What a beautiful weekend up in the Sipsey Wilderness. There was not a cloud in the sky and very low humidity. Curbie and I arrived Friday afternoon at the Thompson Creek Trail head with no other vehicles there except a group readying their horses for a trip to Breazelle. After getting my boots on and loading the pack we headed out for your adventure.

We spent the next 3 hours hiking the six miles to the campsite at the intersection of East Bee Trail and the Sipsey River Trail. As we were hiking along the Sipsey River I noticed Curbie stopping and trying to see something. Since I could not see anything I hurried her along. We then came around a big tree and in the bushes was a man looking right at me. I admit that I was startled but I tried not to show it. It turned out that he was with Wild South surveying all the plants in the Sipsey Wilderness. He asked me if I had seen his other two partners down the trail. Curbie could smell them but I never saw them. I need to pay closer attention to her. They told me that I could go see some of their work at www.wildsouth.org.

After that we had an uneventful walk to the campsite. What a beautiful area of the Wilderness. The river just below the campsite is filled with boulders and there is a small little drop in the riverbed that makes for the serene sound of gurgling water the entire time you are there. Some boulders were at the end of a small path to the river which made for a great view in both directions. Sitting on the boulders filtering water was a very nice experience.

I got camp set up as soon as we got there. My Marmot tent is always easy to set up especially with the ground being so soft. I set up the hammock, fixed a run rope for Curbie and then got the cook stove and other gear ready. Then it was just time to sit back, relax, but your worries aside and enjoy the surroundings.

The night would up being nice and cool but not as cold as I thought. I was expecting temperatures in the mid-40’s but I do not think it got that cold. Once it got dark Curbie would not leave my side. I think she was missing the other dogs. She spent the night in the tent sleeping at my feet. I got up at around 4 to make some coffee and everytime I turned on my flashlight she came out of the tent. As soon as I would turn off my flashlight she would get back into the tent. I have no clue what that was all about.

After breaking camp the next morning we headed up East Bee Branch headed to the Big Tree. The Big Tree is thought to be the largest Poplar in the State of Alabama and sits in a beautiful canyon with a beautiful waterfall when there is water. It is very dry in Alabama (could not make a fire in the Sipsey which was a bummer) so I knew the falls would not be there. What I was not prepared for was the amount of dead fall in the trail to the Big Tree. All of this dead fall was an aftermath of Hurricane Ivan a few years ago. For an old man with a backpack on this was tough trucking. I am not the most graceful person in the world but going over and under fallen trees was very taxing. Since I was going to out and back the trail I was having to do it twice. The tree was a large tree and the canyon quite nice and peaceful. I would love to spend some time there during the rainy season.

We got back to the truck around 1:30 and I was very tired. That was 9 miles of hiking today with some of it being in rough terrain and a 35 pound pack on my back. I made a decision in embrace light-weight packing from now on. I need to reduce my backpack weight by at least 10 pounds. I can still carry the weight but sometimes it is not as enjoyable when your knees and hips are killing you.

It was a great trip and the good news was that the bugger bear did not get me.