What a great weekend of hanging! Six friends all drove to the Talladega National Forest—five from Pensacola and one from Huntsville—to hike trails in the Cheaha Wilderness Area. We will all be spending a week on the AT in late September, and this was our last chance to get together, work out some new gear, and generally get a sense of what to expect on the AT. With few ups and downs in Florida, the Cheaha area provides a rugged terrain to better prepare us for the AT. On top of that, all six of us were to be in hammocks: 4 Blackbirds and 2 Skeeter Beeters.
For starters, we were stoked about the weather. The area has been in a drought, but there had been 3” of rain in the area during the 2 days before we arrived, which would provide good water flow at the streams and springs. In addition, the rain had been a part of a frontal boundary which would provide days in the mid 80s and nights in the low 60s, uncharacteristically unseasonal for central Alabama in August. Finally, the evening skies were predicted to be clear, with Saturday and Sunday evenings to be the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. It appeared that everything was coming together.
Trek:
After an early departure from Florida, we met our partner from Alabama in Lineville, where we had lunch, and headed up to get started. We dropped off a vehicle at Turnipseed trailhead and then drove south to High Falls Trailhead. With some last minute stowing of food and gear adjustments, we were ready to be off.
The falls are only 200 yards from the parking lot, and I was shocked to find the stream crossing dry and the falls little more than a trickle At one point, the stream actually went underground completely out of sight below the rocks and leaf litter. Every other time I had been here, the falls had substantial flow, in spite of the stream only being a few feet across. If 3” of rain only produced this, what was in store for the rest of the trek? Well, at least the temperature was only about 80°, which made for a pleasant beginning.
It is only 5 miles up the Odom Trail long where it meanders along a ridge while climbing to meet the main ridge. Previously, I had hiked this trail in fall and winter, and with leaves on the trees, it had quite a different feel. In addition to that, all along the trail were periodic views of the opposite ridge, with which we would eventual merge.
We followed the trail to the top of the ridge at the Junction (2100’ elevation), where it meets with the Pinhoti and Chinnabee trails. At this junction, are multiple campsites, and there is a seasonal stream just 50 yards down the Pinhoti trail. I went straight to this stream to look for water, and after seeing High Falls, was disappointed, but not too surprised, to find it dusty dry. The stream bed was obvious, but it was not even the slightest bit damp. There is a spring about a ¼ mile down the side trail (300’ lower in elevation) which is said to flow even in the most extreme of drought. When we got there, it was little more than a trickle, but it was coming right out of the side of the mountain and provided a series of 18” puddles, enough for all of us. It was a challenge to ascend with all the water, as this is a steep section, but we persevered.
With water in hand, we spread out and set up our hammocks. Two of the gang had never slept in a hammock before, so we walked them through the process of setting up. Several of us have 20° quilts for winter, but with an expected low in the 60s, it was too warm to bring them, so everyone as using either pads or a couple of layers of fleece underneath to insulate; I was the only one with a summer under quilt.
Our location was under relatively heavy tree cover, so we only had a limited view of the cloudless night sky. We had hoped to get a good view of the Perseids, and most of us saw one or two shooting stars, but it was only luck that we did. With low humidity, the temps dropped to 60°. No one got too cold that first night, which was nice for the first timers.
The original plan was to head from the Junction south along the Pinhoti to Adams Gap and then on the Skyway trail down to a campsite on Hubbard Creek. However, because of the scarcity of water on the ridge, and having previously hiked this section in drought conditions, I knew we would likely not encounter water for at least the first 6-7 miles. With the prospects of having to go down to the spring and back up, we decided instead to head down the Chinnabee trail, past the spring, and on down through the Turnipseed Hunter’s camp, where there was a non-seasonal stream with plenty of water.
Switching directions would take an 11 mile hike for the day and reduce it to about 9, but that was ok. So down we went. When we reached the bottom, the creek was flowing fine (which was a relief); this spot was where the 2010 Heart of Dixie Hang camped out. We spent the rest of the morning on the Chinnabee Silent Trail past Cheaha Falls and into the gorge at Devil’s Den Falls. After a stop for lunch and a soaking of the feet in the cool water, we headed down the Skyway Trail, up and out the opposite side of the gorge. A few miles up the trail, we reached Hubbard Creek.
At first glance, it looked a little tight for 6 hammocks. But as we explored the area a bit, we soon found a wide assortment of hanging sites. Several of us hung right alongside the creek, and with cloudless skies, everyone elected to skip the tarps. After stringing up the hammocks, we all bathed in the stream, which was a very pleasant 72°. After dinner, we lit the campfire, and we could already feel the temperature begin to drop. At sunset, my thermometer said 68°, and even though the forecast had Sunday being the warmer of the two nights (plus we were almost 1300’ lower than the previous night on the ridge), we knew we were in for a cooler night than we were expecting.
When I got up at 6am the morning the heat meter said 55°! In Alabama in August?!? I was fine with my UQ, but I ended up being cool as I only had a fleece mummy liner on top. Several others were also cool, especially being so close to the creek. And yet, in spite of that, we all were happy with the weather, in spite of our surprise. After a nice warm breakfast and a renewed campfire, we headed back out the Skyway and up the Chinnabee, getting back to the truck before noon. Overall, we did about 20 miles, which was a good for everyone.
Shakedown:The “cold” was the biggest problem we had. Predicting that our AT hike will have lows in the 40s or 50s, it gave everyone (especially the newer hangers) a real sense of the importance of insulation, on both the bottom and top. No one got any blisters, which was good. I was able to try out my new cuben tarp (at least one night), and I was satisfied with the results, but I will digress on this topic in another thread. Half the gang was using older, heavier backpacks, and I think all of those want to look into new, lighter alternatives. We did have some problems with a new Katadyn Vario water filter. Surprisingly it got clogged repeatedly, after just a couple of gallons (literally 2-3), but we did have drops, so at least that did not become an issue.
Overall, I think everyone was well prepared for the trail, and with only a little bit more equipment tweaking, we will certainly be ready to go on the AT in under 6 weeks!
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