Sipsey Wilderness question

“Can anyone tell me the condition of Trails #205, 208, 210, & 223?
These are the only ones I've not been on yet. I know some parts get grown over and forgoten about.
Thanks in advance.”

“last I knew 210 was being maintained by the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club and wasn't too bad of shape - we hiked a bit of it during the Braziel hike a couple years ago

208 and 223 are both horse trails (old roads) and other than being typically muddy as all heck are typically fairly clear - 208 was also hiked for a good bit during the Braziel trip and I have hiked 223 on the second maintenance trip when I parked at the Gum Pond gate.

205 on the other hand I don't think is maintained and is probably in very rough shape - I have seen the old trail post for the top end of 205 but even at the post the trail was not obvious - it is however an old road for the most part so it may be possible to follow it

However you did not mention 203 and 207 - have you hiked them yet? They are a couple I want to try someday - for no good reason.
last edited: 9/17/07 4:07:16 PM”

“Hey dude, how ya been doin'? Are you going to Sipsey on the next bushwack? Any time you want to go down there give me a call, I can get away just about anytime. I did a solo hike last year about this time and did part of 209. And how does HOI find out all the info on Sipsey living up there in W.VA???”

“no problem - its only 11 hours of driving and I am there”

“I've got a frind at work that has never been and had ask me about it. Besides some of the obviously classic places, I wanted to hit trail that I'd not done yet.

Thanks for the info HOI. That will help me pick a route. My maps don't show 203 & 207. Are they new?
I don't have a date in mind for the trip. My work schedual is pretty crazy so it'll probably be a last min trip.”

“207 leads down from near the East end of 208 to cross Borden Cr. and ends up at Crooked Bridge (Borden Cr. TH) - on the Backcountry Trail Surveys map it is shown as another part of 210 - coming from Crooked Bridge it seems the crossing is a bit confusing and a lot of people lose the trail at that point

203 is shown on the Carto-Craft map - goes from Crooked Bridge up toward the BW Wildlife Management building (sort of), leaves the wilderness area and crosses the road part of 208 and then wanders up toward the Central Lookout area near the BW Work Center”

“Sooner or later I will have to conquer the deamon and return to the scene of the broken leg.”

“I've been on that east end a few times and don't really recommend it. It just didn't feel like Sipsey.

You could start at the Rec area, go up 209, take the side trail to the big tree, take the route out of the canyon and tie into 204 then to 224 I think it is. This is the old road bed that heads west towards the Thompson Creek TH, then follow the river back to your car.”

“207 and 203 are shown on this map: http://www.sipseywilderness.org/maps/EntireWildernessArea.pdf”

“well 207 goes along Braziel Cr. so it might be somewhat interesting but 203 is just a walk in the woods and somewhat hard to follow by all reports”

“I've bushwhacked Braziel almost to Borden. I must've been really close to 207 the whole time. The only thing that stood out is another Eye of the Needle and a creek where MDS and I camped once that I call jigsaw puzzle rocks. There was also a creek that went underground and came back up at the jigsaw rocks.

Needel from a distance:

Jigsaw puzzle rocks



Creek coming out of the ground

”

“It no longer exists.....frequent blowdowns from storms have literally obliterated it....in one case I found it and lost it again in less than twenty yards...(it's REALLY bad).”

“I did 205 about 3 years ago and there was really only 1 spot that I recall "losing the trail" and that was in the bottom right before you head up to the ridge. Once we got up on the ridge however, it was literally a nightmare climbing through the downfall. Took us roughly 3 hours to go about a mile through it, taking our packs off every 20 feet or so to hand it over under and through a mesh of pine trees. The fact that a solid thunderstorm blew in right about that time and we didn't have any rain gear sure didn't help things. Definitely learned a couple of lessons on that trip :)

Sucks because that could be a really nice trail if someone would clear it...”

“Is 205 the one that goes from Eye of the Needle and up the ridge at the rim of White Oak? I had to use that trail once at night to get back to my West Bee campsite. 3 guys, one headlight. We'd gotten lost hiking out of Quillen towards the road. You do walk in a circle when lost. We were somewhere West of the route in we've been using for a few years now.”

“Oh, that's right dh...I was thinking about the trail that runs along the ridge above and east of Bee Branch. I've done the stretch of 205 from the White Oak intersection down to 209 though. Lots of blowdown but easily navigable.”

“damn, why do all eastern and midwestern forests look alike?”

“The one you're thinking of 204. I've barely done any of that.

The first time I ever went to Sipsey I had the directions to turn up Bee and at the first side creek hang a right. I did just that. ABout 200 yards up Bee you come to a creek maybe 3' wide. This was the first side creek so I went up it. I was met with very steep side and went maybe 50 yards and came to a wall of rock with a small falls. I found a way for my dog and I to climb up this rock...what was I thinking....I get on top of the falls and am just following the creek in the woods and tie into the bottom of 204. I couldn't see the trail but see a group of about 4 people hiking. They tell me where the big tree was but it didn't sink in because Elroy had a sheath knife down to his knee. I backtracked and complete the 201/209/202 loop and headed home.

I didn't actually climb anything dangerous, but had I fallen no one would have known I was where I was.”

“204 was cleared out a couple years ago so it is not too bad now (maybe - don't really know) - the first time I did it it was as toph indicated - a real mess of blowdown from where the side trail to Big Tree leaves 204 down to 209”

“I did 204 many years ago. Seems pointless when you can just go down Bee Branch. Not much to see on it.
I understand 207 now. That looks like a good plan to walk it to 208 and then follow it all the way to Thompson. That way I could get on 209 and finish the loop. I could hit Bee Branch on the way out. That would make a nice 3 day trip.

Thanks everybody!”

“Heer is a pikter of me and my hubsand Gissmaeioux gettin a bare some good ressel ups at trale leventy siks for.”