01/31/10 Sipsey Hike

[weathermansam]

A very lopsided hike that took me down Thompson Creek past Auburn Falls which was really pretty!, eating lunch at Eye of the Needle, before wandering up 205, then off trail a ways, then back on 205 before a brief stint in West Bee and out White Oak Hollow.  Saw lots of arborglyphs and lots of destruction under the bluff shelters.  

Also, in photos 5305-5308, there was some kind of old message carved into the rock underneath one shelter.  I can't make out what it says for the most part....somethin g like "llll LOW IN MATH", but what the heck is that supposed to mean?

For the fully gallery:
http://www.weathermansam....p/013110sipsey/index.html

Auburn Falls


Arborglyphs


Neat formation


Destruction [staff is about 5 1/2ft in length for size reference]

[Uncle Wayne]

Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing them.  Good to see my aluminum band is still in place.

[DavidR]

Cool hike Sam. Thanks for sharing. What do you think the bluff damage is from? People or hogs?

[weathermansam]

Cool hike Sam. Thanks for sharing. What do you think the bluff damage is from? People or hogs?

Definitely people damage.  Footprints as recent as a day before I was there.  I really didn't see any of the typical hog damage out there.  These digs were more meticulous and regulated to specifically under bluff shelters.  There were pieces of flint still mixed in with some of the dirt.  I kicked some dirt back over what was exposed, but that was pointless since erosion wasn't the problem.  I propose a special kind of hunting permit be issued [but you can only shoot feet ]......

[weathermansam]

An oddity from the hike...on the sheer wall behind the waterfall close to Auburn falls, is this feature.  It's about 4ft off the ground and extends back into the rock itself.  It's about 1 1/2ft wide or so, and I have no clue how far back it goes.  I used the flash here to show more depth...




In that same general area....

[weathermansam]

Click and enlarge the image.  I tried to mosaic the carved rock together...still can't quite make out what it's saying.

01/31/10 Sipsey Hike

[JC785]

Thanks for the report Sam, nice pictures. You gonna be able to join us this weekend?

[weathermansam]

Thanks for the report Sam, nice pictures. You gonna be able to join us this weekend?

Probably not, unfortunately.  I think Saturday may be another stint in West Bee, and Sunday I'll be eating birthday cake and watching the Colts win a ballgame  

[Pully]

Nice trip report and pictures. It has been about a year since I've explored West Bee. My dad and I came in above West Bee Falls, went to the east side of the canyon and walked about 1/4 mile before we found a tree to climb down. There's a really tall seasonal fall on the east side. Have you went up the drainages on the west side? I think two drainages south of the A frame formation has a small waterfall in the back of a bluff.

Did you happen to check out the boulder in the far right of this picture? Picture

[weathermansam]

Nice trip report and pictures. It has been about a year since I've explored West Bee. My dad and I came in above West Bee Falls, went to the east side of the canyon and walked about 1/4 mile before we found a tree to climb down. There's a really tall seasonal fall on the east side. Have you went up the drainages on the west side? I think two drainages south of the A frame formation has a small waterfall in the back of a bluff.

Did you happen to check out the boulder in the far right of this picture? Picture

The bluff behind the A frame formation had a probably 15-20ft waterfall in it.  The drainage south of there is the route that spills over from white oak hollow, I thought.  There's a really tall seasonal fall there as well.  I've got a photo from the top of the falls, but not one in front.

If I did, I didn't take a photo of it at least.  I'm itching to go back now since I'm sure I missed something.  I've only visited that area twice ever. 

[Pully]

The bluff behind the A frame formation had a probably 15-20ft waterfall in it.  The drainage south of there is the route that spills over from white oak hollow, I thought.

It might be the first drainage north. I can't remember.

Yeah, it's hard not to miss something. There is a neat cave-like overhang behind a waterfall on the east side, similar to the one in the Schoolhouse Falls area.

[Uncle Wayne]

An oddity from the hike...on the sheer wall behind the waterfall close to Auburn falls, is this feature.  It's about 4ft off the ground and extends back into the rock itself.  It's about 1 1/2ft wide or so, and I have no clue how far back it goes.  I used the flash here to show more depth...




In that same general area....

I've seen those in a few places in the forest and don't really understand what they are.  I've wondered if it was a tree that got caught between layers of volcanic activity eons ago.  But it's different "rock" than you normally find around a volcano.  I don't know but they are interesting.

[weathermansam]

I came across another one of these hollow spots in west bee...shined the flashlight back until the light didn't brighten the darkness anymore.  I wonder how far back these things go? 

This waterfall in west bee also sports a waterfall behind it in the rock face much like Coal Mine Branch.  Really interesting to see! 

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/TeakmQLg2A4&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/TeakmQLg2A4&rel=0</a>


...and here's video of Auburn Falls

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZO2qTt_e38Q&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZO2qTt_e38Q&rel=0</a>