December Trail Maintenance

Mitchell Ridge Trail Maintenance,
December 5th 2009

Although it has nothing to do with trail maintenance, I could not resist old Houston jail with its Christmas bow!

The snow was pretty as we drove up FS road 208, on our way to the Braziel trailhead.

It was melting fast in the treetops, so we stopped along 208 for a shot of the road. As we turned left onto Forest Rd 223 we noticed Danny behind us. Shortly after we arrived, Foster and Charlie drove in. Since there were only a few of us we left the come-along and took hand pruners, a bow saw, the one-man crosscut and the ax. The one-man saw actually converts to a two-man saw by means of a metal pin and second wooden handle. This is a very handy and efficient tool.

We waited for a few minutes in case anyone else volunteered (where were you?) and left around ten after eight. I stopped to photograph the guys at the trailhead.

Last month we had started at the south end where the scenery is more dramatic. However the north end of the trail with the snow covering everything was gorgeous. We found three large trees down and cleared them up by the time the snow had vanished.

Come join us next month if you’d like some good old-fashioned exercise. We’ll be there!

Sougahoagdee Falls

This was the club's October hike. From my point of view, this was a very nice trip and the falls were fantastic. Here's some photos that I made before my camera's neglected batteries gave out.

http://picasaweb.google.com/KE4ROP/SougahoagdeeFalls#

If anyone wants to add any photos to this album, let me know, and I can set you up to post yours in the same album.

Thanks to everyone on the trip for a great hike.

Mike

Club Picnic at Houston Recreation Area

The club held it's annual picnic at the Houston Recreation Area in the Bankhead National Forest on Saturday, July 18, 2009. The weather was unseasonably cool, which made for some great picnicking and camping weather. Click here for some photos from the event.

Our Travel Bug

The lastest entry from our travel bug:

This is an automated message from Geocaching.com
You are receiving this email because you are the owner of this listing. Location: Minnesota, United States.

dlgps retrieved Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club Bug (Travel Bug Dog Tag) from A Bridge to the Past at 7/12/2009 Log Date: 7/12/2009 This little tb is just down the road from a great wilderness area. We have a few caches there that are on our "to do" list so we will see if we can get him in a good cache in Rice County, Minnesota Cannon River Wilderness Park.

Visit the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club Travel Bug web page:
http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=77bed2b6-0b8d-4929-a0c7-d1eef9ac3fe5

Our bug is stuck up North, and has been for some time. Maybe someday it will return to the South.

Club Picnic

The Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club will be holding its annual Club Picnic on Saturday, July 18, rain or shine, beginning at 10 AM at the Houston Recreation Area in the Bankhead National Forest.

We have reserved the (only) pavilion for the whole day. Follow the signs to the beach or boat ramp and the pavilion is located just past the beach.

We can swim in Smith Lake and should have a couple of boats and kayaks available. The picnic starts at 10 and we will have the food around noon. The club will reimburse members for the $4 per day vehicle fee imposed by the rec area.

Houston Rec also has a campground. Some club members are planning on staying over on Friday night and probably Saturday as well. Foster expects to arrive by 4 PM on Friday and will leave a note somewhere obvious with clues as to where we are camping.

The club will provide paper plates, cups, napkins, plasticware, and fuel for the grill but everyone should bring their own grillables, drinks, and maybe an extra something to share. In the past, people have brought chips, salsa, beans, salads, fruit, and cookies and so far we have avoided the situation where the only choice was seven different kinds of potato salad.

Directions to Houston Recreation Area from Double Springs:

• Travel about 9 miles east on US 278 to County Road 63 south. There is a gas station/store on the corner.
• Turn south on CR 63. After 1.8 miles, by the post office and old jail, the road forks.
• Take the right fork which is CR 61. The access road for the rec area is another 1.6 miles on the right.
• Turn right and the entrance is about another mile.

Forest Service Closes Caves to Protect Bats

The Forest Service has closed most of the caves in the southeastern U. S. to protect bats from White Nose Syndrome. This includes the Sipsey Wilderness Area and the Bankhead National Forest. More information is available by clicking here.

Club Trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee

This blog post will be related to trip plans for the June 26-28, 2009, hike to Fall Creek Falls State Park near Pikeville, Tennessee. The club has considered a hike to the park for several years, so maybe this will be the year that we'll get to go.

