Let me start this off by saying that I am not a professional hiker. This is not something that I do regularly. And now, since I have hiked Sipsey Wilderness, I understand why so many people get lost in the woods...
Wednesday morning, Trey and I had planned to go hiking with two of our friends. We loaded up our backpack with snacks and a few drinks, guns, knives, and everything that we thought was a necessity. Mine and Treys backpack contained: 1 gator-aide, 1 bottle of water, 1 pack of zebra cakes, 1 bag of Sour Cream and Cheddar chips, 1 pack of beef jerky, 1 pack of cheese and crackers, and 1 pistol. So off we go on our fun little adventure through the woods at 11:30 that morning. Before starting on the first trail, on the Mount Hope side of Sipsey Wilderness, we stopped and looked at the map to plan out our route. We planned for a 3-4 mile hike and to be out of the woods and back home in time for church by 5:30 that night.
NOPE!!! That didn't happen.
We stopped at a few very pretty spots along the way and snapped lots of pictures. The boys loved the picture taking most of all...NOT! But just look at how beautiful the water was!!
Around the third hour of our hiking adventure we start jokingly discussing what we would do if we got lost and had to stay in the woods overnight.
On the fourth hour, we were determined that we, in fact, were lost. We had, also, all drank every last drop of the drinks that we had brought. And then low and behold, as we are walking along this trail, we hear a hog grunt. YA'LL...I just knew this was how I was going to die. I thought, "Great! Not only are we lost in the middle of nowhere, but now we are going to get chased by WILD HOGS!" Trey starts getting out his gun, and Dakota is reaching for his knife...all while I am finding the quickest route up the nearest tree. Luckily, the giant hog (and her three babies) just watched us for a minute, then turned and walked the other way.
We keep on trucking until we find a good spot to stop and rest. At this point we had been walking through the woods without seeing a single human for about two hours. It was also getting close to church time and I knew my mother and Treys mother would both be in an all out panic mode if we did not contact them soon. BUT THERE IS NO CELL SERVICE WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS. I just knew they were going to get together and create a huge search party and it was going to be all over the news..."FOUR TWENTY YEAR OLDS LOST IN BANKHEAD". How embarrassing would that have been?
Finally, around 6:45, we found a gravel road that led up what seemed like the Bankhead version of Mount Everest. When we reached the top, there was a map there. There were cars there...but not our truck.. The little 'You Are Here" star showed that we were on the COMPLETE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE WOODS. We literally had no idea where we were nor did we know how we were going to get back to our truck. Thankfully, I kept walking down the road and got enough service to call my mom and dad, and send them my location so they could come get us.
Around 7:45, mom and dad came to our rescue with a cooler full of waters and snacks. Then, it took us about another hour and a half to find Trey's truck! Whew! We were exhausted...and very, very hungry. After a quick Sonic run, we were all home safe and finally in the bed by midnight.
Once we got in the truck, the health app on my phone showed that we had walked 15 miles. And ya'll...I could definitely tell the next morning. I was sore in places that I did not know could ever be sore.
Even though we got lost, we had a great time. We laughed the whole way home about the whole situation. The water and sights along the trails were absolutely beautiful, as was the big waterfall. I plan on going hiking again in the future, but next time we will definitely be more prepared!! :)
Here are a few of the pictures we took along the way.
