Myakka River State Park Backpacking Trip

Picture Slideshow

Bike Riding in OMSP

Well Mr. T and I pulled together a bike ride out at Oak Mountain for Saturday, June 28th and decided to not only invite Frank's den but the other WEBELOS dens as well. Turns out they aren't really Boy Scouts either. It was a wonderful morning to be biking and Mr T and I were the only ones to show up. That was okay. We decided to make a big time of it and go until NovaEagle and I were totally whupped since we were the new timers to biking. Mr T succeeded in pulling that off. I was totally exhausted after 2 hours of bike riding along the bottom of the Red Trail.

We first made a quick loop from the South Trailhead with KarateKid as he showed us the race route he had taken a couple of weekends before. We looped back to the South Trailhead then headed down the road to the entrance to the lower loop of the Red Trail on the way to the North Trailhead. Now that was fun. There was big roots and rocks and trees really close together. When you are hiking they don't seem that close but once you add the aspect of speed then they get much closer together.

Taking a mountain bike down a trail really works on your balance. I had to really work on not smacking a tree with my handlebars or running off the trail and down the mountain. Plus lining up on all those bridges only got comfortable toward the end of the ride. Of course I have decided that one needs at least front shock absorbers on a mountain bike. Those roots and rocks really worked on my wrists, elbows and shoulders.

NovaEagle did very well and KarateKid's experience definitely showed up. I couldn't keep up with him on the trails. At one point NovaEagle and I just bonked and we had to stop and chow on some GORP to get our energy back. It was a humbling experience. We made it on to the North Trailhead though and decided to come back via the highway. That was a good decision. NovaEagle had a smaller bike than the rest of us but he pushed hard and was able to stay up with us to the end.

We all had a great time and are looking forward to the next ride.

King's Chair Hike

We went hiking and what did we see?

Well Frank from another den invited our den to go on a hike with them out at Oak Mountain State Park (OMSP). So on the Saturday morning of June the 14, the day of the hike, all of the so called Boy Scouts start calling in saying they can't make it. Now just because it is raining buckets of water outside doesn't seem like a valid reason to cancel a Boy Scout hike so Mr T and I head on out to the North Trailhead like real Boy Scouts.

I arrive a few minutes after 8 and Mr T and the Karate Kid are waiting on us. Since it is still raining, we jump in the SUV with them to talk about things. In a few minutes a bicycle and a motor cycle with flashing lights comes flying by. We realize we are about to get to watch the cycle part of the Buster Britton Triathlon. Rain hasn't deterred them. So we watch them come by one way and then a little later come back by the other way. Now we have bikes going both ways. In a short while the rain stops and we are the only Boy Scouts there.

So we climbed out of the SUV and get our hiking stuff together. Now the hard part is getting across the road with all the bikes coming both ways. You can see in the first two pictures it was pretty busy. We scooted across though and only had one lady yell at us. Hmmm.

We start up the trail and run into a couple of guys who had been out hiking in the rain. They said it was pretty cool and they did alright. It was kind of humid but we started out straight up the mountain side on the Blue Trail. I quickly realized just how out of shape I was and that I needed to be doing more hiking. We made it to a side trail that I had loaded in my GPS from some Geocaching friends. They had discovered a trail off the left of the Blue Trail that went up on the ridge and provided some excellent views. So we took off up the side of the hill.

The USS PHAH cache was just off to the left of this side trail. So we eased over along the edge of the ridge to the USS. NovaEagle and KarateKid climbed up on the USS and KarateKid found the cache. You will notice in the pictures that they are sitting in the midst of a lot of poison ivy. NovaEagle apparently isn't allergic and escaped any ill side effects. KarateKid wasn't so lucky. He was later known as itchy drawers for a couple of days.

So we signed the cache log and headed on up the mountain to the ridge top. We followed the ridge to the end where we were awarded an excellent view of the Blue Trail and another cache. KarateKid got it for us and we let him sign it as we had already found it. We also found a box turtle and let him go on his way. We then dropped off that ridge onto the next ridge and the next cache. This was supposed to be a multi-cache but the log was in the first spot so I signed it and we moved on.

As we were headed down this ridge to the Blue Trail we saw a trail that led off the side. We followed it to a very large rock formation. We climbed up on top and were awarded another excellent view of OMSP. You can see us on the rock in the pictures above. We then dropped on down the ridge to the Blue Trail in the valley. We followed it up the mountain to the top of the ridge on the backside of OMSP. Instead of following the Blue Trail to the right we hung a left along an unnamed trail and wound up overlooking Hwy 11.

We eased left along this ridge to King's Chair cache. We could see the Wilsonville power plant from here. We could also see Belcher Lake. The boys liked that one. We stopped for a while and snacked so we would have the energy to head on back to the vehicles. So after a bit we made it back to the Blue Trail and instead of going back down the side of the mountain we followed the Blue Trail along the back ridge. We made it to the second Blue to Red Trail connector and quickly dropped down to the Red Trail.

