Stephen had ridden with me to work so I could print out and turn in my expense reports and timesheet for the previous week since I would be traveling again and wouldn't be in the office on the next Monday. A while back I had printed out a topo map of the area behind work and had realized that the Cahaba River was very close. So after I completed my business stuff Stephen and I decided to try and go find the Cahaba River.
We first skirted around the Cahaba Lake behind work on the runnning trail around the lake. However on the other side we took a narrow barely used trail straight up the side of a big hill. At the top we took a right down an old road. It deadended into another old grown up road at the bottom.
From the vegetation I could tell that we were close to the river. So we cut straight through the trees in the direction of where the river should be. I immediately got nailed on the leg with some thistle bush and began itching like crazy. I knew we had to find the river in a hurry so I kept on pushing ahead. Very soon I saw the bank but there were some very low hanging bushes there. I bent low and went on through.
The bank was steep and I had to hang on to a small tree to ease my self down to the water's edge. Once there I saw a small ledge that jutted out into the water. I was able to step out onto it and wash my really badly itching leg. Oh that felt so good. Stephen was right behind rolling up his pant's leg so he could get in the water. I had the misfortune to have worn shorts and got nailed by the thistle bush. Stephen was fortunate enough to have worn long pants and not get nailed by the thistle bush.
We stood in the very warm water and watched it lazily travel on past us. There were several fish jumping in the water and even a turtle surfaced near us. Stephen thought it was a snake for a second and was about to light a shuck for the next county. I assured him it wasn't a snake and kept him on the ground.
We had to head out to get back for an event so we reluctantly took off back through the bushes. Once we hit the old road that would take us back up the hill to the barely used trail we realized that it was open to our left. The good thing here was that our topo map indicated that a small stream was over there that was a run off from the lake. If we followed it we would wind back up on the trail around the lake.
We made it over to the stream in about fifty yards and eased off down into it. It was fairly wide and had a rocky bottom. The water was only inches deep and made for excellent hiking back to the trail. However there was a water fall and a pool just before we hit the trail. To traverse it we had to do a little rock climbing to get around the pool and up the side of the small water fall.
It was very much fun and once Stephen saw where he was he insisted that he lead the way. Very soon we were back at the Jeep and loading up to head home.
It was a very nice evening and a nice little hike. It was nice to be able to stand in the river and wash off the thistles. The stream was also a nice surprize as we spent some time in there also. The water fall climb was definitely the climax to a nice evening with my son.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Oak Mountain Peavine Falls Hike
On Thursday, July 21, 2005 I decided to take the day off and stay home with the family since I had been on the road for weeks at a time. Click here for the pictures of our hike until I get the time to write the story.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Lake Guntersville State Park Cascade Trail Hike
After a another hard day in Boaz, AL on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 I decided to hit the trails at Lake Guntersville State Park to unwind. So at the hotel I mapped out a loop, gathered my stuff and hit the road for the park.
I parked at the King's Chapel Trail and Moonshine Trail trailhead parking area. As I got out of the Jeep a few drops of rain fell and I heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance. I threw caution to the wind and strapped on my CamelBak and hit the white blazed connector to the Cascade Trail.
I intersected the Cascade Trail and hung a left up it. It is an incredibly beautiful trail as it follows a stream up the side of the mountain with huge boulders and rocks every where. As I reached the point labeled Ken's Lookout I was really into the scenery. You can click here to see some of the pictures that I took.
I saw the big cliff and thought how fun it might be to climb it. Then I was amazed when the trail instead of going around it cut back and went up and across the face of it. I was even more amazed as I stood on a three foot wide ledge to discover a sixty feet deep cave back into the cliff. It would have been a great place to camp out.
As I came off the ledge I intersected with the Meredith trail and hung a right on it. It made for some nice running as I went around the edge of the mountain and intersected with the Golf Trail. I proceeded to hang a left on the Golf Trail and was able to get in some more good running.
I could hear the people talking as they were playing golf on the golf course. My only concern was a stray golf ball flying through the air. As I neared the intersection of the nature trail it started to rain. I stopped and pulled my camouflage poncho out of my CamelBak and put it on.
About that time a whole string of runners began running by me. It looked like a local high school track team. In all about eight boys and a girl come running by me. I was at what I thought might be the Nature Trail but wasn't sure since there weren't any signs. I took a left on it though and headed back toward the Cascade Trail.