It will be about a four and a half hour drive from Double Springs, according to Yahoo Maps.

Here's some links that you can check to learn more about the park:

Wikipedia on Fall Creek Falls State Park

Friends of Fall Creek Falls website has some detailed hiking trail maps.

The State of Tennessee appears to have more than one website for the park, but this one seemed to be the most complete.

There are three different types of camping in the park-regular drive in campsites, backcountry camping and a walk-in camping area. The regular campsites are $20 per night, and those with sewer hookups are $25. The walk-in and backcountry sites might cost less, but Ill have to call to find out. There's 228 sites, so it's a fairly large campground.

Unfortunately, the camping areas are undergoing some major renovation. Areas "B" and "D" are closed, and these sections make up a large number of sites. Normally, the park takes reservations, but this year, they are NOT accepting reservations. State parks can be very popular in the summer, so take that into consideration. If you want to call the park for more information on camping, the number is 800-250-8611.

This is information that I've gathered so far, I'll add to it as I find out more.

Update: Called the park today, May 5th, and they said that despite the information to the contrary on their web page, they do not expect the two campground loops to be closed when we visit. However, it IS still first come first serve-no reservations available. They told me I should call closer to the date we are planning to visit.

Update: June 2, 2009. Trip cancelled due to the no reservations policy.

Whiteman's Canoe Trip Down the Locust Fork

Our club chairman, Gary "Whiteman" White recently made a trip with some friends down the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. The club has obtained exclusive video of the trip from an unnamed source. Click below to see the action:



Even though he "tumped over", he safely self-recovered his canoe a couple hundred yards downstream.

Mitchell Ridge Trail - Mostly Clear

Nine of us started out for a day of trail maintenance from the south end at 8 AM, Saturday, March 7, 2009. Ignoring any remembrance of the strong winds during the previous week and confident that no large tree would dare to have fallen in our way, we carried only the smaller hand tools plus an axe, a pulaski, and a 36 inch bow saw.  It did not take long for the forest to show its disdain for our hubris.

Those of us who have been working on this trail for some years were well aware of two very large and very dead pines looming over the first quarter mile of the path, the kind of trees where you say "I sure hope this falls away from the trail".  Maybe we should have wished a little harder.  Both trees had fallen directly in the way.  The first must be 18 inches in diameter and the second over two feet.  Not only were the tools on hand completely inadequate for the task, but we will have to lug in our two-man crosscut to deal with that second bad boy.  Oh well, job security.

The good news from a hiking perspective is that the first tree is on the ground and can easily be stepped over.  And a small detour is already forming around the big guy.  So these are not such serious obstacles.

 

At the north end, we encountered two other blowdowns.  Johnnie almost single-handedly hacked his way through one of them and rolled it down the hill.  But we decided to leave the other one for when we have the crosscut saw.  It is easy enough to just step over this tree as well.

 

On the more positive side, with nine people to snip away all day with hand pruners and loppers, we were able to seriously discourage the resurgent briers and muscadine vines that were converging on the path.  Having the pulaski with us, we were also able to fill in some of the booby trap holes in the middle of the walkway, leaf-covered depressions that could unexpectedly swallow a foot or twist an ankle.

March's volunteers included club members Gary, Johnnie, Foster, Larry, Mimi, Doris, and Shelby and guests Charlie and Sara.  The sun in the afternoon made it just a little warm for this sort of activity and slowed us down a bit.  It was 4:30 by the time we finished.

 

All in all, the trail is in very good shape.  If the weather is not too warm in April, we plan to remove the three downed trees.  Otherwise, we will tackle them in the fall.  Maybe they will have rotted away by then?

Big Lagoon State Park near Pensacola, Florida

The club recently visited the Big Lagoon State Park in the panhandle of Florida. The highlight of the trip for me was the visit to the National Naval Aviation Museum at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. There's some photos in this album of the trip. Unfortunately, the weather for this trip was very wet; we probably had better than four inches of rain. I had to evacuate my tent the first night and move into Danny's travel trailer. Foster, Mimi and Larry, and Bart and Jennifer stayed dry in their tents despite the many hours of rain. Jean and Glen, Danny's sister and brother-in-law, stayed safe and dry in their travel trailer along with their daughters, Kaykay and Sunshine, and Danny's daughters, Chelsea and Emily. There were some periods of dry weather that allowed for exploring of the park. We tried out the observation tower, boardwalks, playground, and the Big Lagoon. Foster deserves kudos for finding this nice park.

