Day 20
April 20, 2023
In hindsight, I wish I had blown town a lot earlier than I did. Or better yet, booked a room further south. There was one thing on tap for the day and that would have made all he difference. In the end, no real complaints though. The day still turned out to be an adventure.
Nice drive out though...
There are numerous places to find people's favorite trails by state. The vast majority list The Walls of Jerico Trail as their favorite in Alabama. The trailhead is just over the Alabama state line with Tennessee. Blink and you'll miss the trailhead sign. I did.
The trail runs through the Bear Hollow Mountain Wildlife Management Area. There's a good sized parking lot and I had it to myself. It was also empty when I came off the trail. So, apparently, I had the place to myself.
My guidebook suggested a 9.6 mile hike that would have included a loop, then the out and back to the end. It sounded great. One of the things I started doing years ago was taking pictures of the trail, every juncture and the descriptions from the guidebooks. It's helped me out of plenty of jams. That's when I noticed something deep in the description of the loop portion. When I read, "Bear left to ford Hurricane Creek. In times of normal flow this won't be over your knees."
So much for the loop. The kiosk in the parking lot also had a map of the Mill Creek Loop, including something called the Mill Creek Blowhole. That seemed like an intriguing alternative. In hindsight, that was an understatement.
Heading into the woods...
Note the steep drop off to the right.
At the 2.1 mile point, The Mill Creek Trails heads off to the east. I continued as I was going.
The guidebook suggested numerous waterfalls along the way. I passed a few washes, but they were all dry.
Something you don't see very often, a hollowed out rock, with a plant growing inside.
I'll be the first to admit I'm horrible at judging distance while hiking. I started wondering if I had missed something when I passed signs for the preserve's boundary. I hike for another half hour. There was supposed to be a creek, and waterfall and cave. I wasn't even hearing running water. So, I turned back.
From some investigations after the fact, I think I needed to go another mile or so. I'd definitely try this again. But, I'd do strictly out and back with no extra loops and time constraints. Next time.
Back at the trail juncture, the Mill Creek Loop looked in good shape and there were plenty of red blazes on the trees. It certainly seemed promising.
Working slowly, I made it down to the bottom.
At the bottom, Mill Creek.
As for the Blowhole, it's actually a spring that flows out of a cave.
I did climb down and inch my way forward. I went as far as their was safe, dry footing. This was as far as I could go.
Back up top, I had a choice. I could go back the way I came, or complete the loop. It looked good either way. In the end, I chose poorly and decided to complete the loop.
I hadn't gone that far when the trail started looking less and less obvious.
There were a few times when I stood by one red blaze and really had to look to find the next. At one point, I did a large circle around the blaze and just couldn't see anything.
I knew vaguely where I was on the trail map. I knew the short loop trail, parking lot and road were to the East. So, old school met modern technology. A compass app pointed me in the right direction. Ten minutes later, another red blaze. Yes, I know there are apps where you can upload a trail and it will follow you via your phone's GPS. That's the back up to the back up.
I took this as a good sign...
An even better one.
Along that .35 mile trail I did pass this overgrown overlook...
A truly welcome sight through the trees.
It was pushing 3P when I made it back to the car. After a quick tick check in the empty parking lot, it was off towards Huntsville for the night.
Seen along the drive...
My home for the night was the Sleep Inn in Huntsville. Typical for the chain, and a really friendly staff.
After a truly welcome shower, I felt I had definitely earned dinner and a beer. Huntsville, Alabama has a slew of breweries. But, which to choose. I came to Innerspace Brewing, it was the only choice.
Over the bar was one TV running an episode of the original Star Trek. Another TV was running the '70s Canadian TV series, "The Starlost." I had never heard of it, either. Sipping a sample of their Heart of Gold IPA sparked a fun conversation with the bartender on just how we discovered the works of Douglas Adams. Yeah, I had picked the right place.
Sunset from the motel parking lot...
Day 21
April 21, 2023
From Huntsville to home it's a four hour drive, five with the time change back to Eastern Time. I could think of no better start of the day than this...
The drive home was uneventful and of course the interstate ground to a crawl for the last few miles. But, I wasn't stressing about it.
Dave
4/23
PS: The next BIG roadtrip is set for June. I'm headed for Michigan. Why Michigan? Simple, I've only been once and that was a weekend in Detroit for a concert. Seems like enough of a reason.
I'll be in Toledo for the last two nights in May. I'm also thinking about a stop into Indiana Sand Dunes National Park on the way out. In a week or two I'll send out a mass email and hopefully I can coordinate schedules to stop and see family and friends along the way.
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