Photo hike in Sipsey

“OPIE, ps on the campsite. If you're coming in late there is one that's convenient to the bridge. It's maybe 100 yards in and on your right. You'll cross under the bridge, go downhill, make a small rise of about 20' high and 20 yards long and then there is a clearing on the right, with fire ring, that's big enough for maybe 2 tents.”

“How many are going to be in camp Friday night?I will bring hot dogs and buns for the evening meal.Just need to make sure I bring enough for everyone to have at least two.Please respond and let me know.”

“My daughter suffered from an infection and 104 degree fever all weekend. I don't think it would be prudent to bring her out this weekend.”

“Yow, chili. Hope she's feeling better now.”

“Fever is down, but she still is sort of droopy.”

“Chili, sound thinking and sorry we will miss ya”

“Hope she gets better soon. 104* is sky high. Ouch.

walkabout, I'll be there Friday night.”

“i bet she had some crazy dreams at that kinda temp...i know i've had.

We may make this trip into a hiking trip for us, allowing us to cover more ground for pics. I'll look at the maps online may come in the cemetary..follow that side of the river..then cross over and find you guys Saturday afternoon/evening.
I was asking about other sites near you guys not to be anti-social...but to keep miss opie and her nudist tendancies away from the youngins...and the olduns”

“OPIE - I'll have to tell you about MDS and I coming across a semi-nudist in the Smokies. It was pretty funny.

You could probably hike in that route and just find any canyon to hike up and camp. There is one that I've seen folks coming out of several times. I think it's where the Sipsey heads west about halfway to Bee.”

“PS - you could come in at Thompson, hike to the "hidden campsite of love", and then meet up with everyone mid day on Sat. I have to get to Hamilton on Sun for a birthday party or I'd give you a lift to Thompson. I'm sure someone can drop you off.”

“dayhiker...pics or stfu...lol..jk that's a phrase we use on another board i'm on...i think i know enough about the area to get by..the foliage/undergrowth will play part in it though”

“I was over around Cheaha a week ago and the underbrush was starting to thin out. BAMA mentioned that the leaves were already at peak so you might be in good shape.

No pics, we're just hiking along and look over and there's some chick and her friend sitting there topless.”

“Thanks to everyone for there offers of assistance but I won't be able to make it. Too many things going on right now.

However, I am thinking about coming to Sipsey on Thanksgiving weekend so if anyone is interested let me know.”

“Arky - I'll be in Hamilton that weekend. I was thinking of seeing if my dad wanted to see the Indian carvings one day. I might be kicking around over there then.

What areas are you going to checkout then? Is Parker coming with you?”

“No definite plans yet. If I bring Parker I'm sure he will want to see the main sites. I'll know more in a couple of weeks. If we go alone I'll probably need to buy a map. Where is the best place to get one?”

“I got mine from the 'net at a place that is no longer in business. Alabama Outdoors sales them online. I'll double check on the place where I got mine. It's a better map than what Alabama Outdoors sales. There's is all red. Kinda hard to read in low light. Mine is the same one slowroller scanned and linked above.”

“Walkabout, I won't be there Friday for the hotdogs , but thanks anyway. It will be after midnight before I get there, unless I can get up the road around noon. they are telling me it's about a 9 maybe 10 hour drive from GNV Florida. Still have a couple 120 BW film if anyone shoots it.”

“flat Matt - how are you coming? Gainesville to 231 to Dothan to Montgomery to B'ham to Cullman to Sipsey?

Arky - here's some info I found when I searched on the. The google search led me back here to some info I'd posted a while back:

Maps - The map I have was available on the net, but their site is down. The phone # is 1-877-EAGLEV1 The company name is Eyrye, a Division of EagleVision. Another producer is published by Carto-Craft Maps, Inc.
738 Shades Mountain Plaza
Birmingham, AL 35226
(205) 822-2103”

“flat Matt - how fast do you drive? I'll run this through MS Streets and Trips and see what I get. From Dothan to Montgomery is 4 lane the whole way with 65 limit. I put the cruise on 75 through there a couple of weeks ago with no problem.”

