Driskill Mountain, 30 December 2002

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[Ed: Imported from Americas Roof ‘Summit Trip Reports’ forum]

[By: Mark Stauter on January 2 2003 at 5:46 PM]

[Link: http://www.network54.com/Forum/198362/message/1041547573/Driskill+Mountain%2C+30+December+2002]

I summited Driskill Mountain in Louisiana on Monday afternoon, 30 December 2002.

On my way home to Missouri I drove up from Pensacola, Fla., in an intermittent rain. State Road 507 and the red brick Presbyterian Church were easy to find, and the unimproved road back toward the high point from the parking lot was also plainly visible. When I arrived there in mid-afternoon one other vehicle, an SUV from Georgia, was already in the parking lot. Fortunately the rain ceased briefly during my visit.

There is a “historic marker” in the front lawn of the church identifying the site as Driskill Mountain, but providing no directions to the actual high point.

There are “No Trespassing” signs on the gate across the red-clay road, but previous accounts have made it clear that the owner has no problem with high-pointers. The signs appear to be aimed more at hunters. Probably it is easier than it used to be now to identify the route to the true high point, as fences and barbed wire that appear to be fairly new, and hand-painted “NO NO” signs on false routes make the proper route pretty intuitive.

On my way up I met the Schuylers from Atlanta, Ga., who were returning from a successful assault on the summit. Their little girl was celebrating her third birthday and 13th high point. It was also my 13th high point, but I’m a little (well, a lot) older than she is.

The high point is marked by a sign, a rock cairn, and a metal box containing a registration notebook. There’s not much of a view, even during leaf-off, but a few yards shy of the summit there was a surprisingly good view through a gap in the forestation.

It started to get very dark and windy again, so I made a hasty retreat (about a ten-minute walk) to the parking lot. The only hazard encountered was the muddy, slippery road, softened up by the day’s rainfall.

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