It was a nice leisurely hike down the Red Trail back to the vehicles at the North Trailhead. At one point we heard a lot of buzzing and looked up into a large tree. It was all budded out and the Honey bees were sucking all the nectar out of the buds. It was pretty wild. We also came across two trees that had been blown over by the wind.

We made it back to the vehicles and agreed that it had been a great hike. The temperature was cooler than normal and the humidity wasn't bad at all. Most of the time we had a small breeze keeping us cool and we usually were in the shade of the trees along the trails. Too bad the rest of the boys wimped out on us.

Cahaba Wildlife Refuge to Pratt's Ferry Preserve

This was a really great canoe trip. The subject was brought up Sunday at church, I researched some that evening and then late that night we decided which section of the Cahaba River to tackle. The Buck Creek to Alabama Small Boats run on Hwy 52 had gotten boring and the water was way too low for that any way. It was Cahaba Lily time and I had missed them blooming the last two years so we chose to take on Hargrove Shoals, the largest stand of Cahaba Lilies in the world. It was a great decision.

We dropped off the canoes at the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge and left the women in charge while us men folk got the pickup vehicle down to Pratt's Ferry. We made it back in time for a whole crowd of folks to be putting in. It was nice seeing all the families with small children coming out to enjoy the river. We started down the river and didn't get anywhere before the kids saw a rope swing. Since we weren't on a mission to get somewhere in a hurry we pulled over to watch the fun.

They swang and swang. Older couples just driving through would stop and watch them occasionally. Finally two women pulled up and got out their chairs and watched the kids swing. One lady even took pictures. The kids then were able to show off their new found skills developed on the rope swing. What fun.

We finally got them to get back in the boats and head on down the river. We had already gone through one patch of lilies and quickly came up on another. We were able to make it through with some scraping and pulling. NovaEagle was riding in a kayak and with him weighing less than a 100 pounds he was actually able to easily float on through. With the wife in front, then a full cooler, then my daughter and then me in the back of the canoe, we didn't do so well. If the front of the canoe would clear something then the back would scrape. If the front of the canoe would scrape then the back would stick us. Not sure why that kept happening. :-) Again there was a group of people sitting on the bank watching us navigate our way through the lilies and over the shoals.

We stopped and snacked on a small sand bar and sponged out the water from our canoes. A sponge is a life saver in a canoe when it comes to trying to keep more water on the outside of the canoe than on the inside.

We then had a very nice little rapid that we didn't drag on and then some deep water. Just about the time we would get bored with paddling in the deep water we would hear the roar of a rapid and NovaEagle would be off like a bullet to be the first through it. We came upon an large stand of lilies down the river that I thought must be Hargrove Shoals. It took some time to get through until we found the right line to run and then SugarPie and I had a quick scary ride while MamaCacher slogged her way to us through the shoals.

We took time for a quick dip in the river and to play in the shallows. We had two squirt guns so the kids made sure everyone was wet and there was plenty of water in the canoes. :-) We then headed on down the river again. After a bit we rounded a corner and there was a bunch of canoes and folks and lilies as far as the eye could see. I knew then that we had actually reached Hargrove Shoals. It was truly amazing.

The river widens out at this point and has a long straight stretch. You can stand up in your canoe and see lilies as far as you can look. Bank to bank and all the way to the end of the straight stretch in the river are lilies. They were all in full bloom and looking very nice today. Of course the water was down and we wound up walking some of the way as you can see in the pictures above. Finally though we found some deep water and a channel down the right side. We paddled to the end and found a sand bar to the right. We pulled over and had our lunch.

At this sand bar there is a small rapid at the end of the lilies. After lunch the kids and Mister H played slide down the rapids with their life vests and seat pads. I was checking out the trail at the top of the bank. There is a walking trail from the end of the road along the river all the way down to the lilies. It actually wound down the bank to the sand bar and ended there. However there was a Y in the trail and it also led off into the woods. I could see where horses had been on the trail also. This fall I will have to see where that trail goes and map it with my GPS.

After a while we loaded back up and headed on down the river. We had quite a long run this time and found a large island in the river and saw a hover craft come down the river. We had swapped SugarPie for Master H in our canoe. Somewhere in the middle of this run his daddy told him he could jump out and cool off. Well he did and then climbed on the back of NovaEagle's kayak. His dad handed him a spare paddle and off they went. It was pretty funny and I have a video of it below. They rode like this for the remainder of the trip, even after we took another swim break.

Speaking of swim break, we had all gotten the munchies and hot so we found a gravel bar across from a pretty cliff and pulled over for a break. After a batch of GORPM it was time to float down the river to the rapids at the end of the gravel bar. We would start at the top of the gravel bar and wade out to the middle of the river in our life vests. Then we would lay on our backs with our feet out front and float down to the rapids. It was neat to feel ourselves speed up as we approached the rapids.

