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I'm posting this for ride manager Fred Myers of the new ride.

Mike

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There's a new ride in Louisiana on March 6 called the 
Louisiana Gumbo ride.  It's a 25/55 AERC/TERA sanctioned 
ride with a 15 mile fun ride managed by Fred Myers and 
alternate manager Ken Bridges.  This may be the first 
endurance ride ever in Louisiana.  It's a little over 200 
miles from Houston, a little over 300 from Dallas, and over 
400 from Memphis.

It's being held in the Kisatchie National Forest with 
information about the forest at

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/US_National_Forest/la_kisat.HTM

An interesting description of the forest is at the end of 
this email.

The ride flyer and map is at

http://www.aerc.org/calendar/LGumbo2004.pdf

and the AERC calendar description is at

http://www.doublejoy.com/erol/Calendar/RideDetails.asp?rideID=3194

Contact either Ken or Fred for more information at the 
addresses on the ride calendar or teekeylaa@xxxxxxx  and 
kbrid@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Preregistration would be very helpful.

The information about the ride is:
Camping: Primitive forest camp. Bare sandy soil under tall 
pine canopy. Should be adequate room for rigs, pens, and/or 
tents. Water will be provided for horses but you must bring 
your own people water. Camp will be open from Friday a.m. 
through Sunday p.m. Please notify us if you will be arriving 
earlier than Friday.

Trails: Gently rolling hills down permanent horse/ATV and 
hiking forest trails. Some trails are one horse width and 
are crisscrossed with tree roots. One section has several 
steep but short inclines and abrupt declines. Because of the 
abundance of exposed roots and some root stubs, you may want 
to shoe your horse. Some water is available on the trails.

Meals: We will have a meal for riders and workers Friday 
night. For as long as the food lasts, others may purchase a 
meal for five dollars.

directions:     The campground in Kisatchie National Forest, 
Vernon Perish, is reached from Louisiana Highway 10 from 
either east or west. From Highway 10 at Cravens, turn 
generally northeast onto Highway 399 and follow the signs to 
the Enduro Trailhead Camp.

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Most people would think bayou when asked to picture a 
Louisiana landscape, but this is not an entirely accurate 
picture of the Kisatchie National Forest in the northern and 
central precincts of the state. The 600,000-acre forest, 
split into six separate tracts, has several areas — notably 
the Caney and Kisatchie Districts — that are located in 
hilly, pine-strewn terrain. Some of the hills and mesas in 
the Kisatchie Ranger District qualify as steep and rocky, 
although none are more than 400 feet high.

Kincaid Lake beach

As you enter the central region, you hit more flat and 
rolling woodland. Here, bald cypress trees hang down like 
curtains along eerily tranquil bayous. Nearby, trails snake 
into deep, dark, piney forests, offering glimpses of 
characteristic southern-swampland wildlife — armadillos, 
raccoons, even alligators.

The first inhabitants of Kisatchie country were Indians of 
the Caddo and Natchez groups; kisatchie is an Indian word 
meaning"long cane" and is probably Caddo Indian in origin. 
French and Spanish explorers followed the Indians, but after 
the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, people from many origins 
moved into the area and farming assumed an economic 
importance that lasted until the early 1900s, when extensive 
logging began. Though much of the forest was devastated by 
logging during the Depression, this land has been reforested 
and the only traces of this era are the mills and railroad 
beds hidden within the lush longleaf pine.

Today, the Kisatchie's bottomland swamps, meadows, and piney 
woods are recreation central for Louisianans, offering more 
than 40 developed recreation sites and over 100 miles of 
trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, 
along with ample opportunity for camping, picnicking, 
swimming, fishing, boating, hunting, off-highway vehicle 
use, nature study, and sightseeing.

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