looked like it ran along the creek and up to a road, but rather than spend time on something uncertain, we bailed to a for sure southern route I did here last fall.

Chuck tractoring his Xr back up through the mounds.

Myself tangling with a tree root on the way back up.

We made a quick stop at the cemetery on the way out.

From here, it was off to NF307/ Union Cemetery. I had scouted this last fall.

Quick double check. My memory ain't what it use to be!

From here it was gas and slab to Leesville. Kinda uneventful...lunch, jabbering,etc.

One photo that was a must. Chuck did Ranger Training here along [way long] time a go. We all laughed at his stories. I guess this photo is the epitome of "bitter sweet". Yeah, here he is 30 something years later all crippled up, broke down, and way over the hill , but gotta hand it to him, he's still in there. I hope I'm still riding like he does when I get that old!

More on leg 2 a bit later.......

 

[Teeds]

Re: 2nd Leg: Sandstone to Vernon....Southbound.

One photo that was a must. Chuck did Ranger Training here along [way long] time a go. We all laughed at his stories. I guess this photo is the epedimy of "bitter sweet". Yeah, here he is 30 something years later all crippled up, broke down, and way over the hill , but gotta hand it to him, he's still in there. I hope I'm still riding like he does when I get that old!

More on leg 2 a bit later.......

Oh the memories ... I was there in the Spring and Early Summer of 1971 completing Basic and my first MOS.

Great report!

 

[DrBlackbird]

Quote:.....All that was left was to prove it. So I twisted some arms and got a few riders that I've rode with before to help scout the entire loop. I knew they'd be okay dealing with time constraints, locked gates, and slugging it out on the trails with loaded down DSers.
.
Tim,......I could have been twisted into helping with some map reading and trail exploring.........Should have asked........

 

[thumper]

Leg 2 continued.

We had to ride a little more slab eastbound on La10. After a few miles we were able to pick up NF400.

You can see the absense of red clay on the road.

After one small re-route, we were in on the Vernon Trails.

A quick break in a freshly burned area.

Some really nice woods here!

From here, it was on to Leg 3 Vernon to Claiborne.

Back in a bit......

 

[thumper]

Tim,......I could have been twisted into helping with some map reading and trail exploring.........Should have asked........

Gary, You would have loved this ride. It had every type of road and trail possible. I thought about calling you, but I saw you were already on the TAR ride. Then I read on TAR that you broke your collar bone.

Keep this in mind... In June the route continues.Alexandria, River Bottom, St. Francisville, Tunica Hills, Angola, Fort Adams, Backwoods Miss., Natchez Trace, and finally Port Gibson and the Windsor Ruins then back down to this loop. All dirt wherever possible.

Think you'll be healed by then?

 

[thumper]

Leg 3 Vernon to Claiborne

After a quick little jaunt through the trails, we were running Lookout Rd. along the southern perimeter of Ft. Polk.

The boys up there kinda like to let you know "Your Not Welcomed Here".

Looks like a cool road.

A little further in the route was my "favorite road". I had found it on an earlier trip and even this time we didn't finish it. My fault though...we had to keep moving.

This and others like it aren't gated or posted. I've seen them labeled EC, EV, and E. I think there some type of access roads for the rangers. I just call'em ECO-Roads. They sure are fun to ride!

Taking a break in a very peaceful place.

Back on route, we ran into a huge ditch across Padgette Rd. This was one serious barrier! When they dug this ditch, they piled the dirt in front making it impossible to cross. Well, we were running out of daylight and a look at a re-route didn't seem anymore promising. I spotted an ATV trail and followed it through the woods. We were now on the otherside.

The whole area was being logged. I think the barrier was just to keep 4WDs from tearing up the soft road.

A little mud for Carlos!

One more small adjustment and we were at Claiborne.

You can see the shadows are getting pretty long. We debated to ride the trails in the dark. Everyone was in so off we went. We weren't fooling around here, so sorry no pics.

We buzzed them fast and I short-cutted us out to a fire road. We still had about 20 miles of dirt to Hwy 28 and then 10 to Alexandria.

That night we got some rooms, listened to some of the worst Kareoke, and crashed.


Leg 4 Going Home.....in a bit.

 

[DrBlackbird]

For a chance to ride with the "Mighty Thumper" the "Dean of Dirt", the "Purveyor of Filth", the "Zen Master of GPS Tracks"...........I'll be ready. If it takes slopping on some "JB Weld" and wrapping it with "Duck Tape", that collar bone will be ready............
.
You just find me some more River algae "Slime".....Because I have something to settle with that stuff.........I'll not take it for granted ever again. It's not good when you let your guard down to play in the stream crossing.

 

[thumper]

For a chance to ride with the "Mighty Thumper" the "Dean of Dirt", the "Purveyor of Filth", the "Zen Master of GPS Tracks''
.