What made this real fun was the snake that I saw while we were chowing down on GORPM. I just happened to run around and there was this big snake coming down out of the woods headed toward the water. The girls screamed and the boys came running. This dude wasn't scared and came right on down through us and into the water. He swam across to the other side and got up on a big rock. We got the courage up to get in the water anyway. However as we would float down by him, he would come off the rock and into the water toward us. This would get the girls to screaming and the guys to flailing. I guess all the commotion would run him back up on the rock. After a couple times of this he got caught in the current and went over the rapids and down the river. We were able to float in peace then.

Eventually the two boys and I floated over the rapids and down into the next deep water area. Mr. H said everyone would come pick us up. So MamaCacher came floating down the river in that big canoe all by herself. Well I grabbed on to the front of it and hooked my feet over the side. I asked Mrs. H if I made a nice figure head. For some reason she didn't think so. About that time a family of Alabama fans came floating by in a canoe. I told them that this was how we did it in Auburn. They just smiled and kept on paddling. Hmmm.

So we pulled over to the next gravel bar and got everyone on the correct side of the canoe and headed on down the river. Soon we were at our take-out spot and everyone was disappointed that the ride was over already. That is a good thing. We finally got everything up to the parking lot, the other vehicle back and everything strapped on. We expressed to each other how much fun we had and that we would be doing it again soon.

The crew paddling down the river.


Master H swinging on the rope swing


SugarPie swinging on the rope swing


Miss H swinging on the rope swing.


NovaEagle swinging on the rope swing.


NovaEagle & Master H's new method of travel


Snake time

Brierfield Family Campout

After it was all said and done, MamaCacher said this was the best camp out she has been on yet. I think it was because we had the campground to ourselves and we weren't set to a time schedule. We got up when we wanted to, ate when we wanted to and did whatever when we wanted to. It was a very nice change.

It all started when I wanted to go canoeing on the Cahaba River down below Brierfield sometime Saturday since the water was up. At first we were going to watch the new Narnia movie Friday night and then go down on Saturday. Well MamaCacher decided she would rather go camping. By the time I got home and got all the camping stuff packed last minute we were running out of time to load the canoe and kayak. Plus I had gotten some word from some fellow canoers that the water was still going to be pretty high and dangerous. So we decided to leave the canoe and kayak behind and planned on a recon mission on the Cahaba and the Little Cahaba to find the best places to put-in and take-out a water floating vessel.

So we loaded up and made it to Brierfield in plenty of time before daylight went away. We had time to set everything up and have MamaCacher start cooking while we finished with the tent and accessories. Then we started getting wood for the fire. That was the hard part since everything was wet. However being the Cub Scout leader that I am, I was able to start a fire and have a good one going for roasting marshmallows. Later the kids played in the tent really well, much better than they play together at home. Hmmm. The wife and I stayed up and enjoyed the fire and the moon.

The next morning, after a fire and a great breakfast by MamaCacher, she finally had to know what time it was. It was really nice just hanging and not having to worry about being somewhere at a certain time. Later we loaded up and headed out on recon missiong to find good places to put-in and take-out a canoe and a kayak.

I was disappointed to see that Bulldog Bend Canoe Park was no longer operated. There was a gate across the road and it was all grown up. So far I haven't been able to find anyone who knows anything about it. No wonder it is closed. We found a spot on the other side of the bridge, across from the park, to put in though.

We then made it to the Piper bridge and found the Geocache there. We saw a hovercraft on the river while standing on the Piper bridge. It pulled into the refuge canoe landing. It was way cool. I think I want one of them. He didn't have any problem navigating over the shoals on the really fast flowing river. Did I mention that it was way cool.

We drove down to the refuge road and there were cars parked all the way out to the highway and then along the highway. People were starting to walk out and my wife asked one dude what was up. He said they had just completed a couple of foot races. Still not sure what the boat was all about.

We saw on the refuge map that there was an interpretive trail back across the bridge. So we headed back there and once there decided to take the hike. It was a very nice hike. Once at the end we found a really cool water fall. It took some getting to but it was cool, like literally, and the wife and kids liked it. We checked out the Cahaba River and it was really flowing. It was a good thing we decided not to canoe today. It would have been kinda scary.

We headed back up the trail and stopped at the two scenic locations. They were very nice. I am sure you can see more during the fall when the leaves are off the trees. We could see the shoals though. The water was really flowing over the lilies.

We made it back to the trail head and headed back. We picked up the Geocache at the Piper mines sign. We had gone past it too fast on the way in but knew we were coming back. There were wild roses all over the place. It was really pretty.

