Here's a nice big PDF trail map if anyone is interested (note that trail 210 on the map is actually 207 on the south side of 208). My route started at the Borden Trailhead, down 200, across the creek to 209, up 206, east on 208, then south on 210 back to the trail head. It's a total of about 26 miles spread out over three days.
http://www.briartech.com/sipseyonepagea.pdf
I arrived at a hotel on Saturday. I didn't want to drive 6 hours then hike for several more, so I found the cheapest Economy Inn I could, though really the place should have been called the Meth Motor Lodge. Funny that I leave New Orleans for rural Alabama, and it's not until I arrive that there's a shooting in the room next to mine. I was woken up at 12am by the woman and her husband (foul mouthed as they where) arguing with a third, followed by screeching tires, then a gunshot. Eventually the police showed up, and by 2am things had quieted down. Oh, and there was a murder in town the next day. WTF Alabama?
I got to the wilderness area on Sunday around 10am. After a gnat infested trek down a dirt road from the parking lot I arrived at the trailhead. Trail 200 was better than I expected. I knew going in that there were no trail blazes, but the trail is well worn with several established campsites along the way. It's nearly impossible to get lost; there's a large, impassible cliff wall on the left, a creek on the right, and an easy to follow path bisecting the two. I heard there was a cave toward the end, and if you didn't know to look for it, you might think the trail ends at a small waterfall and a cliff face, with no way around. The cave is about 30 feet deep, maybe 5 feet high, and you can't see the other end. There was no way to bypass, unless you are extremely daring, and going through is a tight squeeze; you'll have to take off your pack and shimmy sideways. If I hadn't had foreknowledge of this feature of the trail, there's no way I would have even attempted to enter it. Overall this is one of the more scenic and easily accessible trails, and therefore one of the more well trodden.
This is the monster-infested cave. That white dot isn't a light at the end of the tunnel, it's a droplet from the waterfall.
After 2 miles there is a marker pointing to trail 209 on the other side of the creek. This is where I saw a recurring theme on just about every hike I go on; people underestimating the trail and coming unprepared. A family of 6 (mom, dad, and 4 kids, the oldest of which was maybe 14) where heading to see one of the Sipsey's biggest attractions, the Big Tree. At 25 feet in circumference, it's the largest tree in Alabama. It's also 6.5 miles from the trail head they started on. None of them had hiking boots, some were wearing jeans, only the father had a small day pack, and they didn't know the way. That would be a tough 13 mile day hike. Anywho, I had read that the creek can be anywhere from knee deep to neck deep, depending on the rain and the time of year. Well, it had been raining a lot, but it was only shin deep. This was the first time I had ever had to cross a creek while backpacking. It would have felt like a much bigger milestone had it been deeper, or more precarious, or infested with piranha.
209 was a very varied trail. Some portions had rocky outcrops like 200, and some had a jungle like overgrowth choking the trail. There was a little uphill and downhill variation, though not much in the way of elevation gains, and the only real difficulty was by way of several downed trees along the way. Fall Creek Falls really needs a better name. About 3 miles past Fall Creek, I ran back into our friendly family, who where turning back having never found the Big Tree. I don't think the trail leading to it is marked, but then again they didn't know the way to begin with.
Fall Creek Falls waterfall.
I camped about 8 miles in, close to Bee Branch, on a small cliff overlooking the Sipsey River. I generally don't camp very close to the trail, but it's impossible not to in this area. The new gear for this trip was a Warbonnet Mamajamba and Travel Net, as well as a pair of Flopeez as camp shoes. By 9pm I was reading a horror short story, and passing out in the hammock. I awoke at around 5 to the sound of rain soaking my clothes from the day before. The tarp was pitched fairly close to the hammock. Most of the water dripped from the suspension, but some managed to make it to the small drip lines I tied just in case. This was my first time getting caught in a steady rain in a hammock, and I remained bone dry. Beginners luck? By noon I was packed up and heading out, as the rain had finally cleared away to blue skies and a dew covered fir.
View from inside the hammock.
The next morning I continued on 209, eventually connecting with 206, leading toward Eye of the Needle and Ship Rock. It was around these landmarks that I had a run-in with a family of pigs. There were 6 total, ranging in size from down-right cute to horrifyingly large. I've heard they can be quite mean, and actually attack humans when they feel threatened, so of course when they saw me they ran in the same direction I need to go, making another encounter inevitable. Where's a hunter when you need one?
One of the babies. I was too busy climbing onto a bolder in the hopes of avoiding an attack to take a picture of the adults.
The remainder of 206 was much like 209; slightly varied terrain with moss-covered boulders, large rocky cliffs, and a beautiful view of a small creek. Again there were some down trees, and some sections that where overrun by vegetation (some poisonous, some delicious).
paper<scissors<rock<tree
At Whiteoak Hollow, just before the intersection with 208, I refilled my water supply knowing the next chance wasn't for several miles. After a short break I started down 208. The plan was to make it to the next available water source and set up camp, somewhere near Braziel Creek, about 8 or 9 miles from the previous campsite.
