Cheaha to FS 500 Trailhead Trip Report (Kind of)

Finally getting around to posting a trip report. First I would like to say thanks for the replies on the parking situation at FS 500 TH. We had no issue leaving a car there two nights. Also, want to thank BlisterBob again for the shuttle. He provides a great service and I can’t recommend him enough.

Day1
Our trip was planned to start on Friday 8/19 and last two nights and end on 8/21 but it didn’t work out quite like we had planned (more on that later). We met Bob at the FS 500 TH and left our car there at about 10 am Friday. After a shuttle back to Cheaha TH we were off and on our way at about 11am after a few pictures and getting situated. The high that day was to reach 97 and it was already pretty warm but the shade of the trees and a pretty constant breeze helped. We made fair time on our way to Blue Mt Shelter. About half way there we found a side trail to a creek that had good cool water. The spring for the shelter was no where to be found though. We stopped at the shelter and ate lunch, signed the register, and were on our way. We continued making what felt like good time on our way to our intended camp at Hillabee Creek. However, either the mileage I have is wrong or we were not doing as well as we thought because we were really beginning to wonder if we had already passed the camp site. About that time though we arrived and spirits were lifted. It had been hot all day but not unbearable. There was plenty of water between the shelter and Hillabee creek campsite though. Once we made camp we realized how bad the bugs actually were. We had not had an issue with them all day but when we stopped and dusk set in they came alive much to the dismay of two of my hiking companions.

Night 1
We got set up about 6pm, gathered fire wood, set up our “tents”, and had a quick wash in the creek which felt amazing. Now the “tent” situation is what caused my friends some issues. I slept under my poncho tarp but also took my fully enclosed homemade bug net shelter. My friend took only his poncho tarp with no netting, another only took a hammock with no netting, and my friend from work took a tent (heavy and more on that later). Needless to say two of them were tormented by bugs all night and looked like they had the chicken pox the next morning. My friend pulled 7 ticks off of him and thinks he may have been eaten alive by chiggers. All this despite bathing in bug spray. We also heard some rather disturbing firearm activity around 1 or 2 am but it was short and didn’t happen again, thank goodness!

Day2
We woke up at about 7 and got everything packed and ready to head out. Ate some granola bars and had a cup of instant coffee which got me on my feet and feeling good despite having to put my smelly clothes from day one back on. I felt like I was back in the locker room in high school with 3 day old gym clothes on. We started hiking at about 8:30 and almost everyone was feeling strong. Almost everyone except my friend from work. We started strong but then began to notice that on any climbs he would lag behind and as the day went on he would lag farther and farther behind. We stopped and had lunch at Morgan cascade next to CR 24. It wasn’t really cascading but I caught 4 fish out of the pool at the bottom with my “pen rod”. The rod telescopes down and looks like a pen and it has a little spinning reel with 4lb line. It weighs almost nothing and is my luxury. Got rested up, ate, and started again. From the cascade the trail takes a little bit of a climb and that is when we new we had problems. My work friend was really struggling. Shortly after we realized that he wasn’t going to make it to our intended destination for the night or back to the car by the next day for that matter. He wasn’t drinking enough despite encouragement and pointing out that we had plenty and his calves were cramping up on the climbs. He would go 30 yards and stop to break. So we had to make a decision. I moved on up the trail and met up with the other two. We discussed and decided that they would continue on and stay the last night and hike out to the car while my work friend and I would call for rescue and catch a ride home. Since we only had one car there we knew it wouldn’t do us any good to call Bob and ask him to come get us since we would still need a ride home (he did tell us when he dropped us off that we could call him if we needed help anytime though) so we decided to give my folks a call and my Dad said he would come pick us up and give us a ride home. A very generous act since home is an hour and a half from the trail. I passed off my bug net to the other two since I wouldn’t be needing it and we split up. They went on and I hung back with my work friend who I had invited. I decided to leave the trail with him since my Dad was the one coming. We struggled on for about two and a half more hours trying to cover the last mile and a half to get to Hwy 431 but we finally made it and Dad arrived shortly after. We stopped at Wendy’s on the way home which is kind of a tradition. I had the spicy chicken combo as usual, and it was great, as usual.

The other two:
Our other friends continued on and made good time despite the trail being hard to find in a few places as they would tell me later. However, one of them stepped on a nail in a board from part of a broken bridge later that day and it went through the shoe and foot. He continued on though and they made camp for the second night. The next day the foot was sore but they made it back to the car and he of course went to get a shot when they got home.

Summary:
All in all it was a memorable trip at least. I hate that it was cut short since I don’t get to go near as much as I’d like but I wouldn’t consider taking any chances with someone’s health. Even with the bug net and tent all of us got numerous bug bites which are now finally fading and the ticks were out in full force. I would do it again in a heartbeat even if I knew it would end the same way.

Final note:
I did manage to stick my foot in my mouth while we were out there though and I just wanted to post an explanation here in case the other hikers ever see it. The first night we had made camp at Hillabee and were sitting around the fire when a group of three hikers came through. They asked if this was Hillabee creek and we said yes. Then I said that the next documented camp site was another 2.5 miles away. I meant this as more of an invitation to stay at our camp because it was big with plenty of room but after the other hikers talked with us for another moment and said farewell my friends brought it to my attention that it had come off as the opposite. Like I was saying move along, nothing to see here. The other group managed to make a camp on the other side of the creek so I decided to just let it be but now kind of wish I had apologized or at least explained what I meant. So I just did.