They say that experience is the best teacher. This past weekend while backpacking in the Sipsey Wilderness I found that to be true. I set off on what we had planned to be a 2-day, one night weekend trip in the Sipsey Wilderness in Bankhead National Forest located in northern Alabama. It would be the first trip there for myself, 10-yr-old son, and adult niece and nephew who were all accompanying me on the trip.
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I had posted in the trip planning forum our plan for the trip. Take 202 up to the river and cross over to 209, take 209 up to a short side trail (so we thought) to the big tree and camp overnight. Then return back to 209 and hike 209 back across the river and over to 201 and take 201 back to the trailhead.
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One thing about the Sipsey is that it is a true Wilderness and, due to a desire to maintain its wilderness state, there are no trail blazes, no hiking aids (like foot bridges and the like), and very few signs. Overall, the lack of signs were not a real issue. There were a few moments we were not sure we were going the right way but we were never truly "lost", especially with the nice trail map I had purchased online. But I do think it would be beneficial to consider some implements to some areas that were very difficult to hike. But that's just one guy's opinion.
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We started down 202 and came through the area that has two cemeteries on the sides of an old farm road. My son thought this was really cool and we got a few pictures there. The trail gets pretty dense from there but you can easily still make out the trail. Somewhere along this route we saw a really old cool tree. It had a huge trunk and was really cool looking. I wish I would have gotten a picture. We also met a group of really nice volunteers from Wild South who were doing some trail maintenance on 202. We could really tell a difference after we passed them so we appreciated their efforts greatly.
The falls at Feather Hawk Creek was impressive. There was not a lot of water flow but the canyon and height made it all beautiful and was a great spot for lunch. This picture certainly doesn't do it justice.
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I was afraid the river crossing would be "snakey" but it was nothing like that at all. The water level was about shin to knee high and crystal clear. It was cold enough to feel good after a few miles of hiking. However, the embankment on the other side to get over to trail 209 was very steep and difficult to climb with a pack. Fortunately, there were just enough roots to make it doable.
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I wish it had been the most difficult place to climb but it wasn't. Later down on 209 we came to a stream crossing with an embankment just as high but very few roots to hoist yourself up. It was very difficult to get up the steep grade and took a lot out of us. Overall, I would say the short section of 209 from 202 to 204 is much more difficult that trail descriptions let on because of these types of crossings. As a result, we wound up camping on 209 and did not make it to 204 the first night.
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We found a nice camping spot with some good trees to hang from on 209 and spent the night. We were disturbed by a large animal that kept invading our campsite that night. I say large because you could hear it break tree limbs as it walked around. My nephew said he heard it walk up toward his hammock close enough that he could hear it breathing but when he scrambled to get out and get a look, it scrambled away and he couldn't see it. I am guessing maybe a large hog because I saw several signs of rooting in the area.
The next day we hiked up 209 and took 204 to go to the big tree. This is where I probably messed up. Based on comments by others I ASSumed it was a short hike up to the tree from there. One of the guys from Wild South we met on the trail said to take 204 and then there was a side trail to take us down to the Big Tree. Well, 204 was more of a moderate trail with some nice ascents including a little boulder climbing thrown in. I had no idea it was as long as it was and then, to add insult to injury, we never found the big tree!! Maybe we saw it from a distance and overlooked it because we thought it would be more impressive, I don't know. We took the trail down the hillside (the one that has all the camping spots on it) and came to the top of West Bee Branch Falls where we filtered water, but we never saw the big tree and, of course, there were no signs pointing it out. Maybe one of you can tell us where could have looked from there.
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After getting water we began following the trail along the creek back to 209. This is probably where we messed up. We had no idea this trail would be so difficult. It was literally trees down about every 50 feet or so, and not trees that you can step over but those that take some serious climbing over. This wore us out, especially me and my 10-yr-old. We had started hiking at 10 am that morning and had still not made it back to 209 by 4 pm. I knew that we could not get out of the woods before dark so I made a decision that me and my 10-yr-old would have to spend another night in the woods because we still had several miles left.
My niece and nephew went on ahead at a different pace because both of them had to work the next day. They did not get back to the trailhead until almost 9 pm. My son and I went our own pace and made it back to 209 and chose a lovely riverside campsite about a half a mile up 209. We took advantage of the extra night and did some "swimming" in the river and made a big campfire to enjoy. It was a nice night despite only having a bunch of granola and beef jerky for dinner.
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We got an early start the next morning and crossed the river again, this time a little easier crossing. 209 then took a sharp ascent up the hill several hundred feet before leveling out and meeting 201. 201 was a pretty easy, uneventful trail, which was a welcome change.
Overall I think we did about 12 miles, three more than I thought the trip would entail. But a few of those miles were over very difficult trail so I don't think I read enough to realize this and plan according. So that is what I meant about this experience teaching me a lot. I realize now I need to research a lot more about the trails rather than depending on a few sparse comments from the trip planning forum. I also need to get in better shape to tackle difficult trails. Additionally, I will not be caught without having an extra meal and knowing exactly where we will be getting our water. We ran real low when we were on 204 because we did not have a good source for water after our first night. I think the lack of water made 204 harder than it should have been.
Despite the difficult experience it was a great trip and the Sipsey is really a beautiful place. I am sure I will return again but, this time, with a lot better planning and strategy for tackling the trail. But like we say here, any night hanging in the wild is a good night!
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Originally Posted by 2ply
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