Well I hit the Cascade Trail but I hadn't been on the Nature Trail. It was simply a short connector between the Golf Trail and Cascade Trail that wasn't on the map. So I took a right on the Cascade Trail. In no time I came to the Nature Trail intersection. During the trip down the connector the rain had stopped and I had put my poncho back in my CamelBak.
I then proceeded to the left down the Waterfall Trail. It was very wide and was going down an old road. About a hundred yards down it a rather large deer snorted at me and bounded off down into a big valley. I wasn't able to see if it had horns but it was a big deer.
As I got down the trail a little ways I saw a connector trail that was listed on the map that would take me back to a section of the Cascade Trail that I had not been on so I changed my original plans and took off to the left down it.
I was glad that I did. The bottom of the valley that I went through was covered in a very green, tall, wavy grass. It made the whole valley seem as if it was flooded in green water or there was a green fog floating just above the ground over the whole valley. It was really cool.
I intersected the Cascade Trail and hung a right back down to Ken's Lookout. I then changed from my plan and took a right and hit the Old Still Path. Another good decision. It was a nice run/walk along this trail as in places it was narrow and rocky. Other places it meandered around the mountain and made for some good running.
Also right there in the middle of it all was the Old Still site. I stopped long enough to capture a few memories on my digital camera and then I was on to the Waterfall Trail intersection. I took a left on it and because of it's width was able to run all the way back to the Jeep.
All in all it was a very nice run/hike and made for a very memorable last trip during my stint at the Boaz plant.
I parked at the King's Chapel Trail and Moonshine Trail trailhead parking area. As I got out of the Jeep a few drops of rain fell and I heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance. I threw caution to the wind and strapped on my CamelBak and hit the white blazed connector to the Cascade Trail.
I intersected the Cascade Trail and hung a left up it. It is an incredibly beautiful trail as it follows a stream up the side of the mountain with huge boulders and rocks every where. As I reached the point labeled Ken's Lookout I was really into the scenery. You can click here to see some of the pictures that I took.
I saw the big cliff and thought how fun it might be to climb it. Then I was amazed when the trail instead of going around it cut back and went up and across the face of it. I was even more amazed as I stood on a three foot wide ledge to discover a sixty feet deep cave back into the cliff. It would have been a great place to camp out.
As I came off the ledge I intersected with the Meredith trail and hung a right on it. It made for some nice running as I went around the edge of the mountain and intersected with the Golf Trail. I proceeded to hang a left on the Golf Trail and was able to get in some more good running.
I could hear the people talking as they were playing golf on the golf course. My only concern was a stray golf ball flying through the air. As I neared the intersection of the nature trail it started to rain. I stopped and pulled my camouflage poncho out of my CamelBak and put it on.
About that time a whole string of runners began running by me. It looked like a local high school track team. In all about eight boys and a girl come running by me. I was at what I thought might be the Nature Trail but wasn't sure since there weren't any signs. I took a left on it though and headed back toward the Cascade Trail.
Well I hit the Cascade Trail but I hadn't been on the Nature Trail. It was simply a short connector between the Golf Trail and Cascade Trail that wasn't on the map. So I took a right on the Cascade Trail. In no time I came to the Nature Trail intersection. During the trip down the connector the rain had stopped and I had put my poncho back in my CamelBak.
I then proceeded to the left down the Waterfall Trail. It was very wide and was going down an old road. About a hundred yards down it a rather large deer snorted at me and bounded off down into a big valley. I wasn't able to see if it had horns but it was a big deer.
As I got down the trail a little ways I saw a connector trail that was listed on the map that would take me back to a section of the Cascade Trail that I had not been on so I changed my original plans and took off to the left down it.
I was glad that I did. The bottom of the valley that I went through was covered in a very green, tall, wavy grass. It made the whole valley seem as if it was flooded in green water or there was a green fog floating just above the ground over the whole valley. It was really cool.
I intersected the Cascade Trail and hung a right back down to Ken's Lookout. I then changed from my plan and took a right and hit the Old Still Path. Another good decision. It was a nice run/walk along this trail as in places it was narrow and rocky. Other places it meandered around the mountain and made for some good running.
Also right there in the middle of it all was the Old Still site. I stopped long enough to capture a few memories on my digital camera and then I was on to the Waterfall Trail intersection. I took a left on it and because of it's width was able to run all the way back to the Jeep.
All in all it was a very nice run/hike and made for a very memorable last trip during my stint at the Boaz plant.
