Hiking Tuxachanie National Recreation Trail

Monday, February 19, 2024

Hi Blog!

After yesterday's hike in the Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, we thought we would find a nice bike trail. Not far from where we are camped in Ocean Springs, Mississippi is the DeSoto National Forest. Named for 16th-century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, the forest is 518,587 acres of pine forests in southern Mississippi. It is one of the most important protected areas for the biological diversity of the Gulf Coast eco-region of North America. It is also home to the Tuxachanie Trail, which runs for 12 miles through the forest. The trail was listed as a bike trail on All Trails, but when we arrived at the trailhead, we learned Tuxachanie Trail is a National Recreation Trail open to foot traffic only. So, our bike ride turned into a hiking adventure.

There are several trailheads for the Tuxachanie Trail. We chose to start at Airey Lake. The Airey Camp is a primitive camping ground. There are no numbered sites, but several picnic tables are available. When we arrived, there was only one person camping. His homemade trailer is one of the more unique RVs we have encountered.

As today was the Presidents Day Holiday, we were not surprised to find several fishermen trying their luck on the small lake. As we made our way around the lake, we asked one fisherman how he did and he said he had just caught at 5 pound bass!

What the lake lacked in size, it more than made up in beauty.

The lake is almost in the middle of the hiking trail between miles 5 and 6. We could either hike east or west from here. We decided to first go east in search of Copeland Springs.

The De Soto National Forest was created in 1934. The main job of the Forest Service in Mississippi was to replant trees that had been heavily removed by logging in the early 1900s. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Airey Work Center in 1935 as a base for its work in replanting the forest. The lake and campground were part of the original camp. 

The name Tuxachanie is a name derived from the Choctaw language meaning "fragments of hominy-boiling pots are lying there." We didn't see any hominy-boiling pots, but we did see several mile-markers along the trail.

We are still a little early for spring, but we did notice a few flowers starting to bloom.

The exact location of Copeland Spring is not noted on the forest map. However, Google Maps does show a location. There had originally been a side boardwalk leading to the spring, but it has since been destroyed:

 Huricane Katrina hit this area hard. Despite the ruined boardwalk, we discovered a side trail to the spring.

 

It is reported that the Copeland gang would come to water their horses and rest enroute from their hideout on the Pearl River in Hancock County to the Black Creek on the boundary of Stone County. Besides James Copeland, among other members of the gang were said to be two men named Wages and McGrath, who posed, respectively, as an evangelistic preacher and singer.  While they engaged a community in a religious revival, they stole their horses. They were later caught and hanged.

The spring itself was several feet deep. The water was crystal clear and cold!

After finding the spring, we decided to head back toward the lake and hike in the other direction.

Pine forests need fire to stay healthy. If the fire gets too hot, the bark can burn through. Sap will rise to the surface to protect it.

Back at Airey Lake, we noticed this bird box on the lake shore.

We decided to hike around the far side of the lake. We weren't sure if we could make it through the wetlands. 

 

We were pleased to see several boardwalks over the wet spots.

The westernmost five miles of trail follows an old abandoned railroad bed which once served the sawmill of Dantzler Lumber Company at Howison, MS. Our trailhead at the lake was at the eastern end of the five mile rail bed.

Once we started hiking on the old rail bed, we were hoping to see some of the old railroad trestles, but at each stream crossing they seemed to be missing.

This crossing had a boardwalk.

The next crossing had brick patio pavers piled high enough to walk across the stream.

No sooner does the Forest Service repair a trestle then the next hurricane dislodges it.

We decided to make this ruined bridge/trestle our turnaround. It was almost a straight shot back to the trailhead. If the weather warms up, we hope to get out and paddle tomorrow. Stay turned.

Blues, Brunch & Bayou - Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR

After two days of rain here in Ocean Springs, just across from Biloxi, Mississippi, we were eager to get outside today; but the weather is cold today after the fronts collided yesterday.  "Cold and sunny" usually means a hike, so we looked for a hike nearby.  Unfortunately, this Gulf Coast area is short on really interesting, longer hikes, so we decided to pair a lunch with an afternoon hike, taking advantage of the warmer, sunnier afternoon for our outing.