That's funny but I'm none of those. More like "a guy who can't sit on the couch."

So then, your in on the next stage? It's gonna take 4 good riders with patience, good navigation skills, and willing to laugh even when it's not funny.

I've been surfing blogs, trip reports, and talking with riders who are fimiliar with that area of Mississippi.

When I finish this report, I'll post a cleaned-up version of the route for this ride. I'll also post the rough draft of the next segment.

 

[thumper]

Leg 4: Headed Home.

Everyone was up early Sunday morning. We loaded the bikes and slammed some coffee. The weather was perfect as we headed back out Hwy28.

We turned on La121 and followed it to Red Store Hill Rd. I never rode in this area before, so I was hoping we could get through.

Well that was wishful thinking! Red Store was a blast to ride, but we could tell that it was gonna be gated in a few miles. And it was!

We tried a couple of fixes, but there were only a few alternatives, and they were locked up as well. Finally, we slabbed Hwy 8 to Mora road. It's not what I had in mind, but it was still fun. Btw...I re-routed this in the final route draft.

We made it to Mora Rd. This was a nice section.

Quick Break.

Soon we were headed north again to Sandstone.

By now we were gettin' pretty good at altering the route.

We rode a short trail section on Sandstone then made our way to the west end of Long Leaf. We were now backtracking the entrance part of the route.

Scott had saved the tracks, so it was easier to let him lead us back to Harborlight. Don't know why but everytime Scott leads I'm looking for 6th gear. We made some good time.

We ran into some locked gates that were open on day 1. Something about a hunting club. Hmmm and we were still in the National Forest. Screw it, we went around 'em.

Leaving the Forest.....this was "a good one"

 

[thumper]

The Route.

Here's a modified version of the route. It's been cleaned up around the trouble spots.

 

[Greasemonkey]

Had a ablast Tim.I seem to like the recon end of things,"the unknown".

Good to see everyone as I've been busy and this break was needed.
The rain saved the day as no dust until sun afternoon.The weather was great.
The roads fast.

Thanks again.

How does Ken keep up on that 250??????????

 

[Goat Trail Green]

Excellent


I love seeing the pics.....

Thanks Mike Green

 

[thumper]

How does Ken keep up on that 250??????????

That kinda bugs me sometimes. Maybe he's got a custom big bore kit in it and just doesn't say anything.

I'm sure his horsepower to weight ratio [rider included] is certainly better than mine!

But the truth is he's just good and makes it look easy!

Btw, Scott and Ken thanks for some great pics.

Now that the route is solid, maybe some others will have time to ride it and find some variations that we could add to it.

 

[Greasemonkey]

Excellent


I love seeing the pics.....

Thanks Mike Green

Are you talkin about the one's of us looking at the maps,oh,that was most of the time

The blend of dirt roads ,trails,unused dirt tracks was excellent.We gave Tim a hard time about our wandering but he did a great job.We all knew this was a
"recon" trip.

 

[owtcast]

When's the next scouting trip?

 

[thumper]

Are you talkin about the one's of us looking at the maps,oh,that was most of the time

The blend of dirt roads ,trails,unused dirt tracks was excellent.We gave Tim a hard time about our wandering but he did a great job.We all knew this was a
"recon" trip.

Yeah some of the detours surprised me like the one where the two pickups were parked. The ditch behind the guardrail was super deep! When those La. boys don't want you using a road anymore, they really mean it!

 

[thumper]

When's the next scouting trip?

I'm not sure, but maybe mid June. Except this time it'll be a little further east. Here's the route I've been working on.

 

[ScottBrownAdventurer]

Glad you punks let me know yall were riding in my neck of the woods....

 

[ScottBrownAdventurer]

I'm not sure, but maybe mid June. Except this time it'll be a little further east. Here's the route I've been working on.

Almost all of the Louisiana portion of that route is pavement. I noticed a bit on mississippi levee roads, can't ride the levees.

You may already know this, but the St. Francisville portion north is some great riding.

Hwy 1196 north east side of Red River by Hwy 107 is a nice road and connects to some pretty nice gravel. There are lakes and rivers that get in the way of connecting back to the St. Francisville area. A better route might be from the Vernon area over towards Deville and then around Catahoula and the Dewey Wills NWR (Saline). Tons of dirt out there could connect to the Northern portion of the route in Mississippi with less pavement.

Make your way back to Natchitoches and I'll show you on a map a lot of roads.

 

[thumper]

punks

Hmmm..... now that's funny and I'm "sure" you meant it that way.


As far as the Port Gibson route....it's an unproven rough draft. However, I've been able to confirm alot of it by blogs, trip reports, and pms. The whole idea of this is to have a confirmed route that I and others can ride and improve on when time permits. Exploring the unknown is more than half the fun, but it's always better when you've got a known route handy to deal with time constraints.

Btw...there's a very specific reason for riding the paved river section......I've never been there!