Monday, July 18, 2005
Lake Guntersville State Park Seales Trail Hike
After working for the day at a plant in Boaz, AL on Monday, July 18, 2005 I decided to head out to Lake Guntersville State Park and hike some of its trails. I reviewed my hiking trail map of the park that I found at www.briartech.com/msmap.htm and decided on a loop. I changed into my running gear, grabbed my Camelbak, jumped in the Jeep and headed for the park.
I drove just past the Golf Course parking lot and parked on the side of the road where the Lick Skillet trail crossed. I began the hike/run by going to the right down the Lick Skillet trail toward the Meredith trail. It was a nice jog at the beginning as most of it was down hill. At the bottom I could see the lake and there was a connector trail to the lake. I stuck to my plan though and hiked up the next mountain to the Meredith trail.
I hung a left on the Meredith trail and was able to jog down hill to the Seales trail on the edge of the lake. I stopped for a second there to view the scenery. There were some guys fishing under the Town Creek bridge and there was a young man coming towards me on the trail in his swimming trunks and soaking wet. I spoke to him and asked him what he was doing. He said he was looking for his brother and wanted to know if I wanted to help him. I found that interesting. I asked him what his brother’s name was and he told me Dakota. I asked him what his name was and was informed that it was Tyler. So I told him that I was about to head down the Seales trail and that if I saw Dakota I would tell him that Tyler was looking for him. He seemed to be happy with that solution.
So I took off jogging down the Seales trail along the edge of the water. I was able to jog on and off until I came to a small power house on the edge of the lake. I stopped for a few minutes and took some pictures. You can click here to see those pictures.
The Seales trail then left the very edge of the lake and went up onto the side of the mountain. Now it was all rocks and I wasn’t able to jog. It was really pretty cool though. The trail meandered through the rocks on the edge of the lake and there were huge boulders and small cliffs to my left up the side of the mountain. It would have been a great place for the kids to play scrambling over the boulders.
After a while the trail dropped back down to the edge of the lake and was very wide. Here it is used a lot by the people camping in the campground. I jogged from here to the campground. The Seales trail skirted the edge of the mountain and the campground. At one point the trail split and there was a white blazed trail to the left going up the side of the mountain. From looking at my map I wasn’t sure if this was the trail I needed to take or not so I stayed on the Seales trail.
Well the Seales trail just comes out on the road in the campground and ends. So I backtracked to the white blazed trail which was the Old Lick Skillet trail and went up the side of the mountain. This trail meanders around the side of the mountain and the edge of the campground and comes out on the main road by the campground. As I came up on this road a deer jumped up in front of me and ran across the road. I stepped up to the road and there were six deer on the other side. I got my camera out and began taking pictures. It didn’t bother the deer at all. I had to walk about 50 yards down the road to pick up the Daniel White trail on the other side of the road.
I was able to walk down the road, go up the Daniel White trail and walk past the deer without ever spooking them. They just stood there and watched me walk past as the pictures from the link above no doubt showed you. It was starting to get late and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to make the entire loop before it got dark. I was planning on picking up the pace but ran into another field of rocks. Right in the middle of it was a very deep pit. I had seen the word pit on my map but wasn’t sure what it meant.
What it meant was that within two feet of the trail was a hole in the rocks that was about twenty feet deep and about three feet in diameter. It probably would have been pretty neat to have climbed down in there but I was headed on down the trail in hopes of finding the Jeep before dark.
The Daniel White trail intersected with the Lick Skillet trail and it was time for me to hang a left and head up the mountain. As I started up the trail I heard an eagle scream as he flew overhead. It was sweet. The trail became a series of switchbacks straight up the side of a very steep mountain.
I saw a large raccoon ambling through the woods ahead of me. He took the time to step up on a log and look back at me as if to say, “You are too tired to mess with what I got for you so just keep on going up your trail.” I completely agreed and just eased right on past him and headed on up the trail.
All of a sudden the trail stopped. I backtracked a few steps and found a tree with a red blaze on it. The trail switch backed around it and back up the mountain. From the looks of the initial trail past that tree it was apparent that I wasn’t the only one who had made that mistake.
From that point on it was just climbing over rocks and keeping my eyes on the red blazes. The trail popped out on the road and there was my Jeep. It was a welcome site to see.
The Camelbak pack came through for me as I was able to have plenty of water on a very hot day and I was also able to carry my digital camera and capture some memories. I cinched it down very tight and tucked my shirt in my pants and didn’t have any problems with it riding up or rubbing me.
