Going to the Tree

[Haveuseen1]

To keep this short I have been all over the SWA and never once have made the trip to the "big tree".  Not sure why, but I think it is time.  I am considering a loop and here it is :
Starting from Thompson Creek Trailhead 208-224-204-209-206

Looking for any feedback on this.  Do you think it would be better to just do the 206-209 and then back the sam way?

I have avoided this area because I feel it is the most "commercialized" area of the SWA.  I have been all over areas that I feel have had very little human impact and are well worth seeing in the Sipsey, I just think its time to complete another portion of the sipsey.

I plan on doing this as a day hike to get a little more familiar with the area.

Thanks in advance.

[Cuffs]

Ive done that exact loop, but in reverse.

The only real draw back is that 208 & 224 are permitted for horse use.  I have noticed slightly more trash on these 2 trails and feel that it may be from the riders.  Really, I dont see any one of them dismounting every time the drop a piece of paper. 

Will this be as a day hike or over nighter?

If over nighter, I would suggest heading down Thompson creek and rounding the turn at shiprock to camp, then moving on in the morning.  Your route will be pretty much all down hill, but if you want a tad more challenge, I again suggest the reverse of your route.

Have a great hike!

[Joshua Szulecki]

Haveuseen1,

A lot of the damage from years of overuse is starting to heal in that area, and I wouldn't consider it any more impacted than average for an area where regular visitation occurs in Sipsey. Actually, I think the Borden trailhead is a LOT worse at this point.

That loop works, but again, I prefer the Whiteoak Hollow shortcut, because you are in the Bee Branches faster, so you can spend more time exploring there rather than getting there. But as Cuffs asked, is this an overnight? If so, a longer route is probably merited.

[Haveuseen1]

This will be a day hike.

If I go from 206-209 then on the way there is downhill?

Originally I planned on a quick overnighter but somehow life seemed to get in the way once again.

I do appreciate the help.

For the WhiteOak Hollow short cut is that something you an describe?

Thanks again

[Cuffs]

if departing from Thompson Creek TH, heading south on 206, then 209, you will have to climb up on 204 and 224 - 208 is an uphill grade also.

If departing from Thompson Creek TH, headed north west on 208, there is a slight grade right off, then mostly down hill from there, then way down on 204 and flat on 209/206...

[Joshua Szulecki]

The best I can do is direct you to this thread. I wasn't really paying too much attention that day, as I was sick as a dog.

http://www.alatrails.com/...iewtopic.php?f=2&t=41

[McDowra]

We made the trip last year, White Oak Hollow isn't a bad way to go. Park at Thompson cross the bridge and turn right. After you cross the side creek look left for a whisper of a trail. Follow it to the top of the hill where you intersect a old road bed. To quote dayhiker"  when you come out of the hollow you T into an official trail (205 maybe, I can't recall the number). When you get here, turn left for 30 yards and the trail then turns off to the right and ties into West Bee. From there a trail lead to the intersection of East and West Bee"

To be honest we had trouble finding the trail so we just went downhill till we hit the creek. From there the trail is pretty easy to follow or was last year. We made it there in less then 2 hours going that way.

[montysano]

I'll second McDowra's suggestion on taking the White Oak Hollow route.  We used to do it slightly differently, however.  We would stay down low in White Oak Hollow until the 3rd draw (I think), then climb up to the ridgetop, go left on the logging road for a short distance, then take a right down into Bee.  IMHO, this west branch of Bee Branch is among the most spectacular in the forest, so much so that we would rarely travel on to the Tree.

[Nalgene Ninja]

ugh. You kidding me!? Its seriously that easy?    I'll be going there before the end of this month then. 

[Haveuseen1]

Well,  I did it.  I went to the tree.

Started out from Thompson Creek trailhead, and there was not a drop water at the bridge.  Took the trail south (206).  Ventured up into White Oak Hollow covered about 4 miles in there and did not find the short cut to bee branch.  I did find quite a few "established" campsites.  Spooked one deer and there is a tremendous amount of pig sign. Sporadic pools of water in the creek, but the creek was not flowing.  Backtracked out and picked up 206 south again around 11:20.  Nice walk to Bee Branch, quite a few campsites and there is water in the creeks (Thompson/Sipsey fork) along the way.  The creek was actually deeper than I expected.  Made it to the tree at 2:25.  I must say the tree is pretty impressive, I took a rough measurement and my guess was 22' around at my head height.  I am 6'2".  No water coming over the waterfall behind the tree, I can only guess it would be most impressive if water was coming over.  Headed out and back to the truck.  Nearly every campsite was full on the way out along Thompson.  The large campsite at white oak/Thompson was also full.  Made it back to the truck at 5:05.  After going back over my route I covered 15 new miles in the SWA, and it was quite enjoyable.

Met folks from: Mobile,Russelville,Muscle Shoals,Birmingham,Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa.
Met 2 dogs: Sadie (sp?), and Coco

I wanted to see the Needles Eye, and Ship rock but due to my White Oak adventure I ate up to much time.  I will go back for these, maybe in the next few weekends.  I will make this one an overnighter.

Overall I would say the trip was worth it.  I will also say that I saw more people & established campsites in 1 day than I have seen in my combined trips over the last 5 years to the SWA.  I also saw more left behind, trashbags, tarps, tents, grills,clothes lines, etc... than any other part of SWA.

Just for fun, I could spend several days in Whiteoak, as this is a nice area that needs some more exploration.

