Looking for the Wild Azalea Trail

Located southwest of Alexandria, the Wild Azalea Trail is a part of the Evangeline Unit of the Calcasieu Ranger District of Kisatchie National Forest. Designated for hiking and cycling, the trail’s start and finish points are at Valentine Lake Recreation Area near Gardner and Castor Plunge Road/FS287 near Woodworth.

Behind the Woodworth Town Hall parking lot looms a sliver of forest sandwiched between asphalt and concrete. That’s a hint of encouragement since the U.S. Forest Service website directs hikers here to access the Wild Azalea Trail — at approximately 31 miles, Louisiana’s longest hiking path. But after several reconnaissance trips up and down the tree line, there’s no sign of a path, much less a trailhead.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in “Walden.” Had he lived in a time of smart phones and improperly updated websites, Thoreau might have stayed on his couch, I think. Then I remember a golden age when convenience store clerks knew directions everywhere.

At the Exxon station across the street, half a dozen people stroll the aisles, all friendly but none from Woodworth. No one has heard of the Wild Azalea Trail, and none remembers a time when a different Town Hall parking lot led to the great outdoors. One cashier suggests Valentine Lake Recreation Area, nearly 20 miles away. The Forest Service website offers this as the other entry point to the Wild Azalea Trail, but I’m committed. I want a trail, and I want it where Google says it is.

“Ask at Indian Creek,” she says, and since that’s closer than Valentine Lake, I travel five minutes southeast only to find an empty welcome booth. Meanwhile, the day is fading, and I can feel my hair turning gray like it does when the Saints are down. There’s also the problem of Friedrich Nietzsche. “Never trust a thought that occurs to you indoors,” warned the German philosopher, a directive that has caused me to cross-examine most of my recent musings. Still, I’m certain of this: Kisatchie National Forest is near, and inside it awaits the Wild Azalea Trail.

Back at the Woodworth Town Hall, a black SUV runs idle in the parking lot. Grabbing my camera and bag, I dash across 50 yards of pristine lawn hoping to catch the driver before he peels away. With each step, I become more certain that he will nod casually to a massive trailhead and confirm that my refrigerator blindness has metastasized. Each step also convinces me that I’m starting to look like a desperate paparazzo. But I arrive to see that he has a smartphone to distract him, so I windmill my arms to appear even more deranged.

“I want to hike,” I say as his window lowers, aware for the first time that “hike” and “hijack” have a few awkward similarities. “The website says —”

“That was a long time ago,” he says with no trace of fear or small-town suspicion. “Follow me.”

A minute later, I latch onto his bumper. A quick right, and as we wind along Castor Plunge Road, my confidence in a bona fide trailhead rekindles. I can also hear Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois going on about the kindness of strangers. Then the driver turns into an empty parking lot with a glorious trailhead.

Through his window, he offers a business card and friendship badge with his name on one side and the U.S. flag on the other. “David Butler,” he says. “Mayor of Woodworth.” The moment seems so scripted that I tell myself not to look around for the film crew. He then confirms a previously located Town Hall and an out-of-date Forest Service website. “It’s probably time they change that,” he says. Then he drives away.

“There are no bad experiences,” writes adventurer Tim Cahill, a reminder that travail forms the root of travel, and travail stems from the Latin tripaliare, to torture. Cahill’s optimism proves particularly apt when it comes to our excursions in the natural world. Florence Williams’ 2017 book, “The Nature Fix,” reports scientific studies that show how a 15-minute walk in the woods can reduce stress levels. Subjects who spent 45 minutes in nature saw enhanced abilities to think, remember, focus, dream and an increased desire for generosity. “Nature, it turns out, is good for civilization,” Williams writes.

The well-marked and well-traveled trail transitions from flat to rolling terrain as it winds through pine hills, hardwood bottoms and narrow creeks. March and April are the best times to spot the wild azaleas for which the trail is named. Because the trail is located within Kisatchie National Forest, signage cautions hikers that logging may be taking place in the area. Before hiking, check with Kisatchie National Forest for its prescribed burn schedule.

The hum of the mayor’s SUV has faded. Now surrounded by pines slightly charred from a recent prescribed burn, the sole audience of a wondrous birdsong symphony, I set out. And soon, I begin to forget all the things I worry about that never happen anyway.

Location: Rapides Parish

Did you know? Some entities measure the Wild Azalea Trail at 31 miles, others at 28 or 24.1. The trail route is conspicuously marked with bright yellow paint blazes. State Highway 488 bisects the trail near its midpoint. It is also accessible by road at several other locations. This makes it possible to hike short sections, a convenience for those who don’t have time to hike the entire trail in one outing. The U.S. Forest Service suggests to plan 16 hours to hike the entire trail.