Photo hike in Sipsey

“Arky, I'll to defer to thirtypack on the crap hauling contest. I'm going to take the minimum I can get by with since I'll be carrying my gear and my sons gear. This will be the first time in a few years that I'll be using a tent instead of a tarp. I gotta corral the little bugger in.”

“Crap, I'm out for sure on this one now. I have to go to Reston, VA for a meeting on Friday and Saturday. Looks like I'll try to take my son hiking somewhere this weekend.”

“We'll miss you.
I can't wait to get back in the Sipsey.”

“Question,when are most of you planning on getting to the parking lot?Please post so all of us will have some idea of when to arrive.I can be there most anytime on Friday.”

“I'll get there before dark, I hope.
I'll be driving up from the MS Coast so I've got a pretty good drive.
If I can't get off work till lunchtime, It'll be after dark.

I know the way to the Falls, but not how to get up to the top where we will camp. I figure it can't be to hard to find.”

“Right before you get to the falls, there is a faint game trail that leads up the hill. IIRC, it kinda doubles back a little, then goes around and up the hill in the direction of the falls. BAMA will correct any horrible mistake I have made, lol...”

“Bring your climbing equipment!!!!”

“No....wait...I'll leave a trail of cookie crumbs....LOL......”

“Now divinity don't scare anyone about climbing gear. It ain't bad. Once you get to the top follow the trail to the left. No problem. I will be there either at dark thirty or if I have to work half the night I'll be there about 11ish friday night. I will either be in a blue ford 4x4 truck or a green aveo hatchback.

BAMA”

“If I can get off work Saturday...I will be there about 2-3pm FRIDAY.....I will be the official TT Trip Greeter......It will be an easy trip in providing Borden Creek isn't too high.....and It isn't too bad of a climb........if this old broad can do it......anyone can......”

“If I can get off work Saturday...I will be there about 2-3pm FRIDAY.....I will be the official TT Trip Greeter......It will be an easy trip in providing Borden Creek isn't too high.....and It isn't too bad of a climb........if this old broad can do it......anyone can......”

“oops...sorry...my computer is acting crazy...maybe the full moon......

:o”

“I plan on doing some trail maintenance in Sipsey in the week before this trip so I may be there waiting for you div - don't freak if you find a hammock set up above the falls - if it has a green 10x10 syl tarp over it that will be me.”

“Ok HOI.....I would have ran you off thinking you took our campsite!!!....


Ya mean I won't have to go over any logs with these short legs?????...wooohoooo.....”

“I have the kids that weekend but I am considering bringing them. How far of a hike do we have. I will have the monster pack on if the kids go.

4 or 5 miles with an 80 pounder isn't too bad, but climbing a cliff with it might be a challenge.”

“chili - it's only a mile and the Borden crossing will probably be ankle deep or less. I've been able to walk across Borden without taking my shoes off at dry times of the year.”

“I could piggyback the girls across Borden.”

“Easily. My concern was more for getting Reece up the far slope and getting him up the game trail to camp than anything else. I was looking forward to that first stretch before Borden because of all of the beach sand you hike in. Remember that there are generally two trails along that stretch. They intertwine back and forth and lead to the same place since you're constrained by the bluff line 30 yards away. You can even take the high road and they can take the low road and feel like they are exploring.

BAMA had a great idea for me and that was to let my son take along a disposable camera so that he'd feel like one of the big boys. He was excited about this one.”

“It will be touch and go for me and most of the decision will be on what the weather is like.”

“I'll be coming up from Florida,I will not get to the parking lot until midnight Friday or early Sat. Morning.”

“Matt - from the parking lot, go under the road bridge and follow the trail down the hill. You will start to go back up a small incline and on the right is an area big enough for 2 tents or so. This is about 100 yards from the parking lot. It's close, convenient, and safe. If you want to go a bit further just follow the trail a half mile to the intersection of Borden Ck. This is is hard to miss because you are constrained by the river and the bluff line. These two are only 30 yards apart, so you can't get lost. When you get to the intersection with Borden the trail will bend upstream. If you turn and follow it for about 20 yards there is a nice campsite there too.”

“Is everyone heading out on Sunday.”

“That's usually the case. If you want to hang around I'm sure BAMA can point you to tons of stuff to check out on your own. Check out my post on your South Carolina thread.”