We then headed down to the Hwy 26 take-out point to scope it out. Got there and saw that it was the Pratt's Ferry Preserve. I didn't know that was there. A family pulled in and asked us where the nearest canoe rental place was. They were from Selma and wanting to do some canoeing. Hmmm.

We checked out the take-out and realized it would be a haul from the take-out to the parking lot. I am thinking about volunteering to make a road down to the take-out. It wouldn't be that hard and would make that a really nice place to put-in or take-out a boat.

Afterwards we headed back to the campsite for some lunch. MamaCacher tried to take a nap in the tent but it just wasn't working for her. I was going to take the kids to the pool but decide to lay down for just a second. When I woke up everyone was gone. I walked up to the pool and MamaCacher said they had been there for about an hour and a half. Man did I zonk out. I felt better though.

The kids played some more and then we went back to the tent to make dinner and build a fire. We gathered a ton of firewood from limbs blown down and such in the woods near the tent. In the process we saw a grey fox trot across the trail out the end of the camp ground. He went into the woods into a sunny, clear spot and stopped and looked back at us. The kids got to see him and were really excited about it. It was way cool.

Soon we had a roaring fire and a nice dinner of Chinese chicken. The kids and the wife roasted some marshmallows and made Smores. They gave me one the best tasting Smores I think I have ever eaten. They are getting good at this.

Tonight there wasn't as much playing in the tent as we were all tired. I stayed up for a little bit packing what I could for leaving in the morning and watched the fire then put it out and hit the sack. Of course there was this Chuck-Will's-Widow making its call in the woods. It would fly off and make it far off and just about as I was about to fall asleep, it would fly back in close and make a loud call. Fly off, almost asleep, fly back, fly off, almost asleep, fly back, .... Long night.

The next morning I took a nice hot shower in the park bath house and finished packing up with help from momma and the kids. We loaded up in the car and it went click. AAAHHH!!!!!

We walked to the bath house for momma and the kids to get dressed for church while I went looking for the ranger. Found him at his camp site and talked to him about jumping me off. He said there must be a flux field down there at the campground or something because he was all the time having to jump people off.

It was neat though because he told me about a camping, canoe base camp spot just past the Bulldog Bend Canoe Park and was telling me about a remote campground that Brierfield has that I wasn't aware of. He was also telling me about some archeologists that came into the park and found the foundation of what they believe to be a slave house near the campground. It was all pretty cool and he was able to jump me off also. So I picked momma and the kids up at the bath house and we still made it to church on time. What a great campout.

OMSP Car Camping Trip

My sister came in town for the Helena Buck Creek Festival so I took Uncle Doug and Lil'E, his son, out on Lil'E's first camping trip. Uncle Doug, NovaEagle, SugarPie and I setup camp while waiting on Lil'E to make it in from Atlanta with his mom. We cooked some hotdogs on the grill and chilled out around the camp fire. We had to scrounge for some wood but got enough to build a small fire. As Bear Grills says, a small fire is better than no fire as it provides comfort in the dark. So we were very comfortable.

After a bit we heard from Lil'E's mom and Uncle Doug and NovaEagle picked him up at the front gate. There were some frogs croaking across from the little slough that we were camped next to. SugarPie and I had gone and looked at them earlier and so now we took Lil'E and NovaEalge over there to see them. It was pretty cool because you could get close enough to see them on the trees croaking. The kids really enjoyed it. Of course that night, all that croaking kept Uncle Doug and I up all night.

We also eased out to the beach area and played in the sand in the dark. It allowed us to really see the stars and enjoy the night sky.

The next morning we got up early and had some sausage and eggs cooked by Uncle Doug. He is one cool Uncle. Thanks Uncle Doug. Afterwards he slipped across the slough and caught a really nice bass. The rest of us tried but to no avail. Uncle Doug did give us some really good tips though. Then we all saw about a 3 pound bass slinking in the shallow water. We watched him for several minutes and he never left the little spot he was hanging out in. We then headed out for the Helena Buck Creek Festival.

We made it back that evening and piled into the canoe and the kayak. We paddled all the way across the lake to the fishing shack. I got us some worms and we headed back out to a cove on the North side of the lake. Lil'E managed to snag a nice catfish and declared that he was through fishing for the day since he had caught on. Uncle Doug snagged a catfish and let SugarPie reel him in. I, as usual, caught some weeds and sticks.

We paddled back in and spent some time on the beach. I jumped in the freezing cold water with the kids while Uncle Doug made a quick trip back out in the canoe to try his hand at catching some bass. He wasn't so lucky in the evening as he had been in the morning. The kids had a blast jumping off my shoulder as I would throw them way up in the air before coming back to splash into the water.

MamaCacher and Lil'E's momma showed up with some grub from Backyard Burgers and we chowed down. Yeah, it was cheating and not the way that I would have done it but it was nice for everyone so I ate without any guilt. :-) We hung out for a bit and then MamaCacher and Lil'E's mom had to cut and run.

