Alabama's National Forests Archives - Steve Jones Great Blue Heron

Side Highlights on My Hike to Sipsey Wilderness Big Tree

December 21, 2021/in Alabama's National Forests, Five Verbs Essential to Harnessing Nature's Wisdom, Fungi Kingdom, Lessons from Nature /by Steve Jones

October 30, 2021, I hiked to the Big Tree in Alabama’s Sipsey Wilderness, Bankhead National Forest. This Post offers photos and reflections on the special sidelights I saw along the way. See my previous related Post offering reflections on the rough and bouldered terrain, torturous blowdowns, and the majesty of the Big Tree: https://stevejonesgbh.com/2021/12/08/an-eleven-mile-bucket-list-hike-to-the-sipsey-big-tree/

Once more I remind readers that much of Nature’s beauty, magic, wonder, and awe lies hidden in plain sight. My referenced prior Big Tree Post focused on the more obvious surroundings: deep canyons; shear rock faces; boulder tumbles; too-dense blowdowns; ancient forests; streams and waterfalls. However, I’ve learned that by paying attention to only the obvious we miss so much that merits noticing. This was my first hike with Randy, Tara, and Jonathan. I believe that I helped open their eyes to features, both large and small scale, that they normally do not see. Among those things they had not previously been aware, we stopped to admire all manner of fungi along our route.

Destination

The Big Tree did not disappoint. I shall carry its image, serenity, and sacred spirit with me forevermore. I felt small, insignificant, and humble in its presence. At the same time, inspiration enveloped me. In fact, because of the aura of The Tree, a certain essence permeated the entire route…and all we saw, discussed, and encountered along the way.

Magic peeped through the canopy, as a black birch in fall regalia declared autumn to those of us trekking along the forest floor. A golden skylight welcoming us, a glowing beam of promise penetrating the deep forest gloom that those less enchanted with the forest might perceive. Rain-soaked foliage, muted drippings, and saturated air — such is the solace of sheltered canyon forests in these humid climes. For me, forest gloom is an oxymoron. Even on the darkest, cloudiest days, the sun bursts above the clouds. So, too, does the birch proclaim that all is well within and beneath the canopy.

I consider myself easily impressed by Nature’s visual (as well as auditory and olfactory) gifts. I want to remain so, effortlessly spellbound by Nature’s ordinary, everyday wonder…all elements sublime upon close inspection. Albert Einstein expressed it well:

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

I view every walk in Nature as a sequential inventory and catalog of miracles. Nothing in Nature is ordinary to the observant and curious mind. Einstein implored us to look deeply into Nature:

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Special Treats

Shear rock faces appear barren and bereft of life…unless we seek hidden treasures. Judy and I fell in love with oak leaf hydrangeas as ornamental landscape plantings when we lived in Auburn, Alabama 1996-2001. I learned during our tenure there that the Sipsey Wilderness is the epicenter of Hydrangea quercifolia‘s natural range. We saw hundreds (thousands?) of individuals along our trek, each one special in its own way. Yet, none rose to the glory of the individual below, perched thirty feet above us on a narrow rock ledge, centered in the magnified photo (right). Nature does indeed abhor a vacuum. Any port in a storm will do. Our moderate climate with its ample and reliable rain provides a generally superb growing environment. Throw in a deep, sheltered canyon…and life abounds, even in a seeming-inhospitable crag.

We stumbled upon just two small colonies of weak-leaf yucca, a plant I have not seen often in the wild. Its name derives from the fact that its foliage will bend and fold with just its own weight.

Fungi Panoply

Two-thirds of an inch of rain had fallen during the three days prior to our hike. Mild conditions had prevailed. Our friends in the fungi kingdom flourish in this kind of early fall weather. We found this mossy, dead and down woody debris covered in pear-shaped puffballs, each one about an inch in diameter. Their meat still pure white, these would have been at peak bite-size edibility, lightly flowered and simmered in butter! Because we were in a formal Wilderness, we foraged nothing. Puffballs are the fruiting bodies (spore-producing organ) of the decay fungi working within the dead log.

