Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama - July 2008

It was hot! Hiked in on a Friday afternoon from the Thompson Creek trailhead (FT 206) and got to the riffles on the Sipsey River on the east side of Ship Rock about 8:15 or so, and decided to cross the river and set up camp on the south side. Got my tent up first and then sat down to fix supper on the best fire-side log in the Wilderness. Can't take credit for it ... already there ... and much appreciated!

It was dark by the time I pulled out my Jetboil, but I tried to cook as much as I could in the dark. I used my headlamp with the red filter when I had to see something small. Turkey Tetrazini ... um-mm, good ... and a little fruit of the vine I had packed in ... nice dinner in the woods anytime, but especially when the woods weren't crowded. When I am in the woods, I am so relaxed and comfortable. It's not like I don't know that there are critters, but in northern Alabama there aren't many that will do serious damage. A shout will send most of them away.

Okay, let's talk about the scarcity of people in the woods in July ... bugs, chiggers, spiders, sweat, and heat ... must have kept most people out of the Alabama woods that weekend ... I took only a sheet that I usually use to cover my car ... all I needed on my pad to soak up the sweat until about two in the morning ... perfect conditions for an old man. Nobody around but the critters and the woods ... why wish for more!

Saturday morning was fairly cool -- for a while. I hiked up the Sipsey to where the Parker branches off and looped to catch the north end of FT 201. That is a pretty nice trail up through the laurel to the top of the bluffs. I reversed and came back to the campsite to resupply on water , then hiked south along the Sipsey until I intersected FT 209 where it crosses the Sipsey. I decided to hike up to the top of the bluffs on 209 until it intersects 201. When I got to 201 I decided to hike on it back down to the Parker and back to my campsite.

Along the way I remembered that a biology teacher colleague of mine was not familiar with the Big Leaf Magnolia, so I strapped my camera to a tree and snapped a pix.

Unlike the more common Southern Magnolia, the Big Leaf Magnolia is deciduous and when it drops its leaves the forest looks as if someone threw newspapers all over the forest floor. I have seen these trees in the Smokies, but only occasionally. In the Sipsey Wilderness they are ubiquitous.

Sunday morning was a lazy one. Hearing a lot of thunder, I expected rain during the night--and, in fact, moved my tent out of a little sink hole--but I got no rain .

One mystery ... across the Sipsey from my campsite was a yellow tent that was there when I got to the riffles Friday evening, and there when I left about noon on Sunday ... never saw a soul over in that campsite ... didn't smell any dead bodies, so assumed that someone simply wanted to reserve their space for the week ... they needn't have worried ... too hot for most campers.

Sunday morning, on the way out, I was hiking slowly, just wishing my weekend could last a day or two longer, when I saw a movement in the leaves. After closer inspection, I saw that the movement had a hour-glass design on its back and said to myself, "Careful, Dave, that looks like a copperhead." It was a pretty big one for a copperhead, but was moving a little sluggishly. I messed with it for a while and got it to coil and pose for a picture. He/She was not amused, but didn't object too much.

The remaining hike out to the Thompson Creek trailhead was uneventful except for the pile of clothes at campsite #1 ... someone left sweat pants and two blankets piled up by the fire ring ... a start of a good story about the teenagers boy and girl who were camping together when the girl's father showed up and snatched her back to his car at the trailhead ... or the guys who were camping and a copperhead slithered into their midst causing a hasty retreat ... whatever ... my trip was certainly worth all the sweat ...