Some nearby camper kids came over and we told them about the frogs. Well they went and got lights and Daddy and we proceeded to take them on a frog tour. On the way over the bridge we saw a water moccasin in the water. That livened things up a little bit. We made it over though and got to see the frogs really croaking it up. Our kids really enjoyed showing the other kids where all the frogs were. They even caught a few and checked them out up close. After wards they let them all go.

We ate a few marshmallows over the fire after we scrounged for some more wood. I passed out the light sticks and we made our way into the sleeping bags. Around midnight I heard the thunder in the distance. SugarPie was having problems sleeping and asked me if that was lightening. Well it was some serious lightening and thunder. I finally woke up Uncle Doug. Yeah, he was sleeping through the frogs and the thunder. He immediately made the decision that we were out of there. We got the kids in the cars just as the big drops of rain hit.

We called the house to let them know we were headed that way and to have the beds ready. It was raining so hard I could hardly see the road. It quit about the state park gate and I wondered if we had jumped the gun. We made it home, got in the bed and I went to sleep until the next morning. Well, MamaCacher told me that about three more fronts came through during the night that I was oblivious to.

Later that morning Uncle Doug and I went to get the camping stuff from the camp site. The wind had blown under the tarp and the water had run under the tent and everything was soaking wet. There was water puddled in the tent. Uncle Doug made a most very good decision to cut and run when we did. By leaving when we did, we had a little excitement and still had a good nights rest and a good story to tell.

Suwannee River Trip

Papa Chuck planned and organized a float trip on the Suwannee river with his brother, Uncle Frank, and two friends, Dennis and Skip, who are brothers. Fortunately for NovaEagle and I, Papa Chuck also invited us. NovaEagle was planning to make the trip in his kayak and I wanted some help in the canoe. I couldn't find a friend who thought spending time with friends was more important than work so NovaEagle found a buddy whose mom understood that a trip like this was more important than two days of school and a ball game. Thank you TeaBird's mom.

NovaEagle, TeaBird and I arrived at the Suwannee River State Park around 4:30 Thursday evening. We signed in and found our campsite. We then checked out the area and the put-in. We tried some fishing but hung up a lure so we put the kayak in to see if we could get it off what ever had it hung. This also allowed NovaEagle and TeaBird the opportunity to test out the kayak in the river and get used to the current. TeaBird had been in a kayak before but only in a lake. The current was something that surprised him at first. However with some coaching from the sidelines he quickly caught on how to maneuver in the current.

We headed back to the camp site and Papa Chuck and Uncle Frank were setting up camp. They had snuck in on us. TeaBird had never set up a tent before so I walked him and NovaEagle through setting up their tent. NovaEagle had helped set it up before but it had been long enough that he had forgotten how. After they had it setup we proceeded to cook some food for dinner. I tried to cook some Ramen noodles but the water kept boiling over and putting out my stove. I finally figured out how to keep the flame at a very low level by holding my mouth just right while adjusting the gas valve. The boys then had a good bowl of noodles. I just boiled some water and rehydrated a meal of MamaCacher's that I had dehydrated. It was very good in the camp site.

The boys retired to their tent and Uncle Frank and I were hanging out talking when I noticed that we were being invaded by blinking lights. The fire flies were coming up out of the ground by the thousands. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I got the boys out of the tent and they were totally amazed. They began to try and catch a few. NovaEagle caught three and showed them to Uncle Frank and myself. He then proceeded to let them go back to their friends. The natural light show was probably the coolest event during the whole trip.

As everyone retired to their bags and pads, I ran off to the little boy's room. I then snuck out and found a cache in the dark near the river. I got to another cache but couldn't find it. I planned on getting the boys to help me find it in the morning but we slept in late and the canoe brothers showed up and it was time to hit the water. After I got to bed that night I did have a visitor that came right by my tent. When I turned on my flashlight he quickly scurried off into the night. I can only assume it was a possum or a coon. At 4 the next morning, according to Uncle Frank, a big hoot owl cut loose several times and woke us all up. Those things are worse than a rooster.

The next morning we got breakfast in a hurry and packed up for the trip. We got down to the water's edge and it seemed to take forever to get everything in the canoe. Being as this was the first time for me to camp in the canoe and also have two inexperienced 10 year-old boys with me, it was somewhat of a daunting task. However with a little help from the brothers four, we were soon in the water and headed on our water adventure as our overall adventure had already begun the evening before.

The water was dark and cool and as the sun began to come up we quickly learned to paddle next to the shore and stay in the shade. The boys of course were snacking and drinking as we went and occasionally needed to pull over to the shore for pit stops. Also NovaEagle and TeaBird were swapping out between the kayak and the front of the canoe. This also required pulling over. These activities proceeded to put us way behind the rest of the paddling crew. The guys pulled over eventually on a sand bar for a break and to let us catch up.

