thompson/whiteoak/big tree storm damage?

[jnunniv]

I have been planning on bringing a group to the big tree this coming weekend (5/6) for a month or so. We were planning on going in via whiteoak and making the loop by ship rock back to thompson TH. Have the recent storms made this impossible for a day hike?  Has it been cleared?  New info would be appreciated. I want to do this, but may have to wait until the fall.


Thanks!

[weathermansam]

Bankhead's closed last I heard, you risk getting cited or arrested.  I'd planned a camping trip the 2nd weekend in May, but I may reschedule myself.  I've yet to see any damage photos from the area.  I'm sure there's some out there somewhere, though.  


--------------------------------------
Just checked....can't find anything on the forest service's website about it be closed anywhere now.  I would assume it still is. 

[elbowman]

I talked to the Bankhead Ranger Station today. The National Forest is Open, but the wilderness area is closed for damage assessment with all trails closed. I asked if they had a reopen date as I was hoping to camp this coming weekend. She told me to call back in two days for an update.

Eric

[Joshua Szulecki]

Cancel the trip. Even if the Forest Service gives the okay for reopening the trails and rec area by the weekend, the downed trees will ruin your trip, and if the damage in that area is as bad as it sounds, it may be weeks before the trails are cleared in that area. We won't have better information until somebody can actually get in there and see, which requires reopening of the wilderness.

Just ask if you need suggestions for somewhere else to go.

[camel]

Re-plan this trip for October- Walls of Jericho- Dugger Mtn - downed trees will kill your trip- and as of today illegal!

[MobileBackpacker]

some interesting sat images from 4/28... In the first one you can clearly make out the Bankhead, it looks like one just clipped the northwest boundary. There appears to be another track heading for the center of the Bankhead but cant tell.

thompson/whiteoak/big tree storm damage?

Click on the picture to get a better view of it, it is pretty impressive and looks like several mini hurricanes, complete with eye walls, crossing the state.

thompson/whiteoak/big tree storm damage?

[jnunniv]

Thanks for the info. We will reschedule until this fall. It will be cooler then, too.

[kc251]

Nice images MobileBackpacker . The tornado path shown looks to be the Hackelburg/Phil Campell tornado path. However there appears to be another tornado that moved into the Bankhead and over the southwestern area of Sipsey. I plotted the last GPS point from the tornado survey. They didn't go into the forest to get anymore points. So the last point is labelled "end". The tornado appears to have crossed CR 2 (Kinlock Rd) and north of CR 60.  

[stoic12]

Was up in the Sipsey Sunday (5/1) for a warmup hike before a NC trip.  Had no idea it was closed and there was no indication at Thompson TH that it was closed.  Roads were clear getting up there also.  First sign of damage was a 30 yard section of the whiteoak shortcut where it drops down from 205.  Shortly thereafter we saw (heard first) a large rattle snake just off the trail  - little freaky.  From there we didn’t see much damage until we got to 204.  Where shortcut links up with 204 (lower) there was some massive damage just up the hill.  It almost looked like a jungle clearing.  We didn’t head up to the big tree for fear of deadfall slowing us down too much and not being able to make it back to the car by dark.  Walking around the horn back to Thompson TH we didn’t see much damage until we rounded the bend where Thompson & Hubbard become form the Sipsey.  From there we probably spent 60% of our time picking our way through massive stretches of downed trees.  Every 50 or so yards there would be a 100 yard stretch of devastation.  It almost seemed like the downed trees sought out the trail to fall on in most stretches.  We had received word in West Bee from two overnighters that it was manageable but not pleasant - they had done it with packs on and in the dark (can't imagine).  When we arrived back at the TH we ran into two Rangers that were putting up caution tape and closed signs.  They informed us it had been closed while we were in there, but didn’t give us any grief.  They were eager to get a look at some of the pictures we took to assess the damage and said they would be doing a flyover in the next few days (emailed them to them).  They had no idea how long it was going to be closed.  But using handsaws only (required to remain a wilderness area) to clear all the debris on Thompson, it could be a long time.  Guessing whiteoak shortcut trail will just be naturally rerouted around the downfall unless volunteers are up for the challenge.  Also, we did our best to get all of the tape blazes some idiot left all over the whiteoak shortcut.  If that person looks at this board, they need to stop doing that as it makes the Sipsey look trashy - the trail is very easy to follow without the tape.   

[Joshua Szulecki]

Thanks for the further updates everybody. It looks as bad as we expected.

[squidbilly]

Thanks for the report Stoic 12. And I appreciate the effort y'all made to remove the trash the inconsiderate leave behind. Like you, I really wish they would stop that foolishness.

[weathermansam]

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/ssd/mapping/

EF-3 down the Little Ugly/Eagle Creek area...

[Joshua Szulecki]

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/ssd/mapping/

EF-3 down the Little Ugly/Eagle Creek area...

Well, that should make things interesting... The area already had some wicked deadfall from beetles and the hurricanes a few years back.

[weathermansam]

They've adjusted the track now....plows parker, awful close to the cabin and a beeline for the big tree...

[montysano]

Great link; thanks for posting.  And yeah..... if it kept going, it's within a couple hundred yards of East Bee Branch.

Measured on Google Earth, the EF-5 track is about 135 miles long.  That's insane.

[weathermansam]

High res stuff here  http://ngs.woc.noaa.gov/storms/apr11_tornado/

Doesn't really even get into the wilderness area, but I doubt the survey of all this is complete. 

[Eliteoomph]

http://www.youtube.com/us...=mhee#p/a/u/2/-z0_9wpul2k

Video I took April 24th before a much larger tornado passed through the following week. This is on the East bee branch trail which goes from 209 (Sipsey River Trail) to the Big Tree and Bee Ridge Falls. Numerous trees down along this route. also lots of trees down on 209 from 202.  I heard the Thompson trail was bad also