I thought for sure I had encountered a mushroom (two photos below) not much different from the puffballs. In fact, here’s what I wrote before investigating more carefully: “Similarly structured and functioning, these wolf’s milk mushrooms likewise occupied a dead and down log. The pinkish colors demanded our attention!” Boy, was I due for an awakening — here’s what I found online at TexasMushrooms:

Lycogala epidendrum, commonly known as wolf’s milk, groening’s slime is a cosmopolitan species of myxogastrid amoeba which is often mistaken for a fungus. The aethalia, or fruiting bodies, occur either scattered or in groups on damp rotten wood, especially on large logs, from June to November. These aethalia are small, pink to brown cushion-like globs. They may excrete a pink paste if the outer wall is broken before maturity. When mature, the colour tends to become more brownish. When not fruiting, single celled individuals move about as very small, red amoeba-like organisms called plasmodia, masses of protoplasm that engulf bacteria, fungal and plant spores, protozoa, and particles of non-living organic matter through phagocytosis.

Quite simply, what I had assumed was another mushroom is a slime mold. My copy of Mushrooms of the Southeast reports:

Wolf’s milk is one of the most widely distributed and well-known slime molds. The fruiting bodies resemble small puffballs. If an immature fruiting body is squeezed or broken open, a slimy pink substance with the consistency of toothpaste oozes out.

Nature presents novices like me a lifetime of learning every time I venture into the wild.

My fellow travelers, I believe, could be converted into forest fungi (or slime mold) enthusiasts. They found exquisite beauty in this violet-toothed polypore, another decay fungi, this one sporting a mushroom absolutely unlike either of the two organisms above.

Alongside the violet-toothed polypore, we found another mushroom, this one identified by iNaturalist as agaricomycetes. I was pleased to have a positive identity…until I discovered a reference source offering this gem (paraphrased): agaricomycetes is a class of fungi that includes 17 orders, 100 families, 1147 genera, and 20,951 species. Well, it appears I have much to learn!

Mosses

I recall in days past hiking the muskeg of southeast Alaska, exploring the Tongass National Forest, and wandering the 400-year-old stand at Heart’s Content Natural Area in northwest Pennsylvania. Mosses abound in water-rich temperate forests. As we trekked the relatively flat riparian forest before reaching our vehicles, we found tree skirt moss rivaling the thick drapes hanging from Sitka Spruce on the lower slopes of Mount Verstovia in Sitka, Alaska (see photo under the two images immediately below) and the other areas I mentioned. These special places are life-rich, luxuriant ecosystems, as are the quiet canyons of our Sipsey Wilderness.

Moss-draped Sitka spruce near Sitka, Alaska June 2006.

Once again, magic, beauty, wonder, and awe lie within plain sight no matter where I wander. A volume of miracles awaits discovery.

Tree Form Curiosities

I asked Tara to rest on this full-basal beech burl to demonstrate scale. Note it moss skirt. I’ve yet to meet a burl that did not intrigue me…nor stand as an object of my fascination.

This birch took root atop a boulder, grasped the stone tightly, and reached to mineral soil for life-sustaining nutrients and moisture. How many of us humans have sought secure anchorage, temporary or long-term…whether physical, emotional, or spiritual? I know I have.

Sometimes, we take root on quarters that prove only temporarily hospitable, leaving us with no options but to find alternative means of surviving and succeeding. We’ve met and admired human survivors of such circumstances. Black birch, I have discovered, are masters at overcoming what to us appear as bad decisions. This individual, with its flaming yellow/orange foliage suspended over the creek, perseveres.

As does this individual perched 20 feet above mineral soil.

Bigleaf magnolia boasts the largest simple leaves of any tree native to North America. Josh provided scale for this one.

A rather contorted bigleaf magnolia rewarded us. Always on the lookout for wildlife, I was pleasantly surprised to find a hiker-tolerant, bigleaf magnolia antelope along the trail. Einstein observed:

Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.

Imagination hikes every trail at my side…and in my heart.

Nature never fails to reward those dedicated to finding gifts that lie hidden in plain sight.