“Going speed limit it says 9 hrs if you go through Atlanta.

75 on interstate and 70 on divided highway gives same route and 8.5 hrs.

80 on interstate and 75 on divided gives same route and 8 hrs. If I take these same speeds and force it through Dothan it says 8.75 hrs. Looks like Atlanta is the way to go, depending on when you hit it with Friday traffic. Beware that a stretch in Alabama has construction. It extends from Pell City/Coosa River crossing and into Leeds. This is east of B'ham. It is patrolled heavily at times, but the construction is now only about 10 miles. The bigger deal will be the collapsed bridge in B'ham. By the time you hit that area it shouldn't be backed up.”

“Thanks Dayhiker, I was't sure how the road was from Dothen. I have about made my mind up to go 75 with the long drive late I can lay back and let it rip.”

“I was surprised at how easy the drive down was. We went to Disney a couple of weeks ago and it was a very easy drive. We picked up my wifes sis and family in Montgomery and had to go that way. The only issues will be when you hit Atlanta. Did you say you're leaving at noon? If so, you should be in camp earlier than you were saying depending on gas stops and supper. Say it takes you 9 hrs total. You'll be at the parking lot at 8 local time since you get the benefit of the time line at the Bama state line. See, Alabama is good for something!

PS - I went to Oneonta this past weekend and took some covered bridge pictures. Are you going to try and visit that area while you're around? It's actually not that far from 65. I'll try and see if I can upload some of the pics to webshots this evening and will post a link here.”

“I didn't think about the time change. I'm going to try to get out of here by noon ,but more than likly 2:00 or 3:00. Yes, I would like to see those bridge pictures. This trip will be 10 days. Alabama,GA,SC. Just back from NC. It was nice with all the color, but I didn't really end up with any good negatives.”

“Alabama opportunities other than Sipsey are covered bridges around Oneonta (they appear on the Alabama Gazeteer and were easy to find), Little River Canyon, Walls of Jericho (nice pic in this months Southern Living) and I'm sure there are others. Cathedral Caverns and Russell Cave(?) are two others that come to mind.”

“From another thread:

NS and Stikmon - the directions are pretty weird, but each time they have been custom from the direction the person is traveling.

NS - coming from east and south you'll be on I-65. Exit at the first Cullman exit labeled Cullman/Addison. This is US 278. Head west. You'll pass through Addison and once in Double Springs will turn right on AL 33 headed north towards Mouton. About 3 miles out you'll come to Winston Rd 6. DON'T take this one. You'll cross into Lawrence Cty, I beleive it is. Regardless of name, when you hit a county line maybe 8-10 miles out of DS then the next left is Lawrence (or whatever the county is) Rd 6. It's the very first road after the line. Take this and after about 3-4 miles you'll come to a concrete bridge. There is a left hand turn just before the bridge. Take this left and you're in the parking lot.

Stikmon - Coming from north and west I'm not as sure about. It depends on which road you come in on. You'll probably be coming in on either AL 195 or 243. These highways join NW of Double Springs. About 1 mile after they join there is a left hand turn. There is a brown building at the turn that looks sort of like a ranger type of building. I think the # is CR23. There is a sign. Turn left onto this road and after maybe a mile there is a large sign telling you to turn right to Sipsey. Take this turn. After 4-5 miles you'll come to the same bridge I mentioned to NS, only you're coming in from the opposite direction. Cross the bridge and turn right into the parking lot.

Both of you: From the parking lot you'll see the bridge that stikmon drove over. Walk up to it and under it. This is the trail. AFter 0.5 miles Borden Creek and the Sipsey River join. Borden comes in from the right. The trail is back from the edge here by maybe 30' and if it's dark you won't see the rvier. Cross Borden Creek and continue along the river for about 0.5 mile. You'll come to a large waterfall. It is maybe 30' tall and typically has a good flow to it. Our campsite is on top of this bluff. Backtrack about 100 yards until you see a game trail leading up the bluff. Take this trail and you'll see camp.

