Catahoula Parish Highpoint Trip Report

Date: June 17, 2008
Author: Bill Schuler

one area on Nickel quadrangle, NW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 7 (320+ ft)

one area on Holum quadrangle, SW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of Section 30 (320+ ft)

reference: DeLorme Atlas page 24 grid coordinates H1

These points can and should be climbed in conjunction with the three points needed for La Salle Parish. I drove north from Alexandria, LA on US165 to the intersection with LA124 in Olla. Zero your odometer here. I will describe the route to the southern point(s) first and continue to the northern point(s).

0.0 - US165 and LA124 in Olla. Go east on LA124.

13.0 - Junction with LA126. Turn right (south) on LA126.
15.7 - Dirt road on left. Turn left (east). There was an orange gate open at the start.
16.7 - Dirt road on left. Turn left.
16.9 - High point in road. If you are going for the La Salle Parish points,
park and walk around for La Salle area #1. Continue straight ahead.
17.9 – Y, keep left.
18.2 - Dirt road on left. Turn left.
18.9 - Park at wide spot in the road, check out the area to the right of the road
for the Catahoula Parish area #1, very brushy. Return the way you came.
19.6 – Y, keep right.
19.9 - High point in the road, go straight.
20.1 - Dirt road on the right. Turn right.
21.1 - LA126 (paved), turn right.
23.8 - Junction with LA124 (west). Keep right on LA126/LA124.
24.2 - Junction with LA124 and LA126. There's a church and cemetery
on the corner, all that is left of Rosefield. Not even a sign for the town.
Turning right on LA124 takes you east to Enterprise in 6 miles
but you continue straight ahead on LA126 (north-northwest).
25.2 - Dirt road on the right. Turn right (east).
25.3 - Orange gate, locked. Park here.

This is the property line for the Bayou Dan Hunting Club Association. They allow members only (normally). I was able to find an Association Director yesterday in Jena, LA and convinced him that he needed to let me hike to the three high points in the preserve. He was emphatic that he should remain anonymous, that this would be a one-time deal and that hordes of others would not be welcome. I think that the fact that I was from California along with the luck that there was no one scheduled to be there for the next couple of days may have convinced (softened) him to allow me in.

With permission (phone # on the No Trespassing sign is 318-992-2181) and from the locked gate, hike the road about 0.8 mile to the La Salle Parish #2 high point.

If you are also after the La Salle Parish points, continue north to a dirt track on the right. Go right to the La Salle Parish #3 high point on the main ridgeline in about 0.3 mile. These points aren't obvious and I used the GPS to pinpoint them. Continue south-souheast along the ridge and over a couple of bumps to the Catahoula Parish #2 high point. Again, I needed GPS to find it. This wasn't an easy bushwhack This wasn't an easy bushwhack so I looked around for an alternate way down. You can return the way you came but I dropped west into Funny Louis Creek, climbed northwest up to the ridgeline containing my entering road near the La Salle Parish point #2, (another nasty bushwhack) but shorter, then continued out to my vehicle. Reversing this loop is also feasible.

If you don't want the La Salle Parish high point #3, you can bushwhack southeast down to Funny Louis Creek and then east up to the Catahoula Parish high point #2.