Thoughts and Reflections

I offer these observations:

Nature presents novices like me a lifetime of learning every time I venture into the wild.
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. Einstein

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

Note: All blog post images created & photographed by Stephen B. Jones unless otherwise noted. Please circulate images with photo credit: “©2021 Steve Jones, Great Blue Heron LLC. All Rights Reserved.”

Another Note: If you came to this post via a Facebook posting or by another route, please sign up now (no cost… no obligation) to receive my Blog Post email alerts: http://eepurl.com/cKLJdL

And a Third: I am available for Nature-Inspired Speaking, Writing, and Consulting — contact me at steve.jones.0524@gmail.com

Reminder of my Personal and Professional Purpose, Passion, and Cause

If only more of us viewed our precious environment through the filters I employ. If only my mission and vision could be multiplied untold orders of magnitude:

Mission: Employ writing and speaking to educate, inspire, and enable readers and listeners to understand, appreciate, and enjoy Nature… and accept and practice Earth Stewardship.

Vision:

People of all ages will pay greater attention to and engage more regularly with Nature… and will accept and practice informed and responsible Earth Stewardship.
They will see their relationship to our natural world with new eyes… and will understand more clearly their Earth home.

Tagline/Motto: Steve (Great Blue Heron) encourages and seeks a better tomorrow through Nature-Inspired Living!

Steve’s Three Books

I wrote my books Nature Based Leadership (2016), Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading (2017), and Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits: Stories of Passion for Place and Everyday Nature (2019; co-authored with Dr. Jennifer Wilhoit) to encourage all citizens to recognize and appreciate that every lesson for living, learning, serving, and leading is either written indelibly in or is powerfully inspired by Nature.

I began authoring books and Posts for several reasons:

I love hiking and exploring in Nature
I see images I want to (and do) capture with my trusty iPhone camera
I enjoy explaining those images — an educator at heart
I don’t play golf!
I do love writing — it’s the hobby I never needed when my career consumed me
Judy suggested my writing is in large measure my legacy to our two kids, our five grand kids, and all the unborn generations beyond
And finally, perhaps my books and Blogs could reach beyond family and touch a few other lives… sow some seeds for the future

All three of my books (Nature Based Leadership; Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading; Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) present compilations of firsthand experiences expressing my (and co-author Dr. Wilhoit for Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) deep passion for Nature. All three books offer observations and reflections on my relationship to the natural world… and the broader implications for society. Order from your local indie bookstore, or find them on IndieBound or other online sources such as Amazon and LifeRich.

An Eleven-mile Bucket List Hike to the Sipsey Big Tree

December 8, 2021/in Alabama's National Forests, Nature's Inspiration, Preserves, Spirituality in Nature /by Steve Jones

October 30, 2021, friends and I hiked an eleven-mile circuit to see The Big Tree (State Champion Yellow Poplar) in Alabama’s Bankhead National Forest’s Sipsey Wilderness. I offer reflections on the rough and bouldered terrain, torturous blowdowns, and the majesty of the Big Tree. I reflect upon the hike with threads of bittersweet nostalgia and melancholy.

Allow me to begin at the end. We rushed along the streamside riparian forests, within a quarter mile of the trailhead, long after I had abandoned any thought of returning home by dinner time. Note: the three of us accompanying Randy had miles earlier began to refer to him good-naturedly as “Quarter-Mile Randy.” No matter what landmark, trail juncture, or notable feature we approached, Randy assured us that it lay “just a quarter-mile” ahead! The official sunset that evening occurred at 6:41 PM; the orb sunk beneath the tree canopy and then the hills through which the creek flowed well before then. Randy led us below left as light waned. We had just a few minutes earlier circumvented the last of the impenetrable blowdowns (Randy skirting it below right). His muddy backside evidenced the slipping and sliding we had done throughout the day. We reached our vehicles as darkness enveloped us, a good seven-tenths of a mile from where Randy had told us just a quarter mile to go!

