A Week in Alabama

If wanted to experience a good representation of all that Alabama forests had to offer, where would you go? Here I recommend three of the best trails we have, they are all beautiful in their own right. However, together these trails show the diversity of Alabama and will give you a very good experience as you discover the different nature of each of these trails. There are no days built in for driving from place to place, so you would have to drive to the next trailhead at night when you get in.

I would start in the south by hiking the Conecuh Trail. You will be amazed by the diversity that this one trail has to offer, meadows, small hills, springs, rivers, creeks, swamps, and ponds. I choose this trail first because it is closer than any others to the images associated with the South. Swamps and Spanish moss hanging from cypress trails will remind you of the movies, even if they don't last long. The rolling hills and meadows set the stage for quail hunting on horse back, and the springs and swimming holes with rope swings could be the subject of a Rockwell painting. Although the entire loop is 30 miles, the average backpacker should be comfortable doing the trail in two days as it is wide, well cleared, and flat. This trail also offers a huge array of plants, flowers, animals and birds. I suggest starting at Open Pond, hiking the south loop, taking the connector trail up to the north loop, and camping for the first night at either Mossy Pond or Nellie Ponds (go clockwise around the loop for Mossy Pond and counter clockwise for Nellie Ponds). The second day finish the loop and head back the connector to the Open Pond trailhead.

The next trek would be a three days on the Pinhoti, Chinnabee, and Skyway Trails. Start at Adam's gap Trailhead, that is 10 miles or so South of Cheaha St Park. The first day take the Pinhoti Section 7 north just past McDill's Pt to the obvious camp site directly on top of a cliff. This is approximately 8.5 miles, but it is some difficult trail. This is my favorite camp site, it is shortly past the sign for McDill's Pt and is on a nice flat piece of rock which offers great views and the sunset. You will have to carry your water from the Spring at the Odum/Chinnabee intersection. There should be no problem getting water there in wet weather, if there is you can go down the Chinnabee trail a ways till you find it. Other's have reported little difficulty following the trail from Adam's Gap to the intersection, from the intersection to the turn off for McDill's Pt there are some places where it is very difficult. I highly suggest the good topo map. You should get to camp early, which gives you time to set up and take a visit to McDill's Pt (someone just told me it is one of the best vistas on the trail), and then enjoy the sunset at your camp site.

Day two is a little tricky. I suggest following the trail North until you get to the sign for the Cheaha Wilderness (granite stone marker), this section of trail is beautiful, with some more over looks and pine forests. At this point you have two options: bushwhack to the Cave Creek trail which is less than half a mile to your east, or just follow the ridge of the mountain south (there is kind of a track but not official trail along the ridge, it is not difficult). Using either option you will end up back at the Chinnabee - Pinhoti - Odum intersection. Here you follow the Chinnabee Trail straight down the mountain. It is down so not physically difficult, but there are lots of rocks. In about three miles you will first cross a large stream, then go through the Turnipseed Hunter's Camp, and finally cross the Skyway road that you took the previous day to get to Adam's Gap. About a mile past the road you will find a beautiful waterfalls, and the shelter is about 2 hundred yards up the trail from the falls. Stay at the shelter or camp beside the waterfalls. I prefer the shelter. The distance will be 9 - 10 miles this day depending on which trail you take. The third day take the Chinnabee Trail down to the Skyway trail, and follow the Skyway trial back to your car. Another beautiful trail, plenty of water today, total of about 8 1/2 miles. You might leave the shelter early and have breakfast about a mile down at the Devil's Den falls, beautiful ledge to sit and relax and have breakfast on. Don't miss the skyway trail, it goes up and down through the little glens, and really shows off our long leaf pine trees. If you want to add a mile or so without your packs you could also do the lakeside trail around Lake Chinnabee before hitting the Skyway trail. In this case leave your packs at the crossing for Skyway (Hide them) and take a nice stroll around the lake.

Finally end your tour of Alabama in the Sipsey wilderness. The Sipsey has water, canyons, sandstone, cliffs, and boulders. My suggest here is for spending two days and a night exploring deep inside the wilderness. This gives you flexibility as to what you do and only requires you to carry your gear 6 or 7 miles (you can add some luxuries). Start at the west County Road 60 trailhead. Take TR201 into the wilderness. There is supposed to be a nice cove to camp at the end of this trail, or you could hide your pack and set up camp on the other side of the river where there are lots of nice spots after a day of exploring. From here you can spend the day exploring up Quillan Creek, Parker Branch, and Hubbard Creek. I hear that Quillan and Parker are especially beautiful. The next day you can explore The top part of TR209, the bottom of TR206, and the Bee Branch. To do this you will have to ford the Sipsey. Then you will head back down TR209 till it fords the Sipsey again to TR202 which will take you back to the trailhead. The base hike here (201-209-202) is about 8 miles long, to that you could add many more miles of exploring.

By now you should be tired, but I also trust this to be a very satisfying experience and will understand more about the land which comprises this state.

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Last Updated: April 2003

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