The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Birmingham Hiking Meet-Up group was off to the Pinhoti Trail this weekend for a 10 mile day hike of a section of the trail just off the Talledega Scenic Highway.  We left from the parking lot at the Cracker Barrel on 280 and joined up with another group at the Target in Oxford, Alabama.  The total count of hikers was 31 and was a diverse group age-wise.

The good part of the hike was that the weather was nice and warm.  By the end of the day the temperatures had risen to mid-to-high 70's.  There was a little breeze and the humidity did not seem to be that high.  The start of the hike was 3 miles on an old CCC road that would connect us to the Pinhoti Trail.  What was interesting about the road hike was all of the rock work done by the CCC back in the 30's and 40's.  The Civilian Conservation Corps was started by Franklin Roosevelt in an effort to get people back to work.  A lot of the work done was in National Parks and National Forests and their handiwork has stood the test of time.

 
As we arrived at the Pinhoti Trail I was at the back of the pack as far as hikers.  The only problem with that was that there was no rest break and we were off down the trail.  About a mile into the Pinhoti section of the hike I noticed that I really had no spring in my step and was beginning to struggle on the uphill portions of the trail.  I was beginning to feel somewhat bad and also feel the effects of the sun on my face.  After about 4 miles into the hike on the trail and 7 miles total, I arrived at the designated lunch area much later than I should.  As I set down to eat my gourmet meal of peanut butter sandwich, trail mix and Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie, some of the hikers began to move out.  I stayed as long as I could but eventually had to move on out myself.  All in all my little rest and lunch break was only about 15 minutes and I was not fully hydrated.

The leader of the group, Jay Hudson, realized that I was struggling and hung in with me at the back of the pack.  The longer we hiked the more I struggled.  I stopped a couple of times to try to get hydrated but it was always a temporary fix.  As we got near the top of a long hill climb I told Jay that I needed to sit down because I was not feeling well.  After a few minutes I tried to get up and things sort of went black.  I knew then that I was into heat exhaustion.  I got out of my pack and stretched out on the ground and elevated my feet on a log.  I have had heat exhaustion before and I knew what to do.  After 20 to 30 minutes the color came back into my face and I began to feel much better.  We were finally able to complete the hike and find the cars.  Unfortunately the remainder of the group had to wait an hour for us to get out.

I am grateful to Jay and his patience with me as a distressed hiker.  Other people might have been less patient or short with me but Jay knew exactly how to handle the situation.  I nor Jay showed any panic even though I knew that I was in trouble.  When you get in trouble in the wilderness try to be as calm as you can and remember basic first aid skills.  I think our actions kept more serious consequences from coming into play.

I will be taking a trip to the doctor this week to try and pinpoint why I had such trouble.  I have been hiking a lot over the last year without any trouble whatsoever.  I need to be checked out to make sure there is no other cause for the issues that I suffered today.

Another Snow in the South

A very nice snow event in Birmingham last night that left a blanket of white everywhere.  This time it was all snow and it is certainly a post card event.  I am going to travel today so I hope the roads are not that bad.  It is certainly beautiful while it lasts.

The Case of the Lost Photos

When I returned to Big Bend in early January I was shocked to find that the HD card in my new camera was missing.  I had viewed the photos before my return trip from Gonzales so I know that it was there at one time.  We searched everywhere and no card was found.  I was deeply disappointed that I had lost all my pictures from that camera.  Luckily, Wes had used my other camera so I was not empty handed.

In working with my camera this weekend I noticed something strange.  The camera actually had a built in 1 gig plus memory.  I thought at the time that the memory was for the instruction manual.  This morning at 4 am I decided to check that feature again.  Voila!!!!  There were my pictures!!!!  Life is good again.  It always pays to read your owners manual before using anything.

Chasing Waterfalls in the Bankhead National Forest

I joined a group called meet up and more specifically the Birmingham Hikers Group for a trip up to the Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness.  The group of 25 met at the Cracker Barrel at 7 am for the 90 minute drive up to Double Springs, Alabama and then on to the Sipsey River Recreation Area parking lot to begin our exploring.  Jay Hudson, a delightful school teacher in the Hoover system, was our leader.  Jay would show a lot of patience during the day and always had a smile on his face.

We started our trek going up Turkey Foot Creek to see the upper and lower Turkey Foot falls.  This was a fairly easy walk of about a mile down Turkey Foot Creek.  I guess I should have noted earlier that it was snowing when we arrived and the temperature was 34 degrees.  Even though the snow stopped soon after we began the temperature never got above 36 degrees all day.  There had been a lot of rain over the last week or
so and the creeks were running full.  This is always good for waterfalls.

I am going to apologize for the quality of the pictures from the trip in that my battery was already running low when we got there (forgot to recharge before I left) and I have not taken the time yet to get into the owners manual on my Olympus 8010.  The above picture is the first of the two Turkey Foot Creek waterfalls that we saw early in the morning.  There were a couple of really nice campsites at the falls which I made a mental note of.

The second of the two falls is shown above but I really do not like the picture.  My carpooling friend Ken Little has made better pictures which I will add to this blog later.  We hiked back out to the cars, loaded up into fewer vehicles and headed to Kinlock Falls and then on to Caney Creek Falls in the Bankhead National Forest.  If you have not been to upper Caney Creek Falls then I highly recommend the trip if you are into waterfalls.  It is about a 1.5 mile hike to the falls down an old forest service road (now abandoned and a wide trail) off of Winston Country Road 2.

The water in Caney Creek was running high enough to actually have two waterfalls at Upper Caney Creek Falls.  The pool below the falls was very deep and blue green in color.  You can have a very relaxing day even in the rain at this fall in that the cliffs overhang the area creating a natural amphitheater for having lunch or just hanging out.  We tried finding the lower Caney Creek Falls but after a lot of bushwhacking and some steep mountain sides we called off the search.  My legs really got tired walking along the sides of the ridge lines.

We left this location and when to see soggy-doggy falls on Brushey Creek in the Bankhead.  Jay told us the hike would be a little more than a mile in but in actuality it was 1.75 miles in and of course out.  We did not arrive back to the vehicles until almost dark.  However, this was a visually rewarding hike down Brushey Creek which was running very high.  Small waterfalls dotted the trail and the waterfall at the end was truly outstanding.

I met some very nice people during the excursion as always.  Even though I prefer hiking by myself with Curbie (she did not get to go) it was a nice break to get to interact with people who share the same interest.  Most of the group were in effect day hikers and were not into backpacking but they did share a love for the outdoors.  The trip was great for me in that I now know where these waterfalls are from a logistical standpoint and can come back and enjoy them further.

I really look forward to going back to Caney Creek Falls and soggy doggy.