I felt elation at reaching our vehicles before resorting to our flashlights. I admit also to near-exhaustion from a hike that 30 years ago I would have simply considered a nice effort. We hiked October 30, just eight days before my scheduled full left shoulder replacement. I could neither employ my right arm for trekking pole support nor use that arm to steady myself along slippery, rugged, or steep sections. Upon reflection (as I draft this, I am two-and-a-half weeks post-surgery), I realize that for the first time in my adult life, I felt vulnerable, reaching near (exceeding?) my physical limitations. I believe that the stress of uncertainty in my physical constraints contributed to my exhaustion.

Belying my Impressions from Forty Years Ago

A New Understanding and Awakened Eyes

I served as Union Camp Corporation’s Alabama Land Manager 1981-85, responsible for 320,000 acres (500 square miles) of company-owned forestland in the state, two-thirds of it lying south of Alabama’s Black Belt, concentrated in a six-county area of south-central Alabama. Primarily coastal plain (piedmont for the acreage north of Montgomery), our lands were modestly hilly to somewhat flat. During those years, I developed an impression of Alabama’s forests and terrain far different from what I’ve experienced since retirement here in northern Alabama’s southern Appalachian Ridge and Valley, Cumberland Plateau, and Highland Rim regions. I’ve learned that these regions are deeply eroded (geologically), steep-sloped, and laced with numerous streams and drainages. I had carried with me since departing UCC for my doctoral studies in 1985 a picture of Alabama forests as gentle lands, typified by the coastal plain and piedmont.

I’ve learned since retiring that such is not the case in north Alabama. I’ve hiked extensively (and written about it in subsequent Posts) from Oak Mountain to Cheaha to DeSoto to Sand and Lookout Mountains to Monte Sano and elsewhere, that these ancient worn-down mountains, highlands, and plateaus can challenge me at this stage of life.

To the Big Tree

We encountered building-size limestone boulders early in our trek to the Big Tree. Pitted by chemical weathering, the boulders are remnant rimrock. We walked among such massive fractured and detached standing stones along most of the day’s journey. The rocks and these valleys and canyons are ancient. They came to us out of eternity…long after the youngest of us who have hiked to the Big Tree is gone, these landscape elements will still be here. Human time is nothing to a limestone boulder, and canyon, or the streams that reside here.

Nor does the duration of a man’s life mean anything to canyon walls still anchored as basement rock. Cliffs bounded us as we progressed. Occasionally they dipped to streamside. These are not the coastal plain flatwoods of my forest industry days. I passed in muted respect for these sheltered canyons. In addition to vulnerable, I felt small and insignificant. As a former manager of vast acreages and a past university president, the essence and spirit of this wild country humbled me, shrunk me to a speck. At times I wanted to sink into a small stone niche to watch, listen, feel, and retreat from all but a solemn respect and awe for this place of wonder. I thought of John Muir.

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.

At times I sensed that I did not truly belong here, that I was the interloper.

The world, we are told, was made especially for man — a presumption not supported by all the facts.

This was not the stereotypical southern forests I remembered. Although I struggled with the rough topography, 12-year-old Jonathan (Randy’s grandson) moved effortlessly through the canyon. That’s him below right.

In many places boulders had tumbled to streamside.

These two house-sized boulders framed our trailside view of the stream.

From Rock Barriers to Blowdown Impediments

I offer this photo as a segue, leading me from a focus on rocks to a complementary obstacle to our passage — blowdowns. The tree below has not fallen, but is leaning, eventually earth-bound, a future blowdown.

I know I climbed over, through, and around dozens of blowdowns, some massive-crowned beech, poplars, oaks, and others. I remind readers that trail maintenance within a designated Wilderness can be done only with raw muscle, hand tools, and hard labor. No chainsaws or motorized equipment. Imagine hiking several miles, carrying crosscut saws to remove this 30-inch diameter oak. On each encounter we chose among our alternatives: climb over, crawl under, or bushwhack around it.

