News Bulletin on the Walls of Jericho

"The state’s Forever Wild program has recently acquired hundreds of acres of biologically important forest in Jackson County, Ala. The 535-acre Sims, Swaim and Johnson addition to the Walls of Jericho Forever Wild tract was purchased in May 2010 from the Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy with support from a $640,000 Forest Legacy grant from the USDA Forest Service. The land is located along the Estill Fork tributary to the Paint Rock River and is adjacent to the James D. Martin-Skyline Wildlife Management Area.

The Sims, Swaim and Johnson addition will be used for public recreation and conservation efforts, and will increase public access to the popular Walls of Jericho trail system located near the communities of Skyline and Hytop. State lands managers have documented more than 15,000 hiking and horse trail users annually on the growing trail system. New land acquisitions such as this ensure the public's access to the property and enhance the quality of life that state lands afford Alabamians.

Considered one of the most biologically diverse and important regions in the United States, the Walls of Jericho Tract supports several species of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians and plants recognized under the Alabama Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy as species of highest conservation concern. As part of the Paint Rock River watershed, this area contains several springs and more than 3,000 feet of perennial stream habitat along Estill Fork Creek. The habitats within and along the Estill Fork waterway support some of the last remaining populations of several species of fish and mussels protected under the federal Endangered Species Act."

The preceding was a release from the Alabama Forever Wild program. My only concern here is that the more people that come to this area the more ecological damage that can be done. Of course, I am being selfish.

The Walls of Jericho 2

The Walls of Jericho

Curbie and I left the house this morning at 3:30 am for the 2.5 hour trip to the Walls of Jericho. The area is just a few miles north of HiTop, Alabama which is just north of Skyline, Alabama on Alabama Highway 79. To put this in better context this area is about 25 miles north of Scottsboro and just a few miles south of the Tennessee border. In other words, it is in the middle of nowhere.
We hiked the 3 miles down to the Walls of Jericho in a couple of hours. The hike was all down hill and not that tough except for a few rocky places. Curbie decided to chase after a coyote but fortunately she came back to my whistle. If I lost Curbie on the trail I do not think Karen would let me back in the house.
There was not much water flowing at the falls but the scenery was exceptional. One deep pool below one of the falls was deep enough to swim in and the water was very cold. What was evident is that when the water is flowing in the creeks during the wet season this place will be spectacular. The Walls of Jericho is actually more of a box canyon with streams coming in from several directions. Rocks abound and look like the steps up to a monument.
It is becoming a very popular area as several groups arrived while I was there. Most of the people were coming down to swim in the swimming hole. One group was rappelling and climbing some of the rock outcroppings. Another group had their young sons on an overnight trip. As I was hiking out I passed 5 more groups coming in.
I photographed for about an hour until the light was used up. This is the first landscape photography I have done since Big Bend National Park and I found myself a little rusty. I have attached some photos to this page for your review.
I hiked out which was 3 miles of total uphill during the heat of the day. I was glad to see the truck at the parking lot and so was Curbie. We had a lot of fun, stayed healthy and took some decent photos.

And the walls came tumbling down

The title is the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about my upcoming weekend jaunt to North Alabama. Not too far outside of Scottsdale is a beautiful natural area that until recently was on private land and not accessible by the general public. The Nature Conservancy and the State of Alabama came together to purchase and make available an area that spans Alabama and Tennessee. The Walls of Jericho as it is called is a wonderful waterfall area at the bottom of a very large canyon. Beth Young has taken some very nice photographs of this area recently and I want to have a look for myself.

Curbie and I will drive up there on Saturday morning and hike the 2.5 miles down the canyon for a morning of photography. I am going to put on my photography backpack complete with camera, lenses and tripod along with a daypack for water and a late breakfast. I hope that there is waterflow in the falls but if not I will know what to expect for a follow-up trip in the rainy season.

Curbie kept trying to understand why I did not take her anywhere this last weekend. I think she knows what day of the week it is and I hurt her feelings. I will make up for it on Saturday. I hope to come back with some decent pictures and if so will post them on this site.

Home on the Range

Curbie and I did not venture out this weekend because of the hot, humid and possible morning thunderstorm forecast for the regions. Curbie does not like thunder so I did not want to subject her to that two weekends in a row.
I was sitting at the computer this morning surfing the web looking for interesting things to read or view. I always like to see how other people do things hoping that I might improve the way I do things. I also confess to being one of the worlds worst gear heads. The internet proves that I am not alone in this affliction. Most of the backpacking forums have a section specifically for gear. So I thought in the oft chance that someone might actually read this blog other than me and a couple of my close friends and family, I would provide a list of the gear that I use to pack with.

I know that this seems self-indulgent and it is. But of course keeping a backpacking blog may be the ultimate in self-indulgence. However, if this helps someone better understand the sport or creates discussion then it was worth it.

