SEHowl 2011

[WolfVanZandt]

Well, it's that time of year again. If you're around Brushy Lake between March 11 and March 21, look for the blue van with the Were Wolf plate on front and drop by and kick back at our campfire. We'll be in the woods quite a lot but you might catch us at the campsite.

[WolfVanZandt]

That was a great week. It only rained once and it waited until the end to get hot enough for the ticks to be really bad (I spent the last day picking ticks off me).

Three of us walked up to East Bee Branch and the Big Tree - it's amazing how fast a road can disappear.

We also found another waterfall at Brushy Lake (that makes about 10 perennial waterfalls there. I've been hearing water running across the lake ever since we've been holding the Howl at Brushy Lake. This time, I went around the other side and found a sizable (tall) waterfall running down to a nice little stair step fall just before running into the lake. I think next year I might see if I can't make it all the way back to the dam on the other side. There might be some more falls further up.

[WolfVanZandt]

The Spring SEHowl will be March 16 - 25. If anyone is around Brushy Lake at that time, look up the blue Were Wolf van and stop in and socialize - if we're not out on the trail, that is. I'm expecting a decent sized group this year. I also hope to use my homemade index card slide rule to survey one of the waterfalls near the campground and then verify the results by dropping a fishing line off the top (oooooh - adventure......)

[WolfVanZandt]

It looks like I'll have a larger group this year. I expect some of them will want to visit the Big Tree. Last time we started at the Borden Creek Trailhead. This time, I think I want to come down from Gum Pond. By the looks of other threads, it looks like that trail is passable. Any recent reports on that area?

[WolfVanZandt]

We had a great SEHowl. It was a little too warm for me and I'm covered with mosquito and tick bites (and maybe a few spider bites) but the nights were cool and we slept well.

We had 12 participants in two groups from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Due to some illness, the first groups stayed close in to Brushy Lake and hiked around the waterfalls there. I also took them to the Chinese Restaurant in Haleyville. Several people cooked on different nights and we ate well.

The second group ranged a little further afield. We drove to the Brazel trailhead entering the Wilderness via the Wildlife Management office. I've never been that way before. The dirt road follows the eastern boundary of the wilderness and there's a beautiful gorge that it swtchbacks down into and out of. Coming up out of the gorge, there's a little waterfall on the rockwall to the side of the road that reminds me of a waterfall I saw in Rocky Mountain National Park. The hike to the Big Tree was a long but easy walk.

The next day we drove to Rickwood Caverns - the only developed caverns in Alabama that I had not yet seen. Then we drove up to Decatur and visited the Cook's Natural History Museum - small but packed and very organized - also some good prices on minerals and gems. Then we ate at the nearby Big Bob Gibson's Barbecue.

The campgrounds were not as packed as I feared and the bugs were not as bad. The only unfortunate thing was that a leak in the water main prevented the staff from turning on the water to the showers the whole week, but we managed to clean up fairly well.

Now I'm looking forward to next year.