I’ve observed often that life and death operate hand in hand in our forests. The old growth forest in the canyon heading up into the Big Tree’s canyon has recently (within the past 2-4 years) suffered a great deal of blowdown. Stasis does not exist in any living system. Tara is demonstrating quite well the arduous transit from one side of this beech blowdown to another. Now, picture a 70-year-old man with a bum shoulder scrambling (can one scramble in slow motion?) through this obstacle!

‘

I regret that I did not capture more images of the frequent, haphazardly placed blowdowns.

The Destination

Old growth blowdown obstacles proved nearly impenetrable to my left-shoulder-impeded scrambling. Every time I celebrated a tortured passage, we encountered yet another. Our fearless leader finally said, “Just a quarter-mile to go.” A half-mile later, he said, “I see its top.” I limped into the canyon head, the Big Tree towering above the blind headwall. I sat in awe…resting and eating several granola bars.

As of 2021, the Alabama State Champion Tree Directory shows the Big Tree circumference at 263″ (diameter 6.98′); height at 172′; and crown spread at 102′. The Big Tree’s crown area covers 19,120 square feet, an area of 0.44 acres. Although the national champion yellow poplar scores higher in aggregate, ours certainly ranks among the country’s largest. The national winner, resident of Bedford County Virginia, boasts a 362″ circumference (9.60′ diameter); 139′ height; and 78′ crown spread. Ours is 33 feet taller and its crown spread reaches 24 feet wider. I found nothing on the internet in way of comparison photos. I can’t imagine another yellow poplar that reigns over such a uniquely isolated canyon head as the Big Tree, which singularly owns and commands its three-sided, protected fortress.

Jonathon’s position of recline upon reaching the Big Tree expresses my own feeling.

I could attempt to describe my sense of awe and humility standing beside the Big Tree, yet even if given a month, I would fall short of Muir’s words:

Everybody needs beauty…places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.

I’d rather be in the mountains thinking of God, than in church thinking about the mountains.

I stood there knowing that this first visit to this special place would be my last. Although tired and somewhat worried about our return to the vehicles, I tried to absorb the moment. I plan to carry the place with me all the days of my life. Remembering prior travels, I can close my eyes and see again the California coastal redwoods, the Yosemite sequoias, the Pacific rainforest Douglas fir, the deep cove remnant old growth hardwoods of the Great Smoky Mountains, among others. The Big Tree and its isolated canyon have likewise secured their pages in my tree-memory portfolio!

Fall colors enrich my memory.

This online file photo from mid-winter more clearly expresses the tree’s full 172′ height.

Stock Photo from Web

The canyon alone, even were it absent the Big Tree, is a special niche.

Its waterfall suggests a deeper peace, reminds us of the continuing flow of life, and punctuates the land’s declaration that this is the end…and also the beginning. I did not want to leave, yet knew that I must.

Leaving this sacred place, I wondered whether I would (or could) return. In fact, I was relieved that Randy elected to work our way back to the trailhead via a less harsh, yet longer return. I admittedly felt, for the first time in my life, uncertain whether I could retrace my inbound route with an impaired (and terribly painful) left shoulder, and gimpy knees (osteoarthritis). I felt a deep melancholy, a fear that my life-window for exploring Nature’s magic and mystery was closing. That the universe of new trails to journey was narrowing.

As darkness deepened, we exited the trail. I realized soberly that the day will come when I take my final hike…period, as we all must. Countering my brief deep woe when we began the long and uncertain return hike, I felt absolute joy at having visited the Big Tree and returned to my transportation.

Another Muir quote seems apt:

Most people are on the world, not in it — have no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them — undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate.

I am content that on this day I was truly in the world. I write and speak often that every lesson for living, learning, serving, and leading is either written indelibly in or is compellingly inspired by Nature. Such was the case October 30, 2021. Too often, people view a hike as a destination…a passage through the forest. For me, this entire journey served as a destination, each step ventured into and within a forest…not passed through the wildness. I view it through a lens of melancholy…a reminder that I have perhaps passed into a different stage of life…one less daring, gentler, and slowed to a deeper focus on the subtleties instead of the adventurous. I chalk this hike up as the last of a different kind of forest journey. From this day forward, I will change gears, reduce my expectations, and enjoy Nature at a different pace and a lower level of difficulty.