[Joshua Szulecki]

The shortcut out of Whiteoak Hollow is near the muffin shaped rock (surrounded by water) if that helps at all. I think there was a campsite there, too.

Was there actually no water at all under the Thompson Creek Bridge?

[Haveuseen1]

There was no water at all under the thompson creek bridge.  Not even a puddle.  I thought it would have had water due to the recent rains, and I was surprised.

Muffin shaped rock:

Are you speaking of the large rock maybe 100yds east of where you would cross the creek to continue on trail 206?  There is a large flat spot right at the rock that you could easily put 10-15 tents or more.  I crossed the creek at this spot and picked up a trail that led back (west) to 206.  If this is the spot I must not have seen the "shortcut" trail.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Well... admittedly I was pretty sick that day, and I was on cold meds, but...

I think we crossed at the muffin, and that was near where the shortcut started, but somebody else better figure this out, because I might get you lost on this one. I wasn't navigating, and I wasn't paying close attention, because I was coughing so hard I was almost blacking out.

[montysano]

Muffin shaped rock:

Are you speaking of the large rock maybe 100yds east of where you would cross the creek to continue on trail 206?  There is a large flat spot right at the rock that you could easily put 10-15 tents or more.  I crossed the creek at this spot and picked up a trail that led back (west) to 206.  If this is the spot I must not have seen the "shortcut" trail.

I think I know the rock Joshua is referring to.  When my son (now 20) was 7-8 years old, he called it "Warrior Rock" because he said he could imagine a Native American sitting on it.     It's at least 1/4 mile or so up White Oak if memory serves me.

[toph]

The shortcut is further upstream in White Oak Hollow from "The Muffin".  If you took a right after crossing, you should have taken a left.  After a hundred yards or so the trail starts working it's way up a side drainage on the right to meet up with 205 on the top.  Once you hit 205, continue walking straight across it and down into the drainage directly opposite the one you just hiked up.  You may or may not see signs of a trail at first but it will become clearly visible as you continue down the drainage.  This will dump you out in West Bee Branch which is where, IMO, it can get a little complicated if you're not familiar with the area. 

[Nalgene Ninja]

The shortcut is further upstream in White Oak Hollow from "The Muffin".  If you took a right after crossing, you should have taken a left.  After a hundred yards or so the trail starts working it's way up a side drainage on the right to meet up with 205 on the top.  Once you hit 205, continue walking straight across it and down into the drainage directly opposite the one you just hiked up.  You may or may not see signs of a trail at first but it will become clearly visible as you continue down the drainage.  This will dump you out in West Bee Branch which is where, IMO, it can get a little complicated if you're not familiar with the area. 

Why is it "complicated"?  Is it a steep drop into the West Bee Branch?

[toph]

There is a steep part that requires some rock scrambling (can be somewhat slick) but it's not too terribly bad.  You should be on the left side of the drainage at this point.  You can get down from the right but it is more difficult.  There used to be a ~15' length of rope to help with the first step down but not sure if it is still there or not.  You might get your rear end a little dirty but if you take your time, you should have no problem whether the rope is there or not.  After you get down is what I was referring to where it can be confusing to some thinking they are in East Bee when in reality they are in West.  You basically are coming in to West Bee with a side drainage (the one you followed down) on your right and as you get into the bottom, West Bee comes in from the left and merges with this creek.  I've seen many folks reach this intersection and go left up West Bee which is mostly a bushwhack.  Very pretty up in there but no trail.  You need to continue downstream a little further until you reach the intersection of East and West, then take the left upstream for another ~.75 mile to the tree.  The trail from here should be very clear (barring any downfall).  Don't forget the way you came in ;-)

[toph]

This is what you'll see when you get down the steep part:

Going to the Tree

Also, when you get to this point, there is an approximately 60-70' seasonal fall about 75 yards around the bluff to the right:

Going to the Tree

[Joshua Szulecki]

Thanks Toph, I was spinning myself in circles trying to figure out that one part of the trip. I was pretty fuzzy after a coughing fit at "The Muffin" and didn't really recover until we hit 205.

I remember three hairy places on the way into the canyon. One was a slick spot (which we passed accidentally and met a shear drop) where a chunk of a tree was being used as a "ladder" but wasn't really working. Another was where the "trail" met a small stream, and a crossing was required that needed a bit of a short descent on slick rocks and mud. The final spot was at one of the small waterfalls (picture at: http://www.szulecki.com/images/BigTree/index.html) with a narrow top, where the right side of the falls (facing downstream) was a slick, muddy hill with a 20-30ft slide into the stinky water if you weren't careful.

[montysano]

There is a steep part that requires some rock scrambling (can be somewhat slick) but it's not too terribly bad.  You should be on the left side of the drainage at this point.  You can get down from the right but it is more difficult.  There used to be a ~15' length of rope to help with the first step down but not sure if it is still there or not.  You might get your rear end a little dirty but if you take your time, you should have no problem whether the rope is there or not. 

That's why, upthread, I showed the easy way and the hard way.  The climb down that ya'll are talking about can be kind of hairy.  If you go the other way, it's an easy climb.  When you get down to the main creek, there's a good campsite.  Then, cross West Bee Branch and climb up to the base of the bluffs on the east side.  You can cruise along the base of the bluffs downstream to the junction with the big tree trail.  That area along the bluffs is, IMHO, one of the really spectacular areas of the Sipsey.