TeaBird jumped out and grabbed his fishing pole to start fishing. He had used mine that I brought the evening before but decided to leave it in the car and bring his for the water trip. Well it immediately became apparent that his reel was jammed and wasn't going to work. He then vowed to test his fishing gear before the next trip. Nothing like learning things the hard way to make them stick.

Stephen threw his lure in and got it wet a couple of times but couldn't get anything to bite. Then a snake showed up and swam along the river past us and past our canoes and into a tree top in the water. You can see the picture in the slide show of where he wound up. We drank some of our water and then headed back on down the river.

We paddled on until we got hungry and then we pulled over for a quick lunch. Everyone else pulled cold sandwiches out of their coolers. I however didn't have a cooler and had to rehydrate some food. That took longer than expected so I learned the hard way to have something quick to eat for lunch that didn't require the stove. NovaEagle found a rather large turtle shell while checking out the upper bank area.

We headed on down the river and Uncle Frank, the Golden Pathfinder, found us a really nice sand bank to spend the night on. The guys quickly threw up their camp site while I waited for the sun to drop below the trees so my tent wouldn't turn into a sauna. This was a neat little trick that I learned from reading Backpacker magazine. While we were waiting for the sun to drop, the boys played in the sand, then the water then the mud along the edge of the river. Needless to say, despite all my advice on how to remove the sand from their bodies, there was still a good bit of sand in their tent by bed time. Oh well, nothing like learning the hard way to make it stick.

The boys were pretty much able to put up their tent by themselves this time. I gave them some advice on how to keep all the accessories in one spot so they could find them in the morning while taking the tent down. I rehydrated some Mountain House food and both boys really liked it. In fact the two serving package wasn't enough for them after a day of paddling. A batch of one of MamaCacher's rehydrated meals and they were good to go.

I put some stink bait on a hook and sat on one of my removable canoe seats on the beach. It was very nice and relaxing. The boys sat beside me and pointed out the stars and such that they knew. Around 9 pm, after no bites from the fish but plenty from the mosquitoes, we headed off to bed. Not 10 minutes after we turned off the lights the local flock of hoot owls cut loose. In the darkness of the night I heard, "Daddy!" "Yes?" "What was that?" "Owls." "Oh." We were soon all asleep after that.

The next morning I got the boys up and we got a quick breakfast and broke camp in a hurry. The boys were starting to get the hang of it and know what to do without being told a jillion times. So we were down and packed before anyone else. We went ahead and headed on down the river since we were the slowest in the pack. This was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable part of the trip we had. We were just paddling at our own pace in the shade of the trees along the bank and not worried about catching up with anyone.

After a couple of hours on the water though the peace and tranquility were interrupted by the canoe brothers, Dennis and Skip, pulling a kamikaze run on the kamikaze kid (NovaEagle) in the kamikaze kayak. The kid was lost in his own little paddling world when the canoe slammed into the back of his kayak and the brothers yelled at the same time. I just hated I wasn't looking in that direction when it happened. They said he almost left the kayak. They thought they were going to have to hold him in.

It is at this point in the story that I will mention that NovaEagle was referred to as the kamikaze kid because that is what he had been doing to the canoe brothers and me all day yesterday. He would catch us talking or not paying attention and then ram us from behind or the side. I had a few opportunities to get him back but this was Dennis and Skip's first opportunity. They made it a most excellent one. This story was told more than once after the trip was over and I am sure will be told again and again. Revenge is sweet.

Soon after Uncle Frank and Papa Chuck caught up with us and spotted a bald eagle flying over the river. It was way cool to watch him catch the updrafts as he drifted higher and higher to spot a meal. NovaEagle was most definitely pumped to finally see his first eagle in the wild. That was his pinnacle moment of the trip.

We stopped later at a sand bar discovered by the canoe brothers and grabbed a quick snack. The boys devoured Papa Chuck's PB&J supplies and we had another snake come by our boats and hide in a tree top in the water.

On the river again, we paddled until we came to a state park landing. We docked and used the porta potties, loaded up our water bottles, grabbed some hot lunch and headed on down the river again. It was at this point that TeaBird and I got way behind. We finally made it up to NovaEagle and then no one else. An hour or so later when we saw them, they were pulled in at a landing. As we pulled in, we discovered the call had been made to end the trip there.

We had covered 29 miles in two days and still had another 18 to go the next day to make our planned destination. Everyone decided this was too far and too fast and since we were at a good take out spot, now was a good time to end it.

We had a great time and are now planning a canoe trip in Alabama on either the Sipsey river or the Cahaba river. This is definitely something that we want to do more than once. Thanks to Papa Chuck for pulling this together and thanks to Uncle Frank, Dennis and Skip for all the help and advice and encouragement to the boys. Also thanks to Skip for putting us up in his house that last night and letting us adults get a shower.

