The Texas Mountaineer

Last Update: 09 December 2006

Driskill Mountain, LA
32° 25' 28" N, 92° 53' 47" W

When most people think of Louisiana, mountains are the last thing to come to mind and with good reason. This state is one of 3 in the U.S. with its lowest point located below sea level, and its highest point is the 3rd lowest in the country; only Florida's Britton Hill and Delaware's Ebright Azimuth are lower than this 163m (535ft) bump known as Driskill Mountain. The area is very densely forested as is common in the Piney Woods of East Texas and Louisiana. As a result, there have been significant logging operations carried out in the immediate area around this highpoint and so trails can be difficult to follow. The strata of this part of Louisiana contains quite a bit of ferrous sandstone, which creates the reddish tint in the soil of the area. Temperatures rarely drop below freezing in the winter, however, this part of the South usually receives one significant snowstorm in late February or early March each year.

As Don Holmes states, "Driskill Mountain was named for James Christopher 'Grancer' Driskill (1817-1901), who settled in the farm and timber land surrounding the mountain in the late 1830s after moving from Macon, Georgia. Eventually, Mr. Driskill owned 960 acres in the area. In 1874 he donated two acres of land for what has become the Mount Zion Presbyterian Church and the Driskill Memorial Cemetary. Many of Grancer Driskill's descendants still live near Driskill Mountain."

Driskill Mountain is the highest point of Bienville Parish and is, in fact, the only area in the state where land higher than 500ft can be found. The Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church is located close to the saddle separating Driskill from the only other 500ft summit in Louisiana, Gentry Hill. This 160m (524ft) point only has a 33m (109ft) prominence, but is a nice add-on to a hike up Driskill Mountain.

The standard route up Driskill Mountain begins at the Mt. Zion Church. Begin by hiking generally N along a dirt road that contours to the climber's left of a radio transmitter. Dip down into a barely noticeable saddle, and avoid taking the NE fork of the trail. Continue by going NW up to a saddle, passing a trail leading due N to a false summit, and then go down the main trail to a fork at 134m (440ft). Take the right branch of the trail which meanders N up to the 163m (535ft) summit. A quadrant survey marker is about 20m north of the summit. The logging that has gone on over the years has produced several side roads that can easily confuse someone without a map and compass. There are signs at every trail junction, but still be prepared to navigate for yourself.

Extended South Ridge Route (I, 1.0)
Trailhead: 96m (314ft)
Summit: 163m (535ft)
Vertical Gain: 110m (361ft)
Distance: 7.7km (4.8mi)

2003.03.14 - I began this trip early on a Friday morning. My work schedule allows me to take every other Friday off, which turns out to be really nice for short trips such as the jaunt out to Driskill Mountain would be. I got up at 6:00 so that I could get my gear ready and ride out to the car rental location to pick up my car for the day; in less than a year, I had already put 20,000 miles on my '03 Corolla, and I didn't really want to add another 600 or so to the tally. The rental ended up being only $20 for the day, so I didn't mind too much.

I hopped on my bike at 6:40 and was waiting for the employees to unlock the doors at 7:00. After getting the Alero (red this time), I headed back home to load up my gear and Denali for the trip out to Louisiana. We actually got on the road at about 7:30 and the sky looked like the weather would be beautiful all day. Denali had only ridden in a car a couple of times with me before, and he seemed pretty scared for the first part of the drive. I felt bad, but the only way for him to get over the fear, or to get out to places more exotic than the yard, was to actually go for a ride. I folded down the back seats and put his bed, food and water back there, so he would be pretty comfortable. By the end of the trip, he was doing abosultely fine and was even able to fall asleep on the way home.

We made good time, and I stopped just outside of Shreveport to gas up and pick up some lunch at the convenience store for later. I pulled in to Arcadia just after hitting the 4.5 hour mark and drove in circles a bit before finding the correct route to get to the Driskill trailhead. Along Route 797, I noticed first-hand the extent to which this area has been logged, and it really did hurt the natural beauty of the landscape. Its a "Catch-22" however, as without the logging industry, many of the residents of the area would be without jobs and/or livelihood. Though I normally am a staunch opponent of any logging ventures into the wilderness, the issue becomes very murky when peoples' abilities to survive are thrown in the mix. Like so many issues facing the world today, there is no easy answer.

Rather than begin my hike from the traditional spot by the Mt. Zion Church, I decided to continue W until reaching an intersection with Jot Em Down Road; by beginning here, Denali and I would be able to almost double the route length as well as log over 100 vertical meters on our hike (a true feat for this part of the country). I took a picture of the "trailhead" which also captured Jordan Mountain, Louisiana's 3rd highest summit. Denali and I began hiking up the road toward the Presbyterian church, which we reached very shortly. We then continued N up the actual trail/road leading to the highpoint.

The road was pretty muddy most of the way, but I was able to stay just to the side to keep my boots clean. The dog, however, had no such idea. He ran back and forth on the trail jumping in the puddles, while still staying surprisingly clean. I was still glad, though, that I had thought to bring towels for the car in case he needed to be cleaned up. We followed the route, passing several roads leading to false summits that someone had kindly labelled "No No" to keep highpointers from missing their objective. The trail was easy, though his winter coat made Denali seem to overheat easily.

After what seemed like an extremely short hike, my dog and I found ourselves at the highest point in Louisiana, my 7th & his 1st. The view was mostly obstructed by the trees, but since this was after all winter, the foliage wasn't as thick as usual and I was able to catch glimpses through the forest. After setting up my tripod and having a bit of lunch, I took several photos and a video of the summit area featuring a 7-month-old Denali. We also noticed a blue-tailed skink sunning himself on the cairn, but I was never able to get a full shot of him that included the tail. Denali and I spent about 45 minutes on the summit before beginning our trek back down.

On the way back, we continued SE along the wooded ridge after reaching the church, and made a 10-minute sidehike to the top of Gentry Hill, the 2nd highest point in LA. The views were better over here, though the tower that I expected to see had been destroyed years before. Denali and I bushwacked down an electrical company embankment and rejoined the road about 300 yards away from where I had parked the car.

As I was loading up my stuff, a blue minivan came down the road and stopped right beside us. Denali seemed pretty confused by this and even moreso when my parents got out of it. They had been on a week-long trip visiting my Great-aunt Pauline in Macon, GA, and we had agreed to try and meet up somewhere near Arcadia as they were on their way back. We caravaned back W and stopped in Longview, TX to meet my Aunt and Uncle for dinner. Denali slept almost the entire way home as his puppy legs had gotten pretty tired on his first wilderness hike. Little does he know there's a lot more outdoor fun in-store for him!

Jot Em Down Trailhead