You will need some good tough soled shoes for walking on ties and gravel. As dark a night as possible is good. I've been advised that the time of month around the new moon is good, that overcast nights are good, that rainy nights are bad, that fall is a good time, that the first couple hours after sunset are best, that after midnight is best. Keep an eye out for snakes and the occasional train. I've been told that in the warmer months snakes like to lie next to the rails because they remain warm after dark.
Trains are rare on the track.
Put your ear to the rail to hear if one is coming. You will hear train whistles occasionally, but they are almost always on the track that runs through Gurdon, not on this track. There's a wide spot where Light hunters park southeast of the intersection of Highway 53 and the track. I have only seen the light to the west of me and from a distance. What does the light look like If you are looking to the west and see the light in the distance, it will look something like the picture to the left.