Borden Creek, Sipsey Wilderness - October 2008

First weekend in October ... I thought it would be a little cooler. It was cooler at night ... the bag felt good, but it was sweaty hiking during the day. I arrived at the Borden Creek trailhead about 1:00 AM on Saturday (that is not a misprint). I have a good headlamp and the campsites aren't very far down the trail, so I left Columbus about halftime of the football game and arrived at the late night hour.

Because there were seven or eight tents (Boy Scouts, church group, or something) on the main (east side) Borden Creek trail, I crossed the bridge and headed down the west side of the mostly dry creek. I would have gotten to a campsite without waking anyone of the other campers except for the large white dog in the first campsite. He came loudly barking as I neared his master's tent in the middle of the trail, so I went down the embankment into the creekbed to get around the dog and tent. Climbing back up the trail to a few fading barks, I headed on down until I camp to a level campsite on which to quickly pitch my tent for the night. Like a good watchdog, he barked a few more times as I took my tentpoles out and lenghtened them.
It was good to finally lie down and listen to the night sounds ... which included a large owl with a deep hoot. Of course, I didn't SEE the owl to know that it was large, but I concluded that from the deep hooting when he was marking his hunting territory for the night. I hear owls almost everytime I go anywhere in the wilderness, but they rarely sound as mature as this one ... and he was closeby.
Saturday morning brought a beautiful sunrise down along the creek. I fired up my Jetboil for coffee and surveyed the land of which I hadn't seen much from the night before. While looking around I noticed a fairly high area up above the trail which looked as if it might level out for a campsite. When I walked up the hillside, I found a firering and level area for a nice campsite looking over and down on the trail and Borden Creek. The firering didn't appear to have been used in quite a while, but the campsite was off the well-used trail, so I would have some privacy when people went down either side of the creek.

I quickly moved my pack, my tent, and my coffee up the hill to my new campsite for the weekend. At one time I had planned to pack back up and go on a mile or two down the trail, but shortly before arriving had decided to set up a base camp near the bridge where I could dayhike anyplace up or down Borden Creek. Getting my camp organized, I decided to hike down to the intersection of FT 209 on the east side. cross the creek, and come back up the west side to my campsite.
If you haven't been down the Borden Creek trail, you might night know about the Fat-Man's-Squeeze through the "cave" on the trail.One does have to turn sideways to make it through. Packs have to be held low or dragged through the crack in the rocks.I have observed several Scout Masters along Sipsey trails who would not be able to make it through the Squeeze.
The bluffs on both sides are wonderful with ferns, moss, lichen, and such all over them. It was fun trying to get a few camera shots with the sun moving from one side to the other. I spent a few hours on the trails just taking some photos and nodding to others who passed along the way. Both sides of the trail are fairly easy and can be hiked in street shoes on a dry day. I saw fathers and mothers with stairstep children, even some carrying small babies, so you know the trail is fun for children and adults.

I love to see families out in the woods. Does my heart good to know that some parents are teaching their children an appreciation for being out. My hope is that the parents had used bug repellents on their children to keep the abundant mosquitos and chiggers at bay. I had my trusty 100% DEET, so nothing got near me ...

Sunday morning I decided to explore a new (for me) trail: Braziel Creek. After finally finding the trailhead for this one and crossing Borden Creek, I traveled northwest along Braziel Creek. This is a very, very nice trail which changes altitude along the way ... up across the side of a ridge and back down along the creek. I had my camera out and got some nice shots of fall colors in the leaves that had fallen in the water. There was not much water in Braziel Creek, but enough to trickle along. I must have hike about two miles up the creek before I turned around. The amazing thing to me is that I did not see a campsite/fire-ring along the entire two miles of the trail. I saw where I might pitch a tent, but I didn't see an established campsite. Maybe not many folks go up this way ... I dunno ... just didn't see any campsites ... which, of course, made me want to return and find the solitude there along a beautiful stream.

I did pass one older couple coming south on the trail. They weren't very talkative ... nor was their large, slobbery dog, so we nodded and move on in opposite directions. This trail connects to a trail in the north part of the wilderness. I might try to come in from that direction when I have more time.

Before I left Braziel, I filled my water bottles that I had carried empty on the hike. The water seemed a little less silty and easier on my SweetWater filter. The water was not cool, so I assumed that the springs loading the creek were well up the watershed.

Monday morning I was up early to clean my campsite. This was one of the better campsites I have found in the Wilderness. Generally, most of the campsites are overused, but, since this one was off the trail by 40 yards, it wasn't overused. The only negative is that the floor of my tent was not quite level, so I slid downhill a bit--not much, but some.

About noon, I girded up my loins, got my gear in my vehicle and drove out of the wilderness back into "civilization." Oh, for a few more days and nights in the Sipsey Wilderness. I think if I ever retire, I will spend much more time there. That big hoot owl and I should get together more often.