This was a very nice loop with plenty of sites and sounds. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in a hike of several hours or a trail run of about an hour. It took me an hour and a half but I got lost a couple of times and took time to take some pictures and observe some views.
I drove just past the Golf Course parking lot and parked on the side of the road where the Lick Skillet trail crossed. I began the hike/run by going to the right down the Lick Skillet trail toward the Meredith trail. It was a nice jog at the beginning as most of it was down hill. At the bottom I could see the lake and there was a connector trail to the lake. I stuck to my plan though and hiked up the next mountain to the Meredith trail.
I hung a left on the Meredith trail and was able to jog down hill to the Seales trail on the edge of the lake. I stopped for a second there to view the scenery. There were some guys fishing under the Town Creek bridge and there was a young man coming towards me on the trail in his swimming trunks and soaking wet. I spoke to him and asked him what he was doing. He said he was looking for his brother and wanted to know if I wanted to help him. I found that interesting. I asked him what his brother’s name was and he told me Dakota. I asked him what his name was and was informed that it was Tyler. So I told him that I was about to head down the Seales trail and that if I saw Dakota I would tell him that Tyler was looking for him. He seemed to be happy with that solution.
So I took off jogging down the Seales trail along the edge of the water. I was able to jog on and off until I came to a small power house on the edge of the lake. I stopped for a few minutes and took some pictures. You can click here to see those pictures.
The Seales trail then left the very edge of the lake and went up onto the side of the mountain. Now it was all rocks and I wasn’t able to jog. It was really pretty cool though. The trail meandered through the rocks on the edge of the lake and there were huge boulders and small cliffs to my left up the side of the mountain. It would have been a great place for the kids to play scrambling over the boulders.
After a while the trail dropped back down to the edge of the lake and was very wide. Here it is used a lot by the people camping in the campground. I jogged from here to the campground. The Seales trail skirted the edge of the mountain and the campground. At one point the trail split and there was a white blazed trail to the left going up the side of the mountain. From looking at my map I wasn’t sure if this was the trail I needed to take or not so I stayed on the Seales trail.
Well the Seales trail just comes out on the road in the campground and ends. So I backtracked to the white blazed trail which was the Old Lick Skillet trail and went up the side of the mountain. This trail meanders around the side of the mountain and the edge of the campground and comes out on the main road by the campground. As I came up on this road a deer jumped up in front of me and ran across the road. I stepped up to the road and there were six deer on the other side. I got my camera out and began taking pictures. It didn’t bother the deer at all. I had to walk about 50 yards down the road to pick up the Daniel White trail on the other side of the road.
I was able to walk down the road, go up the Daniel White trail and walk past the deer without ever spooking them. They just stood there and watched me walk past as the pictures from the link above no doubt showed you. It was starting to get late and I was beginning to wonder if I was going to make the entire loop before it got dark. I was planning on picking up the pace but ran into another field of rocks. Right in the middle of it was a very deep pit. I had seen the word pit on my map but wasn’t sure what it meant.
What it meant was that within two feet of the trail was a hole in the rocks that was about twenty feet deep and about three feet in diameter. It probably would have been pretty neat to have climbed down in there but I was headed on down the trail in hopes of finding the Jeep before dark.
The Daniel White trail intersected with the Lick Skillet trail and it was time for me to hang a left and head up the mountain. As I started up the trail I heard an eagle scream as he flew overhead. It was sweet. The trail became a series of switchbacks straight up the side of a very steep mountain.
I saw a large raccoon ambling through the woods ahead of me. He took the time to step up on a log and look back at me as if to say, “You are too tired to mess with what I got for you so just keep on going up your trail.” I completely agreed and just eased right on past him and headed on up the trail.
All of a sudden the trail stopped. I backtracked a few steps and found a tree with a red blaze on it. The trail switch backed around it and back up the mountain. From the looks of the initial trail past that tree it was apparent that I wasn’t the only one who had made that mistake.
From that point on it was just climbing over rocks and keeping my eyes on the red blazes. The trail popped out on the road and there was my Jeep. It was a welcome site to see.
The Camelbak pack came through for me as I was able to have plenty of water on a very hot day and I was also able to carry my digital camera and capture some memories. I cinched it down very tight and tucked my shirt in my pants and didn’t have any problems with it riding up or rubbing me.
This was a very nice loop with plenty of sites and sounds. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in a hike of several hours or a trail run of about an hour. It took me an hour and a half but I got lost a couple of times and took time to take some pictures and observe some views.
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