What better way to spend a summer weekend than camping?
I have been itching to go camping for weeks. Not the RV, out of your car camping. The real "roughing" it type of camping. No bathrooms, no set campsites, and plenty of hiking!
We chose to drive to Hope, Alabama to Sipsey Wilderness. Sipsey is the largest and most frequently visited wilderness area in Alabama and contains dozens of waterfalls. It is actually nicknamed "Land of 1000 Waterfalls". The drive is only about two hours northwest of Birmingham, so just a short little road trip. We enjoyed the unique hodgepodge town stores located on the county roads.
Despite getting lost on the way numerous times, the morning was off to a great start. We arrived at about noon and chose to hike the Borden Creek Trailhead. This specific trailhead is located right off the Sipsey River Picnic Area and is approximately 2.7 miles. We took the 200 trail which eventually branched off into trail 209.
The Borden Creek Trailhead is ranked moderate. It is the most heavily accessed trail in Sipsey. We started our trek with the Borden Creek on one side and the bluffs on the other. The scenery was spectacular. Our packs were pretty heavy, so we hiked about 1.5 miles and found a perfect campsite overlooking the creek.
Once we set up camp we were in exploration mode. I wanted to see everything since it was my first time to Sipsey. We immediately found our way to the creek and enjoyed walking in the cool water. Even saw some baby frogs and crawfish! The water was not deep enough to swim, but sunbathing was a must!
We then decided to walk some of the trails. The Borden Creek Trailhead has a fair amount of ups and downs though none particularly steep. We climbed the limestone rock bluffs and saw some of the caves. It was a pretty hot day so we did not see any snakes thankfully! I had my "snake stick" just in case, haha!
Although we had looked at the weather online all week to check for rain chances, I had forgotten that the chances were pretty high. Luckily we brought our rain tarps because around 6:00 PM the thunder and rain rolled in. It lasted just a few short minutes, but the wind and thunder was enough to rattle us a bit. Once the storm had passed, we made a fire and cooked our hot dogs and Mountain House packets. I am not one for freeze-dried "astronaut food", but it was delicious. We picked out the veggie rice pilaf and the scrambles eggs! Both were very good!
Now to be honest, I HATE the dark. Always have. I wouldn't necessarily say I was "scared of the dark" but it is definitely not one of my favorite things. As the bonfire was dimming, the noises got louder. And of course I thought back to those scary stories at camp of Red Kelly or those numerous horror movies I had seen over the years of campers getting murdered by creatures of the hills.
I laughed at myself the next morning for being such a wimp!
We woke up around 8 AM and enjoyed leftover hot dogs and our freeze-dried scrambled eggs. Really, they taste better than they sounds! Camp was easy to pack up and we were on our way! The hike back was nice and we even encountered a few other campers!
All in all, the camping trip was a success and I can't wait to go back again!
See you soon!
-H
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