Mitchell Ridge Trail - Clear!

On Saturday, February 7, four members of the SWHC plus four guest volunteers from Tuscumbia met for a day of maintenance along trail 210 in the Sipsey Wilderness, the Mitchell Ridge Trail. Present were Gary, Johnnie, Mimi, Larry, Eric and his three young sons, Ben, Kirtland, and Mason.

The recent wintry weather had not wreaked any serious havoc. Six large trees - three pines, two oaks, and a poplar - were blocking the path though not all required use of the crosscut saw to dispatch them. Most of the day's activity consisted of removing the numerous small limbs and branches that had fallen or blown across the way.

We began shortly after 8 AM and had the entire trail cleared by 3 PM. We worked from north to south. En route, we flushed a few early grasshoppers and even spotted a Mourning Cloak butterfly. The plants were still in their dormancy, not being fooled by the springlike temperatures.

Saddly, I must report as we were driving in at the start of the day, we saw that vandals had knocked over the trailhead display case at the Gum Pond Trailhead and set it on fire. Fortunately, the blaze was spotted and reported by two hog hunters before it could spread too far. By the time we arrived, Forest Service firefighters were on their way to extinguish the flames. Anyone having any information concerning this incident should contact the Forest Service at (205) 489-5111.

January 17 Club Hike in the Sipsey Wilderness

In spite of the cold weather, the club met for a loop hike in the Sipsey Wilderness on Saturday, January 17.  We started at the Borden Trailhead, crossed the bridge and followed the path down the west side of Borden Creek to trail 209.  We followed that along the river to the junction with trail 204 which we then took north to its end at trail 224.  We returned to the trailhead on 224.

The distance must have been about 12 miles and it took us just under 8 hours.  All the trails were in good shape except 224 which has a number of downed trees blocking the path.

The icicles on the bluffs along Borden Creek and the Sipsey were exceptional.  The winter scenery from Bee Ridge was a treat as well.

For more details, please see the complete Hiking Trip Report on the club's website.

Iron Bacteria in the Bankhead National Forest

Anyone that has spent time under the bluffs in the Bankhead National Forest has probably seen the bright orange stains that seem to seep out of the rock. The orange color is associated with iron-rich groundwater. The orange color is the result of dissolved iron in the water being oxidized by iron bacteria at the surface; it not a sign of water pollution. The naturally occurring iron bacteria change the colorless ferrous iron dissolved in the groundwater to a orange or rust-colored ferric form of iron. The ferrous form is somewhat soluble in water, while the orange ferric form is relatively insoluble. Deep in the earth, where oxygen and bacteria are not present, the colorless ferrous form is stable. But when this groundwater seeps out and is exposed to the oxygen in the air, the bacteria "feed" on the ferrous iron and derive energy from the chemical reaction. Where the iron-rich water seeps out of a rock, a soft orange deposit will build up at the site where these iron bacteria are working. Sometimes the deposits will build up over the years into mounds that look like soil. Some more photos of iron bacteria in the Bankhead National Forest are located in this photo album. These iron bacteria deposits are seen in the Bankhead National Forest because layers of rock that are normally 70 feet or more underground are exposed at the base of these bluffs. Bluffs of this size are not common in other areas of Alabama. Groundwater in more shallow layers of rock and soil has usually been in contact with oxygen and bacteria before it comes to the surface. More information about iron bacteria is located in wikipedia.

Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club Trailblazer Award

The Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club recently selected Larry Barkey as its Trailblazer of the Year. Pictured from left is, Gary White-Chairman, Larry Barkey-Vice Chairman and Trailblazer of the Year, and his wife, Mimi Barkey, Secretary/Treasurer. The award is given to the club member with the most hours of volunteer service. In the past year, Larry Barkey volunteered 62 hours of service. In 2008, the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club volunteered 349 hours work toward public service projects, such as clearing trails in the Sipsey Wilderness Area of the Bankhead National Forest. Since the club's inception in 2000, the club has spent 3,728 hours in volunteer service. Click on the report image to see the detail our 2008 Volunteer Service Report.