“Chili...your kids will have a BALL!!!...LOTS to explore in that area....and usually a bunch of boys here and there...I have an extra backpack if ya need it....( two if my roomy won't come)”

“Yes, please bring Pat!
She will enjoy it!”

“uh oh, divinity and cottonsocks, together again.......
I may camp the next canyon over. ;-)”

“SS - that'll be too close. You'll still hear them.”

“LMAO...hahahahaha..........my roomy is a blast too.........and I would love to see socks again!!!...we behaved in MIssouri!!!

SS...I am trying to get her to come.......I got a second kayak so I could drag her out in it..LOL......

DON'T anyone give her tequila!!!


But we never take booze or drink there!!!!”

“Put me back to being there sometime before daylight saturday. Depending on what time I can get off work. I may have to work until midnight. If so I'll be in camp about 3 am. I remember the first time I met walkingdude and packrat it was before daylight, I nearly go dogbit. Neither of us knew whos dog it was. It just decided to hang with the dude and packrat. So if any of ya'll are camping on the trail in and someone comes walking through in the wee hours it will be ALA and I. Crossing Borden shouldn't be a problem, if you are concerned about getting up the far bank, walk upstream about 15 yards and you can get out better. This is a little deeper crossing but it can be made in the dark without going over boot tops if we don't have a big rain. Go into the water at the normal place take one short step to get good footing. Then one long step to get over a deep spot. Now walk about 3 steps up the creek and slightly to the left. Take 1 big step directly across the creek. Now take 4 steps up creek and slightly to the left. Now turn on about a 45 deg left an walk to the bank. The bank is not as steep there. Even if you do not get the steps correctly the work cast is you will get your feet wet. There ain't any dangerous holes. Now to get up the "cliff" is no problem. There is a game trail going up it ain't a cliff its a hill. It can easly be done with a very heavy pack looking up the hill you will see a tree that is your target. Once up there it is pretty much flat. At the top of the hill the trail goes to the left. This is the only dangerous part of the trip. To the left of the trail is a dropoff. Stay away from this. The trail is well away from the dropoff just don't wander off to the left. I ain't bad, ALA was walking this trail unaided well before he was 7.

BAMA”

“http://community.webshots.com/photo/99603145/99606218BdhzRi
Sipsey River / Borden Creek Junction
View from the trail as you come to the junction. The creek is bigger than the river here.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/99603145/99603563lyOwop
Divinity wadeing up the Sipsey River from Borden Creek (butt view)
This is pretty much the way BAMA is saying to go.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/94921197/94989812XdVHJf
Crossing Borden Creek to Sipsey River trail
This is the bank directly across the creek, easyer way is to wade over to the left and up the river.
last edited: 10/27/04 7:11:09 PM”

“This place looks cool as hell. I can't wait!
I was going to stay in Alabama two days, now I'm thinking a week.”

“http://community.webshots.com/album/94921197tMOLVH
http://community.webshots.com/album/99603145tJHgBb
http://community.webshots.com/album/64111113jyjYCx
Here's the albums of the Sipsey I have.”

“flatlander.....you will NOT be disappointed.....Sipsey is a GEM!!!

Stovey.....quit showing pics of my butt....

and there is no easy way for me to ford Borden Creek....last time I just crossed and went up to the right of the original trail....there were some roots to hold on to ......I just got a bit dirty......got my boots wet...barely....BUT it was ok...I wanted to break them in......Fall Creek Falls is only half a mile from the Sipsey/Borden Creek fork
...an nice hike......”

“Thanks for the photo's Stomper.”

“Matt - I have a few Sipsey folders at the link in my profile. Did you see my last post on your SC thread?”

“Yes, This sounds great. I'll be there in Alabama until Monday maybe Tuesday. From the photo's that you have sent me ,I'm going to make a return trip. I would like to take some photo's of the bridges there, and then head into GA. I have found 13, thanks to all Ya'lls help.
last edited: 10/28/04 8:07:09 AM”

“Check out the Sipsey in late Feb on the trips page.”

“If anyone decides to cross Borden by way of walking up the river. Be careful not to venture out into the river more than 5 yards. There is a hole that will get you wet to your waist. If you chose this route go into borden and aim for the river/borden bank. Once you get this far you can pretty much wade sipsey anywhere there aint no big holes for a 100 yards.
FLM it sounds like you are into history. There is a united states territory marker tree not far from where we will be camping. It was marked before Al. became a state. If you want I can show you this.

