Al>sipsey question

[MississipVol]

I am thinking about doing a loop in the Sipsey this weekend with my 10-yr-old. I was looking at starting at the Randolph Trailhead and taking 202 to 209, spend the night somewhere around the Big Tree, take 209 over to 206 the next morning to see Ship Rock and the Eye of the Needle, and then crossing the river to take 201 back to the trailhead. This looks like about a 9 mile hike all together if I am not mistaken.

Questions:

1. Will the river crossings be pretty easy to forge with the rains we've had lately?

2. Is Randolph a safe place to leave a car overnight?

3. Any potential problems any experienced Sipsey hikers see with this route? (especially considering I will have a 10-yr-old with me)


THANKS!!

[GF129]

1. River crossings shouldn't be a problem. Should be around knee deep to an adult, just watch the child in the current.

2. Randolph is as safe a place as any. Quite a bit of traffic on the road this time of year.

3. 209 trail marker will point across the river where "206" joins it on the map. There is a trail on the north side of the river but it crosses private land and is therefore not an official USFS trail. I have never crossed from 206 to 201 so I'm not sure where that junction is. If you cross the river on 209 you can walk straight up the hill to 201. The trail follows a drainage across rocks up the hill. You could always walk on the north side to Ship Rock and then return to cross the river.

There are plenty of campsites. A very nice site at the junction of Sipsey and Bee Branch but it is often occupied. The trail up Bee Branch to the Big Tree is kinda rough. Easy to follow but with a LOT of blow downs. There are some decent campsites on it as well.

Have fun and bring bug spray. Ticks, skeeters and gnats will eat ya up.

[Chriss]

Should be a great trip with the little one. He will not mind the blowdowns as much as you will, I assure you. I managed it with a pretty heavy winter pack on in January so you should be fine. The rivers should be fine. Parking should be fine. Have fun. Some really neat camping spots around the Big Tree area.

[billyjack]

The only thing I would add is to keep an eye out for the copper heads. I have walked over several on the trail this Time of year.

[GF129]

My dad always says "if you don't look for snakes you won't find any". It's worked so far.

[MississipVol]

The only thing I would add is to keep an eye out for the copper heads. I have walked over several on the trail this Time of year.

Yeah snakes is the one thing that scares me when backpacking, especially when I have my son with me. Hopefully they will stay clear of us.

[billyjack]

I think you would pretty much have to step on one before it would strike. the one's that I have ran across (copperheads) hasn't been aggressive at all.

[Mr. Jowee]

I was just there last week, June 8-10. It rained both nights, and the river was fine in most places. If it's too deep where you want to cross (as was the case with my trip) it's easy enough to find a much shallower spot. Being summer everything is over grown, and there are a lot of blown down trees. It was my first trip to the area, so I don't know if that's normal.

[mikej]

Regarding the copperheads, my weimaraner has been bitten twice in the last year by them. I managed to kill the second one. The first was treated quickly with no problems. The second one almost killed her. Wear boots. But like billyjack said, I think that particular snake isn't too aggressive unless stepped on. It's the big, black nasty one that you really need to watch for.

[MississipVol]

I just posted about my experience in the Sipsey this past weekend. It was my first overnighter there and we experienced some problems. I would appreciate some of you experienced Sipsey-ers checking it out. Thanks!