Eagle Creek Backpack

Well NovaEagle and I finally made it to the Sipsey Wilderness Area. We got on a discussion forum (www.alatrails.com) where some guys were going to see some falls and we decided to tag along. We invited Headed_My_Way and his son to camp out with us. We all met up at the parking spot and headed off down to the creek where the falls were located. At first it was just normal woods but then as we dropped off down in the creek it got really cool looking. There were some hemlocks that really made it look prehistoric. Then we came to the first falls. WOW! That was pretty neat. We looked for the Geocache located there but couldn't find it.

We moved on down the creek and the way was kinda tough. I wasn't used to really steep mountain sides and having to cross a rushing creek every 50 feet. It had rained like crazy that morning on the drive up and the creeks and the falls were really flowing. We made it down past several small seasonal falls and then to a rather large side fall. We looked for the Geocache there and couldn't find it either. We were about to go on down the creek with the group when we saw a group of Geocachers coming back our way. We waited and they divulged where the cache was hidden. NovaEagle quickly got his hands on it. We also got a clue as to where the first cache was located and decided we would get it on the way out the next morning.

The next and final cache was on the mountain behind us so we bushwhacked through the mountain laurel (devil bush - as dubbed by Headed_My_Way) and made it to the top. This cache was easy to find and near a really good spot for a camp. So we unloaded our packs and set up camp, had some late lunch and decided to hike down the other side to fill up my hydration bladder. Well we were in for a surprise. Turns out that we stumbled up on Deer Skull falls and they were way cool. We came in from the top and found a way down the cliff. We crossed Ugly Injun and made our way around to the side falls. We played behind the top falls and then crossed the side creek and made our way down to the bottom. We stood below both falls and were in awe at the power and how deep we were in a canyon of rock walls.

We did a little exploring downstream and then headed back up stream to find a better way out. We found another falls that was just as pretty and took lots of pictures. I got some water with my filter below these falls. Headed_My_Way and his son were checking out how my filter made clean drinkable water out of the creek water. It was nice. We had camp in our GPSrs so we headed straight for it after we climbed up the side of the falls. We hung out and talked until dark and then hit the sack for the night.

A coyote woke me at daylight with his howls just across the creek. It was cool. We grabbed some quick breakfast, packed up and headed out across the ridge to get back to the drainage that would take us to our cars. It was much easier walking than in the canyon and by following a game trail down the side of the moutain we were able to by pass the devil bush and get to Eagle Creek falls relatively easily. We quickly found the cache and headed on up the drainage. That was the toughest part of the entire trip.

Every one had happy thoughts and sped up when the vehicles came into view. We all had a great time and are already planning our next trip. Thanks to the guys on alatrails for getting us out to the Sipsey Wilderness.

Below are pictures and short movies of our hike. At the end of the pictures is our trail captured by my GPSr. The right side of the figure 8 is our trip to camp and then to Deer Skull Falls. The left side of the figure 8 is our trip from the falls to camp and then out to the cars in the morning.

The boys playing behind a side falls into Eagle Creek.


The boys getting wet feet. Good thing camp was just a short distance away.


Above the main Deer Skulls Falls. We were able to cross the creek just above here and get around to the side Deer Skulls Falls.


I am standing in the middle of the two falls of Deer Skulls Falls on the side. There is a large opening behind the upper falls as you can see one of the boys come out from behind it.


This is the falls above Deer Skull Falls.

Caching With TeaBird

NovaEagle had a friend over to spend the night. He really likes the woods so I decided to get him out in OMSP and introduce him to caching. He had been in the park on his bike at the bike track and had done some fishing. He had never been to Peavine Falls or on the trails. What better way to introduce him than to take him caching around Peavine Falls. We didn't make it to Peavine Falls but we made it to the Green, Red, Orange and Yellow trails. We did a lot of bushwhacking.

He had a blast and found three caches on his own. NovaEagle and I found them first but we didn't let on. He had to find them on his own and he did a pretty good job of it. He had the GPS the whole time and did a good job of navigating. We hiked a little over 3 miles in about 2 hours. By the time we got back to the Jeep both boys were tired. They snacked all the way from the last cache which was 1.11 miles from the Jeep. That was a long trek.

Check the pictures out below and the two movies. Neither movie has sound as my cheap camera doesn't pick up sound. The first movie is of TeaBird and NovaEagle at the first cache. TeaBird is reading the Geocaching brochure in the cache to learn more about the game. NovaEagle is checking out all the stuff.

The second movie shows a beautiful hollow that we found bushwhacking from the first cache to the second. I way marked that spot so I can take the family back some time. At the end NovaEagle and TeaBird are throwing rocks at a blown over tree root pretending that they are defending their fortified position from attackers. Boys will be boys.