BAMA”

“I would like to see that, and get the low down on this place. I hope the weather is good so I can set up my camera, but if it rains I'll hike around and check what I can out. I sometimes drink a little scotch, but I'm thinking ''''''
''''' Tequila”

“Matt, I have been there once when Bama led a bushwhacking trip. He knows Sipsey. We were standing at the tree he was talking about and still couldn't see the markings on it until he highlighted them with something. It was really cool.
I am going to try amd make it. It has been 2 yrs since I was there. Plus I have a new camera I want to play with :)”

“The best weay I can describe Sipsey is out of this world. I have been going there for about 35 years. I still discover things I had no ideal was there. A friend of mine told me about this marker tree only about 4 years ago. He has been out there longer than I and he didn't know of it until about the time I did. It took me 3 trips to find it. He told me about where it was but its hard to find one a specific tree in the forest.
Sipsey was carved from the glaciers and up heaving of the plates. The canadian hemlock that are there are from seeds brought down with the glaciers. Sipsey means "many waterfalls" in and old indian language. There are over 1000. This same friend and I were with another guy that really knows the forest when we all saw a waterfall over 100 feet tall for the first time a couple of years ago. Think about this. The three of us have spent a lot of bootleather in sipsey and none of us knew about the 100' fall. Thats what sipsey is about. Its full of surprises. There are numberous indian shelters and camps in the forest. There is a lot of civil war sites in the forest. When the indians had to leave for the trail of tears many of them went into the forest to escape. Many married into the whitemans family and stayed there until everthing cleared over. That is why so many of us in the area can trace our roots to indian. There are mineral and tar springs that was used for medicine for early settlers. There was even a hotel built out there so people could eat the tar and stay overnight. This was supposed to cure illness. Although I have never tried eating the tar staying overnight out there does make me feel better at least. At least it does clear my mind. There are mysteries and some say ghost. I do know about some of the mysteries but so far I ain't seen any ghost. The climate out there can be entirely differant from the surrounding area. There is one place that the temperture is 6 deg cooler that on the ridge. There are plants there that does not grow anywhere else in the world. Some were only discovered in the 40's. The largest tree in the southeast is also there. I can go out there and go to places I have been a thousand times and see things I have never saw before. I know I"m kinda partial to sipsey because its less than 5 miles from my doorstep. But it is the prettiest place I have seen. 2nd place would be a canyon on the salmon river in Idaho but that is another story.

BAMA

BAMA”

“What kind of camera did you buy.”

“I bought a Kodak DX7590. I ordered it last night so it should be here in time for the trip. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2797&pq-locale=en_US”

“Looks good,do you take allot of photo's”

“The first time I went to Sipsey was about 4 years ago. I was just getting into hiking and hadn't backpacked yet. I read a bit about Sipsey, bought a map, and thought what the heck. My lab and I loaded up one Feb morning and did the 201/209/202 loop. I think those are the numbers. About 3 miles in we drop down off the ridge and into the canyon. I remember this feeling like I'd jumped back in time. It almost looked pre-historic. Big ferns, trees that don't normally grow in Alabama, huge boulders. I've been dozens of times since, but whenever I think of Sipsey I think of that feeling the first time.”

“Matt, I take a lot, not sure if there that great or not. I enjoy taking pictures. I have thought about taking a class on beginning digital camera's and learning what I can.

I post all of my trips on webshots. http://community.webshots.com/user/ewker
The last set I posted (kayak trip) was taken using a reg. point and shoot 35mm camera because someone stole my digital.”

“dayhiker, Sipsey was my second bping trip. A lot of first on this trip though, first TT trip, first night hiking, first river crossing, first time setting my new tent up in the dark.”

“Ewker, I'm the same way. I've gotten better than joe blow, but you don't have to look far on this board to see what folks with some real know how can do. I'd love to take a class if I could find the time.

That blows about the theft.

btw, I still link folks to your page occaisionally because of the rubber ducky pic of me that you have.”

“I just take snapshots.
My digital camera is a cheap one but does fine for web use.

I'm going just to be back in the Sipsey with some good folks, and to FINIALY meet BAMA and ALA!”

“Gosh I hate that I can't go on this one.”