Sipsey Weekend Camping Report

[elbowman]

Hello All,

Well another exciting weekend camping in Bankhead. Never the same weekend twice, and never disappoints.
Solo trip last weekend. I don't mind solo trips, I have done many weekends alone in the Sipsey over the past year. I don't mind hiking alone, sitting around the fire at night is nice, but I am not a big fan of sleeping alone in the woods at night. So I was pleasantly surprised to see another hiker set up near the Borden Bridge when I arrived. For some reason, just knowing that there are other humans nearby in the woods makes the nights better. Now this might not be a problem for some of you, but to me alone, dark woods, middle of the night is creepy.

And I am OK with creepy. In fact I separate camping/hiking/backpacking experiences into three categories other than good.

1. Creepy - Middle of the night, alone, animal sounds, normal woods stuff that my brain can account for. Creepy but OK.
2. Scary - Middle of the night, alone, sounds in the woods that are not easily explained. The big brush crash in the middle of the night, some large howl, or the scream of an owl. Don't feel in danger. Scary but OK.
3. Weird - This is the category I do not like when solo. Sounds in the night that my brain cannot even identify likely source, humans that don't meet that "feels like an OK person" test, other things in general that don't pass that it feels OK test. Could be in danger.Weird is not OK.

So any way I start setting up my tent and my fellow camper from the other side of the bridge walks over and asks me if I am camping alone and when do I plan to head out. Kind of a strange opening to a conversation. He then asks that when I leave, to notify the rangers that he is sick and would like them to check on him middle of next week to ensure he is still OK. (not weird yet, put starting to get creepy). So futher along in our conversation I learn the following:

1. Does not have a vehicle.
2. Lives in Birmingham and was dropped off for a 2 week camp out.
3. Very little food.
4. Very little water.
5. Wants to know if he can drink directly out of stream as he has no way to purify the water.
6. Plans to catch squirrels, fish and live off the land.

At that point my brain crossed over to the weird. Alarms were going off in the back of my mind. I was thinking this sounds like a dateline episode I watched and I remember it ended with someone dying. Just me and him in the woods alone tonight. And I don't like weird.

At this point I had camp all setup, fire was going and all that was left was to cook dinner. So I drove back up Bunyan Hill Road to the black top to where I had cell signal. Called my wife and explained situation to her.

Do you feel in danger? She asked.

No, he seems like a nice guy.

Do people usually die while camping?

No, very rare to have any violent crime on the trail.

So what's the matter?

It's weird. And I don't like weird. Who comes out to camp in the wilderness for 2 weeks and brings no food or water. And has no way to get out if something goes wrong?

Maybe you should do a preemptive strike and kill him now before he kills you tonight.

It was at that point that I realized that maybe he was just a normal guy, who had never done this before, watched too many "Man vs Wild" shows and thought he could come out and have an adventure.

And it turns out he was the later. Normal guy, not an axe murderer on holiday. In fact he was very sick and I helped him get back to the ranger station the next morning to call for a ride back home. His name is Eddie, and he is a really nice guy, who just went out into the woods alittle under prepared.

So Eddie if your out there reading this; it was actually a pleasure to meet you. Good luck and God Bless.

Eric

[jaybird]

So, did you go back to camp and check on him before you went to sleep?  Or, did you get ANY sleep before the next morning???

[dogwood]

Excellent story!  Sounds like Eddie(hopefully) learned a valuable lesson about the outdoors.  Being unprepared is very dangerous.  Three of my friends did an overnighter around Christmas/New Years in Sipsey.  They were doing a "period trek" with gear that a person from the fur-trade era would carry.  When they were returning to their vehicles, they ran across a couple of guys who had been lost for a day or so, and couldn't find their way out of the wilderness!  My friends gave them some food and helped them find their vehicles.  These guys were also pretty unprepared!  Don't go into a wilderness area without a good map, compass or GPS, or at least know how to read terrain! 

[Pully]

Great report Eric. It was a very entertaining read. I would have camped a night with you if you would have let me know.

Why would a person attempt to spend 2 weeks in the wilderness if the person knew he was sick?

Don't go into a wilderness area without a good map, compass or GPS, or at least know how to read terrain! 

Definitely. It's best if you have all 4... I've gone to Sipsey without a map, compass or GPS several times, and have become "turned around" but never lost in unfamiliar areas.  Now I carry a map, compass and GPS and read the terrain, pay attention to creek flow and look for landmarks.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Amusing!

After getting lost with a GPS once in Sipsey, I learned my lesson. I've retold the story dozens of times here, the gist of which being that I now carry a GPS AND compass, plus a map when possible, wherever I go, no matter how mundane the hike. When I bushwhack I study maps beforehand for days on end, and I always pay attention to the terrain, especially streamflow.

[Uncle Wayne]

Very good story elbowman!  I'll have to share that with my wife.

I'm sure most of us have experienced each of the categories you listed.  Enjoyed the post very much.

The Sipsey attracts all types, those prepared and those who need a little more preparation.  Eddie was lucky you chose to camp that weekend.  You done good.

[toph]

Good thing about the Sipsey is that if you understand the drainage system (which a quick look at a map should provide such understanding), you'd almost have to try to get truly "lost".  Walk downstream from anywhere until you get to the Rec Area.  Done.

[SmokeDiver]

Great story! Sounds like you averted a "Christopher McCandless" type disaster. Fortunately Mr. Grylls had you out there to take a very negative situation and turn it into a positive one. You may have inspired him to venture out again in a much more prepared way.

[montysano]

Good thing about the Sipsey is that if you understand the drainage system (which a quick look at a map should provide such understanding), you'd almost have to try to get truly "lost".  Walk downstream from anywhere until you get to the Rec Area.  Done.

Very true.  It's hard to get more than a couple of miles from a road.  But I have a friend who continually gets lost, and he'll tell you that those couple of miles can be very tough, esp. in the middle of the night with temps in the 20s.  His last "lost" episode, this past winter in the Caney Creek backcountry, has convinced him to get a GPS.

[todd150hp]

I know what you mean about the woods being creepy at night when you are all by yourself trying to sleep. It seems everytime I'm in that situation as soon as I close my eyes and start to relax I will suddenly start thinking about scenes from some stupid horror flick I saw 15 years ago and haven't thought of since. Until that particular moment. What's up with that?. 

[Joshua Szulecki]

Good thing about the Sipsey is that if you understand the drainage system (which a quick look at a map should provide such understanding), you'd almost have to try to get truly "lost".  Walk downstream from anywhere until you get to the Rec Area.  Done.

Isn't that true! You may spend a few extra hours in the woods (maybe an extra day), but if you follow the water down, you'll never actually get "lost." Of course, if your car is upstream and you get "lost", it certainly is obnoxious! But then there are varying degrees of lost...

[Old Hickory]

You are far safer camping in the woods alone than you are at the trailhead with other people. Troublemakers and weirdos are inherently lazy. They congregate at trailheads and points of vehicular access. I spend as little time at the trailhead as possible.

I've never met a weirdo or unstable person a few miles into the woods. I've met plenty hanging around the parking lot.