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.