Well I went to the Sipsey on March 28-29 2008 and here's the report of how it went.
By early Friday afternoon, I left the trailhead and was heading south on trail 206. It didn’t take long before I noticed that all of the wildflowers were blooming out this time of year. The dogwoods were blooming white along the river banks, the trillium were starting to open along the trail sides, and the wildflowers were popping up anywhere they could.
A few miles in, I arrived at Auburn Falls. For the drought we’ve been having, the falls were flowing quite well. This was a prime opportunity for a quick rinse in the water, take some pictures, and to just take in the sights. After a few minutes of enjoying the falls, my time was cut short with the sounds of thunder and the presence of light rain.
The hike in to the campsite was easy and flat, and I probably covered the distance in less than a couple of hours. After a little decision making, I found a nice series of cascades in the river and a small campsite to call home for the night. The cascades would cover the sounds of animals and provide a little soft music to sleep to. After setting up camp, I wanted to check out two popular attractions, the Eye of the Needle and Ship Rock. While scurrying around the rocks, enjoying the sights, the rain decided to fall. It started out as sprinkles, and quickly turned to heavy drops. As usual, after 30mins or so, it quit raining and everything went back to normal.
Dinner that night was a quick meal of Chicken & rice, freezer bag style. Everything was placed into the bag, add boiling water and within 15 minutes – dinner is served. Quite tasty! Occasionally, thunder could still be heard rumbling off in the distance, throughout the evening. I sat around watching the stars and clouds change shape through the night, but by 10:30 it was bedtime.
After breakfast, it was time to pack the wet gear and get on FT 209 and head for Bee Branch Canyon. The canyon is home to the Big Tree and Bee Branch Falls, which is a prime attraction point in the area. That was scheduled as stop #1 along the way. The turnoff wasn’t but a few miles, so I didn’t have to hike too fast to keep on time. Arriving at the turnoff, I decided to stash the pack, so that my hike up the canyon would go quicker and be less of a hassle. The deadfall was plentiful, either from a severe windstorm or merely dying trees, but without the packs, I made excellent time. I took our time exploring around, checking things out, and of course took some pictures, then turned around and headed back to the trail. The 3 mile round trip for the falls and tree, were definitely worth it. After finding such great locations, in the middle of nowhere, you tend to forget the aches and pains, and just notice how awesome everything is.
I returned to my pack and decided a quick lunch was in order - Tuna, crackers, trail mix, a granola bar and Gatorade. My lunch was cut short when the clouds showed up and the thunder became increasingly louder. Where there’s thunder, rain’s not far behind. I packed everything but the essentials, removed my raingear, and started back on the trail. Within 10 minutes the rain was already coming down. Luckily, the storm was moving fast, and didn't last more than an hour, and the sun came back out.
The trail had changed from a narrow worn trail along the river, to a hardened rocky trail that bordered rock faces on one side and the river on the other. As I rounded a corner to scale a few of the rocks, I found Fall Creek Falls, the second campsite. These falls were flowing much faster than the previous two and had a much larger drop as well. The water was absolutely frigid and came falling to the rocks below with a massive amount of force. Amongst all of the rocks, small saplings were popping up everywhere along the rock walls, the abundance of moss could not go unnoticed.
I went so set camp for the night and actually poured water from my tent. The one time I didn’t bring my pack cover, I needed it. Instead of stuffing my dry gear into my wet tent, I opted to hike on out for the night. It was only three miles and I had a few more hours of daylight remaining, so I wasn’t worried.
I finished of FT209 when I came up on the river crossing. I had been warned that the crossing would be tricky, and it was. I was looking at a pure mud embankment about 10’ down to the river, knee deep water, and then another embankment back up on the other side. After changing shoes, I proceeded onward. The worst part was that I actually had to nearly slide down the embankment to get to the water’s edge. Once I crossed the river, I hit FT200 and pushed north back to the car.
On the way back I came upon some local boy scouts on their camping trip. They had set up shelters instead of tents and were actually cooking two whole chickens over a homemade rotisserie. Not something I expected to see in the middle of nowhere. At least I knew why there were chicken feathers scattered along the trail.
I passed a few more occupied campsites along the trail, and then came to the famous “fat man squeeze” and knew I was almost home. After passing through the squeeze, I was maybe 20 minutes out and almost home.
Even though it rained, it was still a great trip, and worth a weekend of hiking. Now, my gear is drying out in the garage and I’m getting ready to go again.
More Photos from the trip