OMSP White Red Hike

We wanted to go to King's Chair and see the snow across the valley. But first we stopped by and gave Gubbool some Girl Scout cookies. Standing at his tent, we realized how cold it was. So we decided instead to just hike to Maggie's Glen and try and see some snow. It melted fast but we got to see some. In the mean time it warmed up nicely and we had a very enjoyable hike. No one got tired and the scenery kept it from getting boring.

Another NovaEagle FTF

Hover your mouse over the picture to stop it and see the comment associated with it.

Geocaching on a cold and blustery Saturday

We wanted to start at the CCC road near Peavine Falls but the gate was locked on the main road at 6:15 this morning so we went on to the yellow-white connector. Nice hike up the mountain early in the morning. It was cold but the weatherman said it was going to warm up. Can I just go ahead and call him a liar now? Got to the top and bush whacked over to the sign. It had been warm on the way down but then once we got to the sign it was cold again. NovaEagle didn't have enough clothes so I gave him my windbreaker and dug out a poncho I had in my bag to break the wind. So now I am down to a t-shirt and a poncho and its not getting warmer. 2 MILES! so says NovaEagle. Yep says I and we head out.

Too cold on the Blue so we drop off the back side of the mountain to get out of the wind. See some pretty views, find some deer beds, and come across Oak Mountain South Rim Cache. NovaEagle found it while I was still trying to get the GoTo working on my GPSr. He signed the log and I signed the log and we enjoyed the rest and the reprieve from the wind. We stay on the backside and come across Got Noculars?

Our coords put us up by a small tree and without any hint we spent some time looking in vain. Finally I started easing down the hill and spotted the cache. I made my way to the cache and waited on NovaEagle to bring the goody bag and make his way down. We rummaged through the cache, signed the log and once again forgot to take a single picture. The sad part is that my camera was in one of my six-pocket pants pockets.

So we put the cache back and raced each other back up the mountain. I started out with a slip and NovaEagle took advantage of that fleeting head start and only gained distance as we went up the mountain. The boy is part billy goat. He liked the fact that he beat his ole man up the mountain also. We grabbed our stuff and headed on to the Apprentice.

Finally head back to the Blue and start hoofing it. Still not warm. We get across from the cache and hang right off the trail and bush whack to the site. I ask Stephen, reckon that is the cache and he pulls the ammo box out of a hat. Boy is he excited.

We rummage through it, sign our names, take a Captain Kidd DVD, leave a Captain Hook hook and absolutely forget to take the first picture until we were a good quarter of a mile away and headed back. Before that though we sit down for a snack of dehydrated pineapple and a good swig of water. My pack had caused my lower back to sweat and now my wet cotton t-shirt is causing me to freeze. Lying weather man. I gotta get me some better clothes.

We suited up and headed back out. NovaEagle was dragging further behind this time on the way out. Also it seemed to be colder on the way out than on the way in. It really got cold when I called MamaCacher and found out it was only 38 degrees. Lying weather man.

We bush whacked down from the Blue trail to the CCC road and quickly go through three caches that Gubbool had apparently archived in just the last week. I guess I am going to have to update my pocket query of the area. We make it to the Yellow-White connector and then on down the mountain to the Jeep. That dirty ole white Jeep never looked so sweet. We ran the heater on high the entire 30 minute drive to the house and I never got hot. Lying weather man.

King's Chair Hike

I took the evening off since the kids were off and decided to hike to the King's Chair Geocache in OMSP and find it since none of us had found it. On the way there we ran into Gubbool coming down the hill. Gubbool is the caching name of a local Geocacher and temporary resident of OMSP. He informed us that he had just hidden a cache and would gladly take us there to let SugarPie, my Geocaching daughter, get her first FTF(First To Find) on a Geocache. So he turned around and took us on up the mountain.

He was able to help SugarPie get her first FTF and she was very excited about that. The cache was at an amazing spot in OMSP and offered a great view of the valley between the two ranges. Now it was on to the King's Chair. It was good that Gubbool was with us because it became quickly obvious that the coordinates for King's Chair were not in my gps. Gubbool however led us straight to it and MamaCacher and SugarPie quickly found the cache. MamaCacher signed the log for all of us and Gubbool passed out Pop Tarts to the kids. They really like Gubbool now.
We spent some time taking pictures and admiring the scenery before heading back to the van. It was at this point we discovered that I had dropped my jacket somewhere in the woods on the way to the chair. It was getting dark and so Gubbool offered to let us hike back the way of the trail and he would go the route we took coming in to find my jacket. We made it back to the van before dark and about 10 minutes later we see a dark form coming down the mountain. It is Gubbool with my jacket.

Everything turned out good that evening, thanks to Gubbool, even though we tried to mess it up more than once. Below is a short video I took of the view. Don't bother with trying to figure out why your sound doesn't work because it doesn't have any sound.