I headed out into the Sipsey Wilderness from the Borden Creek parking lot on the 29th of December 2008, heading down the west side of Borden Creek. I chose the west and less-traveled side because Borden Creek was up quite a bit (not dangerously so, but still crotch deep) and I intended to get to Fall Creek Falls without having to wade across Borden Creek at the confluence of the Sipsey. I must have walked a mile or so and came upon a crease in the bluff where I could hear water flowing.
I found a level spot up under the corner of the bluff and the crease where I could both see Borden Creek below and hear/see a small waterfall and stream that would be handy for getting fresh water. The bluff was quite high
at that point and I found some wood up under the bluff that had dried out nicely for fire wood ... one old fir log would make excellent fire starter and fuel. I spent some time setting up my campsite and getting wood together to save myself from stumbling around in the dark that night.
The next morning I headed south down the west side of Borden Creek to connect with FT 209 to turn west and find Fall Creek Falls. Hiking was pleasant that morning and although I didn't see anyone for a while on my side of the creek, I did see several people on the east side. I even saw one guy fishing. I didn't see a stringer, so perhaps he was catch-and-release, or was not catching anything. When I got down the trail almost to where I believed it connected with FT 209, I saw two men approaching ... two
men wearing farm overalls ... two men who looked very much like that guy in Deliverance ... However, as they passed--and didn't have much to say--I did notice that they had pretty good equipment ... pads, tents, good packs, etc ... I'll have to say that movie ruined me for seeing older men in the backwoods wearing overalls without forming judgments ...
After connecting with FT 209 and turning west, I came upon a 40-foot falls that had a campsite right at the bottom and grafitti on the wall near it. I hate it when people feel obligated to write their name or girlfriend's name on rock walls near sites that people might enjoy ... It was a nice falls, but didn't seem to me to be what people had described as the big Fall Creek Falls; so, I hiked back to the trail and headed farther west. The next waterfall I came upon was back in a pretty little grotto. It was not a large fall, but the surroundings were nice. It had no grafitti.
The afternoon was winding down and I was about to head back to my campsite when I heard a large waterfall down the trail. Sure enough, it had to be Fall Creek Falls because of the amount of water coming over and the surroundings that had been frequently visited. If I had a GPS, I could have confirmed that it was FCF because some nice person had listed the coordinates on my map. (I do have a NUVI 350, but it only has maps of highways, etc., not topo maps) I took a lot of photos of the falls--I always take way more that I'll ever keep, but that's one of the nice things about a digital camera, isn't it?
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