Sipsey/Bankhead Tornado Status (All Sipsey Trails and FS 208 closed as of 4/29)

[Joshua Szulecki]

If you are looking for information regarding the current operating status of Bankhead National Forest and Sipsey Wilderness recreation areas, trails, and roads, please consult the following LINK.

As of 4/29, the NFS had closed all trails in Sipsey, telling folks of a blanket closure in the Wilderness. Recreation areas were initially closed and FS-208 was also closed. Get the current status at the above link. There is a phone number you can call for more up-to-date information listed there as well.

I'm making this sticky until reopening.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Other relevant threads...
http://www.alatrails.com/...51.msg19069;topicseen#new
http://www.alatrails.com/...49.msg19056;topicseen#new

[Jdevil]

Thanks for the info! Much appreciated!

[Roscoe]

I did a trail assesment on 203 for Wild South today and you get it first right here! (they won't be in the office till Monday)
I marked 17 trail blockages 4 were step overs 4 need to be cross cut 5 were tree top jumbles the rest were smaller trees.
  from Borden creek the first 2 mi were in great shape. Most all the damage was in the next 3 mi. There was no swathe of damage just random broke and uprooted trees. Oh and TICKS, I mean ticks of Bibilcal proportions. I have never picked that many ticks off me.
I will keep you posted

[Jackalope]

Thanks for the info Rosco!

Has anyone heard from Uncle Wayne? I'm concerned because he usually posts about things going on in Bankhead and I know he lives in the area. What about others from the area? I sure hope everyone is safe and okay!

[bramblypines]

Since all the trailheads are still taped and have signs up that they are closed I took a
short hike down FS219 from Gum Pond Cem. to Thompson Creek. There is nothing
new across the trail all the way to Thompson Creek. The hogs have been having a
field day and you can see where the have been wallowing in the mud then scraping
it off against the trees. The rooting isn't real bad but very evident. Too bad we can't
teach them to root where we need the trails cleared. If you try to go south down
Thompson Creek the trail is blocked about a 1/4 mile down you may be able to climb
up to get around it but about 1/2 way up the hill was enough for me.
Whoever it was that said the ticks were bad was not kidding, I sprayed with 75% DEET
and still pulled 8 off when I got back.

Also if you are in the Kinlock area soon there is a Mountain Laurel blooming
down by the little chute falls I saw it from the road and it is on the far side of the creek.

[Eliteoomph]

thanks for the updates...
I am planning a trip june 17th weekend...  any assumptions on if the Sipsey will be reopened by then?

[Joshua Szulecki]

Best I can do is say call and ask.

I would make backup plans, just in case, but if it is still closed by the middle of June you probably wouldnt enjoy going anyway, as that'll probably mean the damage is horrific.

[weathermansam]

Best I can do is say call and ask.

I would make backup plans, just in case, but if it is still closed by the middle of June you probably wouldnt enjoy going anyway, as that'll probably mean the damage is horrific.

I emailed them earlier in the week and they didn't know, more or less.  I offered to help clean up, but they've not gotten back to me on that, either. 

[Joshua Szulecki]

I emailed them earlier in the week and they didn't know, more or less.  I offered to help clean up, but they've not gotten back to me on that, either. 

Since they've been fairly communicative over the last few years, I suspect that means it is bad. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll let somebody in with a camera to look, or at least somebody will put out a sat photo that covers that area. I didn't see much damage in the sat photos I've seen, suggesting that they just went of the right areas, based in what were hearing on the ground.

[WolfVanZandt]

My church has been sending teams up there and, from what they bring back, there are several towns that used to be up there that no longer exist. The devastation is of jaw dropping proportion.

[Eliteoomph]

thanks.

Wildsouth is accepting volunteers for this weekend.

Here is the e-mail they sent me.

CROSSCUTTERS NEEDED

Hello, volunteers,

This week, a few Wild South volunteers have gone into the Sipsey Wilderness to assess the trail damage done by the tornadoes.  We want to get started on clearing the trails as soon as possible and will have our first work day this coming Saturday, May 14. 

Our card-carrying crosscutters are especially needed! 

Meet-up time at the Wild South office (Warrior Mountains Trading Company 11312 AL Hwy 33, Moulton, AL) will be 8:30 a.m.

Bring a backpack lunch, snacks, plenty of drinking water; work gloves; tick repellent.

Tools will be provided.


This will be rugged, physically demanding work. 

Sign up or ask questions at canyonman@wildsouth.org

Thank you, volunteers!   


Mark and Janice


Wild South  11312 AL Hwy. 33, Moulton, AL 35650   256-974-6166   wildsouth.org  janice@wildsouth.org

[Roscoe]

Because of the rain on Sat. The Wild South work party has been moved to Tues. All the rest of the information is still the same. Their regular work party is still on Sat the 21st

[Joshua Szulecki]

As of today, the NFS Bankhead site says:

"Sipsey Wilderness hiking trails and Owl Creek Horse Camp and Trail System are currently closed while repairs and damage assessments continue."

[JustADude]

I just talked to the Forest office. They said that some trails in the Sipsey Wilderness are still closed but they want to get them all opened by this comong weekend, Memorial Day weekend. They indicated that no trails were closed outside the Wilderness area.

May 23, 2011

Rocky

[weathermansam]

I just got an email from Wild South about a hike to Deer Skull Falls this weekend, so I'm hoping this is an additional sign that the trails will be open. 

[squidbilly]

Some trails in the wilderness are open.  Some will remain closed indefinitely.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wp...%20in%20Alabama-%20Alerts

[weathermansam]

Some trails in the wilderness are open.  Some will remain closed indefinitely.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wp...%20in%20Alabama-%20Alerts

So the horse trails and 'buck rough', and thompson creek trails are closed indefinitely.  Hmmm...

[Joshua Szulecki]

Some trails in the wilderness are open.  Some will remain closed indefinitely.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/wp...%20in%20Alabama-%20Alerts

Here's the entry...

"Areas most recently opened are the Owl Creek Horse Camp and Trail System and all Sipsey Wilderness trails with an exception of trails #207, #204, #206, Gumpond Trailhead, and #208 beginning at Gum Pond Trailhead to the intersection of 224. Forest Service Road 208 (Northwest Road) within the Black Warrior Wildlife Management Area will remain closed until further notice."

[Charlie]

How about the big tree and the trails going to it. I have been going to that tree now on fifty years and would hate for anything to happen to it.