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.

Presentation To Bankhead National Forest Liaison Panel

This a copy of the Presentation to the Bankhead National Forest Liaison Panel earlier this year about the volunteer efforts of the Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club to clear the Mitchell Ridge Trail (Trail 210). This presentation will probably require a good connection to the internet. I recently added some captions to some of the slides. There's also a full screen mode if you want to see more detail.

Presentation To Bankhead Liaison Panel

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: forest national)

Trail 202 Hike

Since there was a lot rain during the previous week, we changed the hike so that we wouldn't have to cross the Sipsey Fork. The river turned out to be about six feet deep, so crossing it would have been a dangerous and unpleasant undertaking. We visited three nice waterfalls instead. The waterfalls had good flows from the rain. I didn't get good photos of everything, so someone may want to post some additional photos. My few photos are here.

Club Completes December Trail Maintenance on Mitchell Ridge

The Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club completed monthly trail maintenance on December 6th. With this outing, the club was able to clear the entire trail with the exception of two large downed trees. These last two logs will be removed in January when crosscut saws can be carried in to cut them. Present on this work day were, from left, Durwin Jones, Johnny Morin, Mimi Barkey, Larry Barkey, Mike Henshaw, and Gary White. Click on the photo for a larger version. A link to a GPS track of the Mitchell Ridge Trail, also known as Trail 210, is available here.

SWHC Overnight Hike-Trails 206 and 201

The Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club made it's regular monthly club outing on November 15 and 16, 2008. The trip started for most hikers at the Thompson Creek Trailhead and ended at the Randolph Trailhead. Some members day-hiked the trails, while others camped out overnight near the Eye of the Needle.

Photos from the hike are located at this website.