So I’ve had a busy week and its taken me this long to actually sit down and write the details. I mentioned last week that my 13 year old son and I were going backpacking in the Sipsey Wilderness this past weekend.

Well we went and had a great time. We weren’t able to leave the Cross Country meet until around noon on Saturday and since I hadn’t finished packing our packs, we weren’t leaving our home until around 1:30 on Saturday. That was alright because the Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness are less than an hour from my house in North Alabama.

After one stop at a nearby Walmart, we were pulling up to the Warrior Mountains Trading Post around 2:30. I spoke to the proprietor there, Lamar. I had been advised to ask for him by name because he knows the wilderness just about better than anyone. I also like that he is a very outspoken conservationist and environmentalist and publishes a magazine called WildSouth. I bought one of those great waterproof maps of the Sipsey and Lamar advised me to drive around to the Western side of the Wilderness and hike the Thompson Creek trail (FS 206) down to the headwaters of the Sipsey River to camp there. I decided to take his advice. and I am (mostly) glad I did.

It took us more than 30 minutes to drive to the trail-head, and about 15 miles of that was on a dirt/gravel road. We parked and marked the location of our vehicle on the GPS that a friend had let me borrow. Having that GPS, by the way, gave me a lot of confidence to make this trip. It was invaluable, if for no other reason than giving me peace of mind. We strapped on our packs, which were heavy, but not terribly so, and hit the trail around 3:30.

Trail blocked by downed trees

We quickly realized the most difficult problem we were to encounter on this trip. Uprooted and fallen trees covered the trail by the thousands, apparently knocked down by hurricane Katrina. Rather than a simple trek down a well-marked trail, we were weaving back and forth off trail just to get around trees. And we were doing that constantly. Almost the entire hike. There was one spot when the trail started to incline substantially downhill to the bottom of the Thompson Creek Canyon where I looked down the trail and realized that as far as the eye could see there was a fallen tree across the path about every 20 feet or less. I wasn’t completely surprised, as I had read in the paper that the Forest Service was closing some trails because of trees. It was however, much worse than I imagined.

I was also worried the whole time that were on the wrong trail. I had assumed from the map and something Lamar had said that we would be hiking “beside” Thompson Creek for most of the hike. I didn’t see a creek at all until we got to the end of the trail.

But we soldiered on, slowly making our way down the trail. Fortunately, it was only 2.1 miles or so to the spot where we intended to camp. So in spite of the obstacles we made it to the bottom of the canyon in about an hour and a half and set up camp.

Quillen Creek
This place was worth the effort. We camped in between Thompson Creek and Quillen Creek where they come together to form the headwaters of the Sipsey River. It’s a quiet canyon with moss covered limestone cliffs overhanging the creeksides. About 100 feet upstream from where the Quillen ends is a 3 foot waterfall emptying into a shallow clear pool. The canyon is thick with pines, hardwoods and rhododendron and has a soft leaf and pinestraw covering on the ground. When we were there, it was eerily quiet and we saw no other human being the entire time we were in the forest. In fact, we didn’t even see a single animal the whole time we were there, although there was abundant evidence everywhere. Deer tracks in the mud next to a creek. Birds nests. Claw markings on tree bark. There was a strong sense of being indoors since we were in a canyon with limestone walls on one side and steep mountainsides on the other and the trees allowed only diminished light to filter down to the canyon, even in the middle of the day. I have often wondered and imagined about the ethereal beauty of creation when God makes the new heavens and the new earth and all of his creation is filled with His glory. I have wondered about whether the “natural” and “wild” places of the earth, unspoilt by humanity and its sin, more closely reflect what that creation will be like. I think so. and for that reason I think we need to work hard to preserve places like this, because they gives us a glimpse of heaven and hope for a better world.

We set up camp, made a fire, cooked and ate nasty freeze-dried food and went to bed. The next day, we bushwhacked around the Quillen Creek canyon, since there were no trails. We saw a few more waterfalls and climbed a steep climb up to the top of a mountain, where we could see much more of the canyon we were in. We stopped and ate summer sausage and trail mix for lunch. We hiked back to camp. Previously I mentioned that I was (MOSTLY) glad abot our choice of trails. The reason I add the caveat is because it was hard to get to much of anything else once you reach the bottom of this particular trail. I am sure the trees made it much worse. But, ultimately, we felt like there was not much more for us to do. My son and I talked about what to do next and we realized we had had enough of bushwhacking and could not see much more without alot more of that, so we decided in the early afternoon to go ahead and pack up and hike out.

We did, although trekking around trees while going UPHILL was even more difficult than the trek down. It really made me realize how out of shape I am. My son was very forbearing with my frequent stops to rest.

Kinlock Falls

After we reached the van and started the drive home, we stopped for a little while and hiked to Kinlock Falls. This is a beautiful cascade near the road that falls 15 or 20 feet into a large, deep clear pool that would make an excellent swimming hole. Next summer I plan on taking my family there for a dip and a picnic.

We were home by 4 on Sunday. We had a great time. It took me 2 days for my achey muscles to recover, but it was worth it.

Scott

P.S.
I have added pictures. They were taken by one of those disposable cameras so they pretty much stink.