Last weekend I went up to the Sipsey Wilderness with the Sierra Club for a day hike down Eagle Creek, Little Ugly Creek and then looping back up Horsepen Creek. The weather had been very rainy the two days before raising the water levels all across the wilderness. The timing for the trip could not have been more perfect. Of course, the only problem was that the warm weather never arrived and the temperature stayed in the 40's all day long.
We started out off Cranal Road at the beginning of Eagle Creek. There was a trail to follow for a while bringing us past a very nice campsite at the bend of the creek. A couple of guys were camping there for the night as evidenced by the smoke from their campfire.
Down from the campsite was our first waterfall of the day, "Eagle Creek Falls". This is one of the most beautiful off trail falls in the wilderness. Some of the rest areas in the Alabama interstate system display Eagle Creek Falls. The lead photo in this article shows the falls from down the trail. The below photo is a closer up view.
We continued our trek down Eagle Creek crossing back and forth across the creek. As I mentioned the temperature was in the mid 40's and the creek was high and the water cold. At first I tried to keep my boots dry but after a while I gave up. When the terrain got tough I would just wade down the creek rather than try to walk the muddy ridge side.
There were a couple of feeder creeks that came into Eagle Creek and a short hike revealed some unknown water falls. One I decided to name in honor of my Louisiana heritage "Bengal Falls". I am sure my Alabama friends will love that. Below is a photo of Bengal Falls.
As we headed down stream we ran into the merger of Little Ugly Creek and Eagle Creek. The map seems to name the merger as Little Ugly Creek as it flows on into the Sipsey River. We walked up Little Ugly Creek or in my case waded to one of the most wonderful places in the Sipsey. Little Ugly Falls and Deer Skull Falls are next to each other on Little Ugly Creek. This is in an area with steep canyon walls and tons on Hemlock Trees. What a great place. The first photo is Little Ugly Falls and the second photo is Deer Skull Falls.
We explored above these falls to find another wonderful waterfall called upper Deer Skull Falls. It was a little bit of a climb and a creek crossing but it was worth the effort.
After a lunch break at the falls we headed down Little Ugly Creek toward another feeder creek called Hemlock Creek. A short distance up the creek we found this little beauty called Hemlock Falls.
A little further down the terrain began to change and began to flatten out and actually became a little marshy except for one little place that was a waterfall named for the ferns that grow in the spring around this area. This little waterfall was called Fernglade Falls and is pictured below.
Shortly after leaving Fernglade we ran into the Sipsy River and was it high. We turned right and went down the river about a quarter mile and turned up Horsepen Creek. This turned out to be the most difficult walking of the entire trip. I spent a lot of time wading this portion of the trek. It was quite an amazing sight though. A lot of boulders, moss and fauna all up, down and in the creek.
We eventually came to a very lovely waterfall called Horsepen Falls which would be our last waterfall of the day. There was a wonderful campsite above the falls with some nice benches people have made utilizing the available rocks in the area.
The exit out of the wilderness was about a half mile of dead fall and an uphill of briers. But the road was a welcome sight and meant some warmth from wading the cold creeks all day. This was a great day full of eye candy and new knowledge of the Sipsey.
Today I head to a different part of the state and more waterfalls. Mark Dutton, an attorney from Jasper, and I are heading to Mount Cheaha and the Skyway Loop. We will hike in on the Chinnabee Silent Trail to a shelter with a wonderful view of the Talledaga National Forest. Below the shelter is the Cheaha Falls. We will spend the night there and will meet up with the Sierra Club hikers in the morning. We will continue the Silent Trail (so named by the Boy Scout Troop of deaf scouts who helped develop the trail) to Lake Chinnabee and then the Skyway Trail over to Adams Gap.
It should be a great weekend and I will report on the trip next week.
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