Thoughts and Reflections

I offer these observations:

Nature rewards most handsomely when we hike into and within the forest, rather than through it.
Everybody needs beauty…places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike. John Muir.
Special places reside in our body, mind, heart, soul, and spirit.

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire, Inform, and Reward you!

Another Note: If you came to this post via a Facebook posting or by another route, please sign up now (no cost… no obligation) to receive my Blog Post email alerts: http://eepurl.com/cKLJdL

And a Third: I am available for Nature-Inspired Speaking, Writing, and Consulting — contact me at steve.jones.0524@gmail.com

Reminder of my Personal and Professional Purpose, Passion, and Cause

If only more of us viewed our precious environment through the filters I employ. If only my mission and vision could be multiplied untold orders of magnitude:

Mission: Employ writing and speaking to educate, inspire, and enable readers and listeners to understand, appreciate, and enjoy Nature… and accept and practice Earth Stewardship.

Vision:

People of all ages will pay greater attention to and engage more regularly with Nature… and will accept and practice informed and responsible Earth Stewardship.
They will see their relationship to our natural world with new eyes… and will understand more clearly their Earth home.

Tagline/Motto: Steve (Great Blue Heron) encourages and seeks a better tomorrow through Nature-Inspired Living!

Steve’s Three Books

I began authoring books and Posts for several reasons:

I love hiking and exploring in Nature
I see images I want to (and do) capture with my trusty iPhone camera
I enjoy explaining those images — an educator at heart
I don’t play golf!
I do love writing — it’s the hobby I never needed when my career consumed me
Judy suggested my writing is in large measure my legacy to our two kids, our five grand kids, and all the unborn generations beyond
And finally, perhaps my books and Blogs could reach beyond family and touch a few other lives… sow some seeds for the future

My First Visit to Sipsey Wilderness

February 12, 2020/in Alabama's National Forests /by Steve Jones

Bankhead National Forest

The USDA Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. Its motto is Caring for the land and serving people. The Bankhead National Forest is the nearest National Forest to my home in northern Alabama. I often pass through the Bankhead on my way to and from Camp McDowell and Conference Center (sign about ten miles north of McDowell). I intend to learn a lot more about the Forest, including hiking on its many trails.

From a USFS website: In 1964, our nation’s leaders formally acknowledged the immediate and lasting benefits of wild places to the human spirit and fabric of our nation. That year, Congress enacted the Wilderness Act, landmark legislation that permanently protected some of the most natural and undisturbed places in America. In 1968, the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act was passed to strike a balance between the demands for hydropower, flood control, and irrigation with the need to protect our most outstandingly remarkable rivers. This milestone legislation ensures free-flowing waterways for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. National Scenic and Historic Trails, National Historic Landmarks, Volcanic Monuments, Scenic Areas, Recreation Areas, Preserves, and Monuments are among additional designations bestowed by Congress to ensure protection of unique natural, cultural and recreational values. Collectively, Wildernesses, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails and other Congressionally Designated Areas comprise almost a quarter of all lands managed by the Forest Service and afford permanent protection to some of the most varied, ecologically significant, and valued federal lands and free flowing waters in the nation – indeed – the world. We owe a great deal to the wisdom and foresight of congressional delegations and dedicated citizen volunteers whose efforts have provided an enduring benefit to the American people.

Sipsey Wilderness and Sipsey Fork Wild and Scenic River

From the 1964 Wilderness Act: A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.

I feel blessed that the Sipsey Wilderness lies within the Bankhead, just 55 miles from my house. I made my first visit (since retiring here to northern Alabama) to Sipsey on January 24 as I returned from McDowell (after four days on-site).

The signage above indicates where we parked for my initial brief entry. We refers to me and Janice Barrett, Alabama Outreach and Education Coordinator for Wild South (https://wildsouth.org/). I’ll say a bit more later about Wild South. Janice led me along the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River, which is Alabama’s only National Wild and Scenic River. From the USFS: The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act protects more than 12,700 miles of rivers and streams in the U.S. The Forest Service is involved in managing nearly 5,000 of those wild and scenic rivers miles.