Does this help?””

“I thought you crossed Sipsey River to the trail way b4 Borden creek comes in. I will bring my FRS radio with me so I can be guided in.”

“From the parking lot you'll drop under the bridge, follow along the right side of the river until you hit Borden. Borden comes in from the right/east. Cross Borden and continue along the river.

BAMA - sorry if I'm stealing any thunder. I saw some confusion on another thread, answered it there and copied it here.”

“Wooooooo Hooooooo..I am off Saturday, so I am going to arrive at the trail head on FRIDAY about 3....with my "Lips Bag" full of goodies!!!!...yes....the Lips Bag.....wooooo hoooo.....trying to get my roomy to come....she has only backpacked a few times......She is a great gal.....y'all will love her....”

“div, what does your roomy look like. I may have some spareroom in my tent”

“LOL>.hahaha...she has a BF......sorry.....”

“That wasn't his question!”

“Pat is pretty....ask Stovey....she is blonde.....( and has lost 80Lbs since he saw her) and she is alot of fun.....”

“Please bring Pat! She will enjoy this trip for sure. Tell her I insist she come! I'll bring chocolate! ;-)”

“SS, is bringing out the big guns for a tentmate..he is offering Chocolate..lol”

“All this talk about tentmates has me hoping that my tentmate doesn't wet the bed.”

“LMAO Dayhiker....awww.......”

“My son will sleep through anything when he's really tired. OTOH, he thinks peeing in the woods is cool.”

“Hey....so do I!!!!”

“of setting off all the car alarms and waiting for the calvary. If that don't work, I'll bust out a couple of windows and make alot of noise.

I am a serious "maybe". It all depends on Memphis and sat night.”

“stikmon, come on down we can talk about the paddling trip..assuming I make this trip”

“Y'all gonna stand us up for some women huh????????”

“hehehe...maybe”

“Y'all are sad......


LOL...I would never give up a trip for a date......


maybe that is why I don't have any dates..LOLl.....”

“Dayhiker no problem with you giving directions. I may take for granted some things I think people should know. I may overlook something someone not from around here may not know about.
Opie falls creek falls is 4.5 miles from bee/sipsey junction. The underbrush is just beginning to thin out. Leaves are in peak color. If your staying near Johnson Cemeteries you can follow 202 down to the river and cross.
I should be there around dark or a little later friday night. I'm planning on bringing in a dutch oven and bar-b-queing a couple of rabbits for friday night. I threw my back out at work Sunday so depending on how it is doing as to how much weight I will bring in.

BAMA”

“Bama, sorry if I caused any confusion when giving direction, I get a little excited sometimes…”

“Thank you. Your description and instructions now make sense. It all fits together now with a map I found somewhere and the following:

Sipsey Wilderness Trail Guide

Trail 209 - Sipsey River Trail

Trail Notes: Sipsey Wilderness - Borden Creek Trail

Thanks again. (I still don't know if I can make the trip, but I'm a maybe.)”

“I not going to make it until midnight, but I'm not planning on leaving the area until Monday or Tuesday, I want to check out some of the things Dayhiker has been telling me about. I like this group already. BBQ, Chocolate, And women that like to pee in the woods. It don't get much better than that.”

“Got my new camera today. I can't wait to try it out this weekend”

“nowslimmer - one issue of frequent confusion is that the road you leave 33 for has 3 names. You'll see it listed as 6, 66, or cranal road. It's Lawrence CR6, Winston CR66, and Cranal. About 1 mile after you turn off of 33 you go back into Winston. The first time I went I turned left onto Winston 6 which ties all the way over to AL 195. Confused the hell out of me.

flat Matt - The Quillen folder in my folder is also in Sipsey. I hosted a trip there last March. I'll try to remember to bring a map for you with hand notes on it.”