Sougdahoagee Falls in the Bankhead Forest, NW Alabama

[Bamabww]

Brushy Creek

Brushy Creek

Waterfall #1

Waterfall #2

Waterfall #3

Waterfall #4

Sougdahoagee Falls, approximately 60 feet of water falling almost 50 feet. This creek was the boundary line between the Cherokees and the Creeks in the early 1800's.

Sougdahoagee Falls

Brushy Creek, notice how high the water has been to have left that log on top of that boulder.

 

[doemasters]

very cool, going to make me get out and snap some pictures of some waterfalls if i can find some

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Gorgeous. Is the flatwater below the falls backwater from Smith Lake, or is it a ways upstream? Is it in Sipsey and is there a trail to it with tent sites nearby? Sipsey is one of the places I've been wanting to spend a lot more time hiking.

RTR,

Tim

 

[Bamabww]

Gorgeous. Is the flatwater below the falls backwater from Smith Lake, or is it a ways upstream? Is it in Sipsey and is there a trail to it with tent sites nearby? Sipsey is one of the places I've been wanting to spend a lot more time hiking.

RTR,

Tim

Thank you. The big falls is about 20 miles upstream from Smith Lake. This falls is actually on the east side of Bankhead and not in the Sipsey Wilderness. There is a trail to this falls approximately 2 miles from where you park to the falls. If the water is right, and it would have been this past weekend, you can canoe all the way to Smith Lake from the old low pressure bridge. Primitive camping is the only sites available around the falls. I guess the nearest Forest Service campsite with toilets etc would be either Houston or Corinth.

The Sipsey wilderness is a beautiful place. The largest tree in Alabama is in the Sipsey Wilderness. If you're planning a hike I'd recommend going before the end of June. Ticks and chiggers are terrible in the hot part of summer. I rarely ever hike between the end of May and the last of September. It's doable but you'd better be prepared for the battle.

If you need a hiking partner ........

 

[It Takes Eleven]

Thanks! I'm not a warm weather hiker at all, either. I'm no fan of oppressive heat with a pack, insects or snakes. Is the overnight parking fairly safe there? Our Appalachian Trail hikes were mostly done in February-April and October-November. I did the White Mountaings in July, but it was 34 degrees when we hit the summit of Mount Washington, and we did the 100 Mile Wilderness and Katahdin in July as well.

RTR,

Tim

 

[alabama mike]

Great shots! Gonna have to get over there when I come home this summer. You forgot to mention the snakes. LOL

 

[Bamabww]

Is the overnight parking fairly safe there?

Tim

I have never had a problem and have been parking at different places around the forest for over 40 years. And since I said that, the next time I go, well you know...

@It Takes Eleven , you have an impressive AT hiking background. My wife and I have done the first 300 or so miles from Springer Mtn., 100 miles in central Virginia and have been to Baxter State Park but only did a mile or so up Katahdin.

 

[Bamabww]

@alabama mike, we rarely see snakes anymore. The feral hogs have done a number on the snakes population. Ten years ago we would see snakes each time we visited the forest. I can't remember the last time I saw a snake in the Bankhead forest. I know they're still there but not in anyway like they were before the feral hogs moved in.

 

[alabama mike]

@Bamabww

Good thing you havent seen any snakes because Mike does not like snakes. The only good snake is a dead one. My dad would disagree, has a king snake in the far backyard that lives in an old goal post.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

I have never had a problem and have been parking at different places around the forest for over 40 years. And since I said that, the next time I go, well you know...

@It Takes Eleven , you have an impressive AT hiking background. My wife and I have done the first 300 or so miles from Springer Mtn., 100 miles in central Virginia and have been to Baxter State Park but only did a mile or so up Katahdin.

I hiked the AT from February 1989 to July 2005, from Georgia to Maine, picking up where I left off, usually a time or two a year, most trips between 90 and 170 miles. It was a great experience, met so many great people getting to and from the trail, and on it. I did it with my best friend, who was my roommate in college and we share a pair of season tickets for Bama games. We're in the upper deck, so we hike Fall Saturdays at Bryant Denny now...

The first 300 miles of the AT are among the hardest, particularly if you're talking what's south of the Whites. So many ups and downs in North Georgia and North Carolina. One of my all-time favorite stretches is in SW Virginia, just south of Roanoke. Within a 20-25 mile hike along Catawba Mountain, you get Dragons Tooth, Tinker Cliffs and the famously photographed McAfee Knob. It's one of the few sections I've hiked more than once.

My next goal is the 211 mile John Muir Trail. I do plan to tramp in New Zealand some day, too.

RTR,

Tim