A little more consideration produced the idea of a brunch with Blues music.  "Is there such a thing nearby?"  A little research turned up Ground Zero Blues Club in adjoining Biloxi, which, providentially, features a Sunday brunch with music.  Perfect!

Today, the venue featured Buddy Leach, a noted blues saxophone side man, and Marty Loper, a well-known local singer, performing as "Side Pocket":

:

We dropped over at 10am and enjoyed a scrumptious Gulf Coast style brunch while listening to this duo perform recognizable Blues standards.  It was exactly what we hoped to find.

With tummies filled and ready to hike, we headed out to nearby Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, which is only a few miles from our campground:

The Refuge was established in 1975 under authority of the Endangered Species Act to protect the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes and their unique, and itself endangered, wet pine savanna habitat. The crane population, at that time was only 30-35 birds, is currently at approximately 130 birds. Through captive rearing and reintroduction to the area as well as wild birds nesting in the savannas, the crane population continues to grow. The refuge also protects and restores the last large expanses of wet pine savanna, primarily through the use of prescribed fire. The wet pine savanna is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the U.S. with more than 30 plants found in a square meter of land.

The Refuge encompasses a variety of ecological zones, from bayou, to wetlands, to marsh, to pinewood flatlands.  Toward the beginning of our hike, we had a chance to enjoy the environment along Davis Bayou, which is part of the same water system that borders our campground at the Davis Bayou section of the Gulf Islands National Seashore:

The Refuge offers hiking trails, but they are not very lengthy.  Two trails, blazed in red and green, total about 1.9 miles altogether, which was not as long as we wanted -- so, although the trails form a figure eight loop, we decided to hike around them, and then back again, for an almost-four-mile hike.

The trails are well maintained and marked.  Where the going is wet, some sort of boardwalk if provided:

There are a number of benches for resting along the trail:

We chose the outermost trail sections around the loop, so we continued along the waterway during the first part of our hike:

At one of the observation decks alongside Davis Bayou, we scared up a great white egret, who took off into the trees almost faster than we could photograph it -- although we got a snapshot of it as it fled:

At another spot, we could look downstream toward a boat ramp and a highway bridge across the waterway --

-- and were treated to this view of some pelicans flying their way upstream, looking for some easy fishing:

The observation decks were numerous enough to give us several opportunities to look for wildlife:

None were to be seen, but the natural scenery was beautiful:

Turning in from the bayou, we worked our way through the wetland section, crossing several bodies of water.  The water below is called a "bayhead."  A bayhead is a freshwater swamp, which can occur near salty or brackish water. but is isolated from them.  In contrast to a marsh, which mainly fosters grasses, a swamp features mainly trees.  This bayhead, as well as the other swampy areas in the Refuge, contains gum trees, bay trees and maples, in contrast to the pines and palms of other ecosystems in the Refuge.

This whole section of the Refuge provided us with water crossings.  Some had bridges, some boarwalks, some had rocks -- and this one boasted a row of stumps stuck in the water.  Although the stumps wobbled as we crossed, Kathy conquered them like a veteran:

Then again, some water crossings required hopping from fallen log to branchy perch to wobbly log:

Kathy was alert enough to realize that the bayhead ecosystems might contain pitcher plants -- those carnivorous plants that sneakily lure bugs into their parlors.  She was right.  Once we looked, we found a goodly number of pitcher plants, this being the prettiest:

As we left the bayhead zone, we noticed a number of trees were tagged with pink flags.  One, Kathy noticed, also had a metal label stating that it was a Red Bay:

The Red Bay tree is a small, evergreen tree in the laurel family, native to the southeastern United States. The plant is not widely used now for medicinal purposes, however members of the Seminole tribe formerly used it as an emetic to induce vomiting. The dried-up leaves can be used as a condiment.  While it is related to the bay laurel, from which we get the bay leaves that are used as herbs in cooking, its leaves are not the same.  The wood is hard and strong and can be used to build boats, cabinets and for lining the interior of structures. 

