Blake, Tyler, and I visited the Sipsey Wilderness again on Sunday afternoon. Rather than taking FT 201 again in search of the possibly mythical Big Tree, we embarked on FT 202 (also called "Randolph Trail," trail map), which passed between two older but well-maintained cemeteries, collectively known as Johnson Cemetery.
The trail then proceeded down and past some bluffs, and eventually intersects the Sipsey River, where it dead ends into FT 209 (trail map). After going off trail a bit coming down toward the Sipsey, we crossed and hopped on 209, and followed it a ways in an attempt to locate Little Ugly Branch, which is home to a couple nice waterfalls. But by that point the trail miles and approaching late hour had more-or-less sapped our cavalier spirit (that I almost simultaneously sprained my ankle and was stung by a hornet, no small feat, I assure you).
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| The season has begun to change at the Sipsey Wilderness :: Panasonic LX3 |
Most surprising siting: Bison. We spotted them at a farm on the way home.
For any of you using Apple devices that are not Flash enabled and thus cannot view the slideshow, you can find the gallery containing the slideshow's photos here.
We love hiking in Sipsey! It's a great place to geocache, too. The Big Tree isn't mythical. ;) It's just a really long ways out, but it's worth it. Big doesn't accurately describe. Although I think I remember my father saying that the trail was blocked since the tornadoes.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great pics!
Thanks for confirming the existence of the Tree. One of our number had some real doubts.
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking and taking the time to comment.