Sipsey Wilderness, Bankhead National Forest

Well kiddos, I finally took the trip up to Sipsey Wilderness like I've been dreaming about for a while. I was not disappointed. I'll let Wikipedia give you the skinny on these forests-

"The William B. Bankhead National Forest is Alabama's largest National Forest, with 181,230 acres (733 km²),^[1] and is home of Alabama's only National Wild and Scenic River, the Sipsey Fork. It is located in northwestern Alabama, around the town of Double Springs; it is named in honor of William B. Bankhead, a longtime U.S. Representative from Alabama.^[2]

Known as the "land of a thousand waterfalls," this vast monument to nature and man is popular for hiking, horseback riding, hunting, boating, fishing, swimming, canoeing and more. Within the forest lies the Sipsey Wilderness with a host of wildlife and an abundance of swift streams, limestone bluffs, and waterfalls. Native American relics abound in Bankhead, one of the Southern United States's premier sites for petroglyphs, prehistoric drawings, and rock carvings, at sites such as the Kinlock Shelter."

A wilderness preserve is a federally designated area that is in pristine condition, untouched by human engineering. There are no bridges, no roads, nothing but paths beaten by hiking boots. No electricity, no cell phone service, no plumbing, it is primitive. While much of the land in Sipsey was logged at one time, the Old Growth Forests still exist, and new growth has overtaken the logged areas completely. It's a dream land for those wanting to get away for a little while.

The route I planned to hike is the 209 Sipsey River trail. It starts at the Sipsey recreational area and skips across Borden Creek and up the river towards some old growth forests, including Alabama's oldest tree (which I did not find-yet). I hit the trail around 2 p.m. There was a woman hitting the trail at the same time, an officer from the Army who is going to bomb disposal school. We hiked for a little ways together exploring some of the waterfalls. The neat thing about meeting strangers on trails is you can almost always strike up a conversation with them. They are generally good, interesting people. I parted ways with Jordan after we forded Borden Creek and I made my camp. At only about 4 miles of hiking I had seen several waterfalls.

The water of the Sipsey River and surrounding creeks is almost crystal clear. It has a slight green tinge to it, giving it a jade appearance. It's gorgeous.

I managed to set up camp that night and get a fire going. By this point I was all alone, no one around for miles. The moon was full that night, and cast enough light to walk by if you wanted. The forest comes alive at night, and can be a little terrifying when you're alone.

The next morning as I was clearing my camp and cleaning up my mess a hiker walked up behind me and yelled good morning. I was a bit startled as I had thought I was alone still. His name is David, an avid hiker of the Sipsey area. He was going bushwhacking to look for some offtrail waterfalls. We talked and hiked together for a bit and I found him to be a real pleasant person to be around. We parted ways as he went looking for his waterfalls and I continued up 209 to find Bee Branch.

I ended up not getting to Bee Branch Falls after twisting my ankle. I wrapped it up tight and started the hike back out deciding I better not stay in the bush with a busted ankle overnight. I ran into David again and stopped to talk for a bit. Unfortunately he didn't locate his falls. He said he would try again in the winter when the leaves are down. I may try to help him.

I made my way out pretty exhausted. I hated to leave but was in no shape to stay. I figured out I have to change my backpacking strategy from the old days. It's a whole new game in Sipsey. It's more efficient to bring a water filter rather than packing water in, and I need to go with some backpacker meals rather than canned food. I'm putting together a new ultralight pack, and getting some trekking poles to help with load distribution and balance. I can't wait to get back out there.