And that, dear students, is the end of our nature lesson for today.  Only know that we got great exercise along with our learning!
 

Back In The Bayou Again!

 Thursday, February 15, 2024

Hi Blog!

After leaving Navarre, Florida on Wednesday, we made our way to Davis Bayou Campground in Mississippi. We last visited Davis Bayou back in 2018. A lot has happened in 6 years since our last visit. This area of Mississippi was hit with six different hurricanes - Michael (2018), Barry (2019), Delta, Sally, Zeta (2020) and Ida (2021). 

After a move day, it always feels good to get out and stretch our legs. We decided to walk over to the Visitor's Center. Along the way, we stopped at several side trails.

Just after starting down Nature's Way Trail, we came across a very tiny replica of a $100 bill. It couldn't have been more than 2 inches. After snapping this photo, we decided to leave it on the trail for the next person to find.

The loop trail starts in a coastal forest. 

The trail had numbered stops along the loop. We didn't have a copy of the trail guide, but we have done enough of these types of trails to know that this stop was probably describing the southern magnolia or loblolly pine.

We came to our first observation platform. It obviously didn't stand up to a recent hurricane storm surge.

The second observation platform was recently repaired and gave us another look at the marsh.

This boardwalk still needs some work.

We finished the loop and started walking toward the Visitor Center. Just around the corner from the Nature's Way Loop Trail was a side road called the CCC Spur Trail. The old roadbed is slowly being taken over by the forest. However, you can still see the concrete curbs on both sides of the road.

The Ocean Spring CCC Camp Dining Room was at the end of the road looking out into the Gulf of Mexico. The camp housed 200 men. The facilities they built became Magnolia State Park. The park was incorporated into the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

As we continued our journey, we reflected on how much the CCC has influenced our RV experiences. If it wasn't for the Civilian Conservation Corp, many of the campgrounds we stayed at or trails we hiked would not exist. Pretty amazing when you think about it. We owe are RV adventures in good part to the CCC.

We stopped to see if we could see any birds or gators making their way through the marsh. The building on the left is the park boathouse.

Once we arrived at the Visitor Center, the first order of business was to watch the park film on the Gulf Islands National Seashore. In addition to the Davis Bayou, the Seashore includes five barrier islands of the coast of Mississippi - Cat Island, Ship Island, Horn Island, West Petit Bois Island and Petit Bois Island. Unfortunately, you need a boat to visit them. The ferry service doesn't start until March 15th.

After watching the park film, we walked around the exhibits. We never heard of hurricane balls (shown below). The force of the strong winds and surf tear up the sea grass and weeds and swirl them around until they form a tight ball. Pictured below are hurricane balls from two different hurricanes - Hurricane Katrina (left) and Hurricane Camille (right).

We also learned that Cat Island was the site of a secret World War II project to teach dogs to recognize the scent and appearance of the Japanese enemy.  Men of Company B of the 100th Infantry Battalion Separate (Japanese Americans known as Nisei) submitted themselves to sweaty tracking regimens and vicious dog attacks. Four hundred dogs and their trainers lived on Cat Island during the war. After the experiment failed and was closed down in five months, an intelligence investigation followed. The 400 island dogs continued to be trained as sentries, scouts, suicide dogs and to locate wounded soldiers. Americans had donated 18,000 pets to be trained in the country’s four war canine centers.

After touring the exhibits at the Visitor Center, we walked over to the fishing pier. There were a couple fisherman out on the pier. After all the recent windy weather, it was surprising to see the Bayou so calm.

On the way back to camp, we did manage to catch this egret fishing for lunch.

The boat ramp was quiet this morning. Only one person was in the parking lot, and they were fishing.

Unfortunately, more rain and colder weather is coming our way. Not sure when we will be out and about again, so stay tuned.