So below is a listing of most of the gear that I will be using in Big Bend in January. Packpack Granite Gear Nimbus Meridian Ultralight
Sleeping Bag Marmot Down Mummy Bag 25 degrees
Tent Marmot 1 man backpacking tent with fly (freestanding)
Sleeping Pad Thermarest mini self inflate (25 years old)
Stove MSR Whisperlite
Hydration MSR Dromedary Bag (2 Liter)
Hydration 4 Nalgene bottles (1 Liter)
Water Filter MSR mini works
Illumination Princeton headlamp
Minimag flashlight
Orienteering U. S. Army lensatic compass
Silva Clear plastic compass for map work
Cold Weather clothing Cabellas Down Parka (25 years old and stuffable)
North Face polar fleece stocking cap
Columbia Fleece pullover
Capalene thermal tops and bottoms
Magellan long sleeve simplex shirt
Magellan zip out legs cargo pants
Smart Wool hiking socks
North Face ski gloves
Hat Bandana
Tilley ventilated hat
Raingear North Face rain pants
Magellan poncho
Boots Merrill Moab mid-length hiking boots
First Aid MSR first aid kit (25 years old)
Cooking MSR cook kit (25 years old)
Food Backpacker Pantry
Utensils Lexan Spoon
Lexan measuring cup to also be used as drinking cup
Miscellaneous Granite gear stuff sacks (4)
Tent, sleeping pad and backpacking repair kit
Nikon Travelite binoculars
Emergency whistle with small compass and thermometer
Maps
Garbage bag (take out trash and can be used as pack cover)
Swiss Army knife (subscription gift for Outside magazine years ago)
Towettes individually wrapped
Pillow case (stuff parka into for sleeping)
Plastic entrenching tool
Ziploc bags (1 gallon size)
Moleskin for blister prevention
Sunscreen
Earl Grey Tea
Equal (cant leave home without it)
Trail mix (with M & M’s)
One large Hershey bar (to get up the last of that mountain)
Fig Newtons
Melba toast (whole wheat)

"Sipsey di do dah"

Curbie the wonder dog and I got up early Saturday morning and drove up to the Sipsey Wilderness which is north of Double Springs. We took 195North out of Double Springs until we hit County Road 23 at around mile marker 23. We turned left and went down a couple of gravel Forest Service roads until it deadended at the Thompson Trail Head.

It was very humid and damp on the trail in that it rained the night before. It was not long until I was soaking wet. The trail was beautiful with some great Hemlock trees and moss covered rocks. The trail eventually came to to the Sipsey River and all its cascades and huge rocks in and around the river. Curbie had a lot of fun smimming in the river and then rolling in the sand bars by the shore.

We continued on till we met the Sipsey River Trail as it came across the river. We hike for another 2 miles to a huge campsite on the Sipsey River. Just up from that campsite was the trail head for the Bee Branch Trail.

We began to head back to the truck at this point. We had already hiked about 6 miles and needed to get back before the bad weather started. As we were coming back it began to thunder which makes Curbie crazy. She went from running and sniffing everything on the trail to almost getting between my legs. She was glad to see the truck to seek safe haven from the thunder.

We had a good time, saw some interesting topography and certainly burned a lot of calories. I look forward to going back again but I will wait until it gets a little cooler.

Tallulah "Bankhead" and "Sipsey" Rose Lee

I know, I know. That is a pretty cheesy title but it is the best I could come up with. I would think any younger readers (if there are any) would say "Who?". For the younger set Tallulah Bankhead was an actress in the 40's and 50's. Gypsy Rose Lee was a famous stripper during the vaudeville days. But I am actually talking about Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness in Lawrence and Winston Counties in North Central Alabama. This area is probably the most popular hiking and backpacking trails in Alabama because of the abundance of waterfalls, hemlock canyons and rock outcroppings.

I acquired a very good map of the area from CartoCraft on Tyler Road in Birmingham. The trails seem to be laid out very well on the map along with other points of interest. If the tropical weather system that is supposed to be in the gulf around the weekend does not interfere, Curbie and I will go up there and look around. I want to do some hiking and exploring some of the trail heads and just get a feel for the country. When you get a chance to put boots on the ground in an area you have never seen before then it is not as intimidating for a solo hiker.

I am becoming more and more comfortable with hiking by myself (at least as far as human company is concerned). The hardest part is just getting out the door and trying the adventure. The more times you do this the more comfortable you get. I am old enough and experienced enough not to get crazy and I understand the risks. For me it all about slaying the demons of the past.

The trip to Peavine Falls

A lot of meat but mostly gristle

This morning the sun was not shining. The day was overcast with clouds hanging low in the sky. I was at the trailhead just a little after six intent on just doing some exploring. I started out on the red trail, joined with the orange trail, green trail and then the yellow trail. Three hours later I was back at the South Trail head soaking wet. It rained at some point during the night so the trail was wet and the humidity could be cut with a knife.

Curbie and I then went up the Peavine Road and hiked down to Peavine Falls. There was nothing hard about the hike but when we got below the falls there was only a trickle. I will post a couple of pictures but only to memorialize the trip. All in all there was a lot of exertion this morning but very little to show for it. But in the end getting out and exploring with Curbie is better than sitting in front of the computer.

"The Heat Is On"

I came out of the gym this morning at 8 am and it was already hot and humid. I think if this weather would break every ones humor would improve. The legs felt good this morning so I upped the intensity on the treadmill and Steven followed that up with some fairly heavy strength work.

Even though it is still going to be hot this weekend I will go out to Oak Mountain State Park and do some hiking. I have not hiked up to Peavine Falls this summer so I think I will make that trek. If I am lucky Curbie and I can pick up a ride back to the trail head. What I may actually do is start at the South Trail head and go up to Peavine Falls and back down to the trail head. Then I can go down the blue trail toward the North Trail head and turn around at some point and come back to the South Trail head.

I am just putting in some miles slowly getting in hiking shape for later. The Pinhoti Loop Trail will probably be my next real adventure. The 17 mile loop can be done in one day but I think I will make an overnight out of it. Curbie has not spent the night out in the woods like this before so I think she will enjoy it. The question is will I enjoy her enjoying it?