208 would have been a fantastic hike had it not been for the annoyance of the most hideous of insectoid hell spawn, the gnats. Flying in my face is fine, but in my eyes and up my nose? Come on, guys. The trail was very serene. It's an old out-of-service dirt road that is quite worn and overgrown, though not beating you in the face with vegetation. It's up hill for a good portion but the climb is very mellow. There are several spots that are muddy, but easily passible and if you don't want to get dirty, you probably shouldn't have come, amirite? The gnats seemed to buzz off (ha!) whenever I came to a sunny spot in the road, but every one of these spots was swarming with honey bees (which are responsible for more attacks resulting in hospital visits than any other animal). Well all I could do was deal with it and enjoy the serenity, so I did. Just before Braziel Creek, I heard something in the woods that was large and not a boar. I know what boar sound like. This was something else. A bear? A horse? Sasquatch? I dunno, but I didn't see anything, just heard some kind go growl, or neigh, or grunt.
My intend campsite at Braziel Creek was a disappointment. It was low-lying, very damp (a few puddles here and there), infested with gnats, and big foot was nearby. The choice now was to either stay here, or to trek on and hope for a better spot. There was still plenty of sunlight, but I really had no idea where the next spot was. I took the risk and moved on. Well what was planned as an 8 or 9 mile day turned into a 12 mile day. I didn't find a suitable spot until just passed the intersection of Braziel Creel with Clifty Creek on trail 207. Most of this trail was what I had come to expect, though a short portion really did look like a South American jungle, complete with thorny vines. I didn't reach a decent site until 7pm, but it was really nice, much like the previous night. I had just enough sunlight to make camp, and eat dinner in my underwear knowing full well that I had the entire wilderness area to myself.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that the rain started as soon as I finished zipping the bug net on the hammock. Well, rain is a mild term for the monsoon downpour we had that night. This was by far the worst storm I've ever camped in. Wind speeds of 23 mph, gusting to 44 (though I think that measurement is faulty) with about two inches of rain falling in 5 hours. The tarp did leak around the pullouts, and I was one or two drops from the ridge line drip onto the bug net. That's pretty **** good for a tarp that I didn't seam seal! There's no doubt in my mind that I would have been flooded had I been on the ground. Again I remained high and dry.
I awoke early the next morning before sunrise to hear coyotes barking in the distance. I tried to record it with a camera, but didn't have any luck. I also learned that a ziplock bag, while waterproof and easy enough to tie and hang from a tree, will not keep squirrels from nibbling on my summer sausage. Where's my food bag you ask? It has my wet clothes from the day before in it. The rain started up again after I had gathered all but my hammock and tarp. Again with the perfect timing! I laid back in porch mode and watched the now swollen stream rush passed my campsite, only to have a 30ft tall tree in that very rive crash down into it, maybe 100ft from me. It was a healthy tree too, not one you would expect to fall over. Around 10 the weather had cleared enough for me to continue on.
Since day 2 had been much longer than expected, day three was going to be very short. Just a quick march down the trail, then across borden creek, then to the parking lot. Well, that was the plan before I got lost. Yup; lost in the woods. Kinda. I knew I had to follow the creek, and it looked like the trail would meet up with it at some point, but it never did. The trail follows Braziel Creek and sort of disappears into the woods, kind of following Borden Creek on what might be a trail, but then again might not be. It never does turn to cross Borden Creek. After about half an hour I knew I must have come to the intersection of the two creeks, where I'm supposed to cross, but the trail is just out of sight of the creeks. I bushwhack my way a few yards to the creek only to find that it's flowing in the opposite direction that it was last night, meaning that I passed up the intersection along the way.
I head back to what I thought was the trail, and parallel the creek a little further, checking it intermittently to see the direction it's traveling. I eventually find the intersection and the crossing (which is only a few hundred feet from the trailhead), but there is simply no way to cross the creek on the side I'm supposed to. The water was about 5 feet deep and moving pretty rapidly. The other option was to cross the feeder stream (Braziel Creek), which was much lower, about knee deep where I crossed, then follow it south to the Borden Bridge through a few hundred feet of wilderness. Well, it turns out there's an unofficial trail on the other side of Braziel Creek, so after an easy crossing and a short hike, I make it to the bridge. Across the bridge was the mile dirt road leading to the parking lot. I'm nearly to my car and I hear more snorting, and see a pack of will pig run off from the parking lot into the woods.
Tealdear version: Went through a cave, ran into some unprepared day hikers, saw some wild boar, got attacked by gnats, got rained on twice but stayed dry, got lost in the woods, and had a great time.
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