Parker Falls Trail in Sipsey Wilderness
Today was to be about hiking around the Sipsey Wilderness National Preserve. I assumed that having national in its name would mean some type of park infrastructure. I should have thought more wilderness where there is no staff support, no cell coverage and at a few times no GPS.
I hadn’t downloaded the trail map and as I was driving google maps cutout on me. There were several iterations of enter the park and getting lost and not finding a trail that I wanted to hike. The roads weren’t paved inside the park, and I hadn’t realized that it is possible to drive around the outside of the park on paved roads and have limited cell coverage.
As I crested the hill, I was greeted by a grisly scene: buzzards feasting on a skunk, filling the air with the overpowering stench of its remains. Along the way, I encountered a string of dilapidated homes, occupied by folks who were tough enough to endure the harsh living conditions. Near the park, I stumbled upon a herd of cows leisurely grazing near the park - a surprising sight in the so close to the park.
I found a place in the center of the wilderness where I could park the car and make a sandwich. I had one bar of service at this point and figured out how to get find a trail.
Only Dirt Roads
Parker Falls Trail
I found my way to the trailhead as shown in AllTrails for the Parker Falls trail. This was a very gentle trail for most of the way. A walk through pine trees with a soft forest floor. The trail dropped off and came to a ravine that led to the first waterfalls. This opened into a large area that was surrounded by large rock walls. The path led down to the bottom and towards and even larger set of cascading water falls. This was a little difficult to navigate, mainly because of the number of large rocks, steepness and deep water. I found my way to the other side and up to the waterfalls. I had talked to several people coming away from the falls, but by the time I reached the falls, I was alone. I spent about 40 minutes just sitting and listening to the falls.
Upon returning to the car, I was enveloped in a sense of tranquility. As I settled into the driver's seat, I noticed the plump and juicy pomegranate sitting beside me. I reached over, drew out my knife, and cut along the sections, I sliced open the fruit to reveal its glistening, ruby-red seeds. I savored each burst of flavor as I enjoyed the succulent snack.
I spoke to a guy coming out of the park, and he told me you can park almost anywhere in the wilderness area as long as it isn’t marked as “No Parking”.
Trading Post
The woman I met at Ruffner Mountain told me the Trading Post near the park had maps. Once I had cell coverage again, I was able to find the Trading Post nearby. They had a large section of books on Alabama, survival, history of local towns, cookbooks, and various discovery type books. They had maps for the entire state but no park maps. The owner told me they stop selling them when COVID hit. I didn’t ask why. The hike I had done was so nice, I wanted to do more.
Alfonso’s Pizza
I was going to stay in the Sipsey Wilderness overnight, but I realized the Cracker Barrel on the west side of Hunstville was closer. I stopped at the Starbucks just down the street and processed some photos. I then found my way to Alfonso’s Pizza down the street.
I took a seat at the bar and asked about their beers. The bartender, Stacey, recommended the Hershey’s Chocolate Porter. Pretty good! I ordered a thin crust pizza. The food was really good.
Stacey was interesting to talk to. She had traveled a lot and liked live music.