Continuing from the Forest Service, Designation as a wild and scenic river is our nation’s strongest form of protection for free-flowing rivers and streams. They have remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic or other similar values that led Congress to add these waterways to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Again, for emphasis (and, in part, to help me better understand how the pieces fit), we walked the Borden Creek Trail along the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River within the Bankhead’s Sipsey Wilderness.

I’m finding some enlightenment in Alabama Rivers: A Celebration and Challenge, authored by my former Auburn University colleague Dr. William (Bill) G. Deutsch. Bill wrote this about the Sipsey Fork: The Black Warrior Basin includes another large tributary called the Sipsey Fork that makes up the northwest portion of the watershed and eventually flows into the Mulberry Fork. The stream is Alabama’s only nationally designated Wild and Scenic River, and has the highest, federal water use-classification called Outstanding National Resource Waters.

In contrast, the Sipsey River is a 145-mile-long swampy low-lying river in west central Alabama, discharging into the Tombigbee River. The Sipsey River is not designated Wild and Scenic. However, recall the above signage: Sipsey River Picnic Area. That’s where we parked. It is along the Sipsey Fork, not even in the same basin with the actual Sipsey River. Phew, no wonder I’m confused. I am grateful to Bill and Janice — I’ll learn…I promise!

Janice introduced me to absolute Sipsey Wilderness beauty along the river trail. At every turn we encountered a Kodak Moment. I know, I’m indicating my age. My iPhone camera wants to ask me, “What’s a Kodak?” Sandstone ledges, multiple waterfalls and springs, and towering riparian trees border the river. Although our time was short, I wanted to find a place to sit to absorb the sights and sounds of Nature’s beauty, magic, wonder, and awe. I will return, I hope with at least one grandson in tow.

This would have been a great spot to perch. I am always at peace in the company of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). They love the rich streamside soils as much as I relish them (the trees). Were this poplar and the adjacent hickory (Carya sp) a little further apart, what a perfect spot for slinging a hammock! Superb relaxation and reflection available with no digital distractions.

Pure Tranquility Along the River

The old saw, A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, applies often in Nature, and to every precious spot along this trail. Combine sandstone ledges, cascading freshets, and sylvan comfort and solitude to achieve a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual oasis. Absolute tranquility; instant and lasting zen, courtesy of Mother Nature. Add in the special sauce of Wild and Scenic River, Wilderness, and National Forest and I am in Heaven on Earth. Amazing that we found this inspiration just a half-mile from the highway and an hour from my home. I loved my visit last summer to Grand Teton and Yellowstone, yet being at the two National Parks involved air and ground travel at considerable expense, and two-weeks dedicated to the journey and exploration. The scope and scale differ between last summer and the Sipsey, yet the separation among levels of inspiration, fulfillment, and satisfaction is small. The magic-at-hand variable carries considerable weight in my life equation.

Nature teaches us that every organism on planet Earth clings to life, not necessarily as a function of desperation but as a means of satisfying needs. I marveled at how adept these musclewood trees (Carpinus carolinia; AKA American hornbeam or blue-beech) are at finding purchase on mist-moistened ledges and boulders. Seeds fall atop the rock’s thin layer of accumulated organic detritus, germinate in the damp environment, and trail roots along the rock sides, extending them into the rich soil below. I recall that a favorite forestry professor held that forestry is both art and science. I contend evermore strongly now that Nature itself is both art and science. Art is, for example, enjoying the magic of these dendritic root systems matting the rock in exquisite patterns. Science is understanding and explaining the underlying mechanisms.

Clearly the rock (below left) is not a rolling stone, which gathers no moss. Again, the super-moist environment encourages life to extend its limits. Note the pocket of last fall’s leaves, which upon continuing decomposition will add incrementally to the thin layer of rooting medium atop the boulder. As I brought the camera closer, the moss became a thick forest. I wonder what lies within that forest? I urge readers to spend ten minutes with this 1977 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0. The video transports the viewer through successive orders of magnitude… first, ever further outward from a meter square and then inward at the reverse order of magnitude pace. You will never be quite the same, once more mesmerized by Nature’s enchantment.

Wild South

I told you I would return to Janice’s employer, Wild South. The organization’s Mission: Wild South has been putting the public in public lands for 28 years, giving communities opportunities to enjoy, value, and protect the wild character and natural legacy of the South. We want to see people of all ages appreciating and taking responsibility for the care of their public lands, now and for future generations. We believe our Southern National Forests and Parks are treasured places that enrich our quality of life and the social, economic, and cultural wealth of our communities. Join us as we protect the South’s lands, water, and biodiversity!

Wild South’s website paragraph on Sipsey adds perspective to the brief orientation hike I took with Janice: The Sipsey Wilderness (Bankhead National Forest) is characterized by large sandstone bluffs and the jade-hued water of its streams and rivers, making it home to some of the most picturesque natural features in Alabama. Volunteers maintain trails, clean up trash, and remove tenacious invasive plants. Despite the growing number of visitors to this beautiful wilderness, volunteer wilderness rangers are successfully demonstrating that visitor education leads to reduced visitor impact and increased safety.

That’s Janice below with Wild South’s version of Sasquatch: Sipsquatch! And yes, that’s me below right.

Thoughts and Reflections

Here are the three succinct lessons I draw from this Blog Post:

Nature’s treasures lie close at hand — seek them; enjoy them; and learn from them
Visiting Nature’s special places reminds us that someone (or some group) took the time and made the effort to identify and protect them for future generations
Multiply the work of those who have done their part; do your part to change the world by effectively promoting informed and responsible Earth stewardship

Inhale and absorb Nature’s elixir. May Nature Inspire and Reward you!

Note: All blog post images created & photographed by Stephen B. Jones unless otherwise noted. Please circulate images with photo credit: “©2020 Steve Jones, Great Blue Heron LLC. All Rights Reserved.”

Another Note: If you came to this post via a Facebook posting or by an another route, please sign up now (no cost… no obligation) to receive my Blog Post email alerts: https://stevejonesgbh.com/contact/

And a Third: I am available for Nature-Inspired Speaking, Writing, and Consulting — contact me at steve.jones.0524@gmail.com

Reminder of my Personal and Professional Purpose, Passion, and Cause

If only more of us viewed our precious environment through the filters I employ. If only my mission and vision could be multiplied untold orders of magnitude:

Mission: Employ writing and speaking to educate, inspire, and enable readers and listeners to understand, appreciate, and enjoy Nature… and accept and practice Earth Stewardship.

Vision:

People of all ages will pay greater attention to and engage more regularly with Nature… and will accept and practice informed and responsible Earth Stewardship.
They will see their relationship to our natural world with new eyes… and will understand more clearly their Earth home.

Tagline/Motto: Steve (Great Blue Heron) encourages and seeks a better tomorrow through Nature-Inspired Living!

Steve’s Three Books

I began writing books and Posts for several reasons:

I love hiking and exploring in Nature
I see images I want to (and do) capture with my trusty iPhone camera
I enjoy explaining those images — an educator at heart
I don’t play golf!
I actually do love writing — it’s the hobby I never needed when my career consumed me
Judy suggested my writing is in large measure my legacy to our two kids, our five grand kids, and all the unborn generations beyond
And finally, perhaps my books and Blogs could reach beyond family and touch a few others lives… sow some seeds for the future

I like to imagine that representative samples of my books appreciate accompanying me into the woods. So far, none has complained nor groaned! Perhaps I will take them along when I next visit Sipsey!

All three of my books (Nature Based Leadership; Nature-Inspired Learning and Leading; Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) present compilations of personal experiences expressing my (and co-author Dr. Wilhoit for Weaned Seals and Snowy Summits) deep passion for Nature. All three books offer observations and reflections on my relationship to the natural world… and the broader implications for society. Order any and all from your local indie bookstore, or find them on IndieBound or other online sources such as Amazon and LifeRich.