Sipsey Spring '09 - Big Tree, Big Water

“Ha! Two 12 oz drinks would break the little fart's back. ;-)”

“I'll be weary or pretend to be I assure you. :)”

“..no alcohol!!!...they are strict...I KNOW no TTers will break any rules....”

“I was just made aware that turkey season will be in full swing next weekend and the hunters will be out in force. Probably be a good idea to bring a bit of orange to have on you while we're out hiking.”

“Down by the lake there is none (AT&T) but if you go up on the hill just before the drop and hold your nose while twisting your left ear, you can get coverage...!....FYI”

“Finding the campground -

First time I went to Brushy, I pulled in to the first place with a sign...it was the day use area....Bathrooms, picnic shelters, and BIG "NO CAMPING" signs...thought they had shut the place down.....

NOT SO...as you come down the hill, pass the first turn in to the right, go about 100 yards to the SECOND TURN IN....that's the CAMPGROUND.”

“Be there directly...”

“That is one less than desirable weather forecast :( Maybe it'll lighten up a bit over the next few days.”

“Check the dates, gojo.”

“You don't think he's on his way now do you??”

“I hope not!”

“Surely not.”

“You know gojo. ;-)”

“Yeah...he could be passing through Birmingham right about now. That would suck. Anybody know how to get in touch with him?
last edited: 3/20/09 12:02:46 PM”

“Today is Friday on a Spring Break weekend. Think the campground might be busy? ;-)”

“A wee bit.”

“..hello...I don't know if I am going to make this one...I may be in Ohio at this time....my ex mother in law is not well....”

“Glad I checked the dates...I almost showed up this weekend too.”

“So bitpusher isn't signed up but sounds like he's in, div is out, backyaker is out...who all *is* coming? :)”

“I left my nieces later than I had anticipated, yet made it to the campground with plenty of daylight to spare - even though I made stops at a tire store to replace last week's blowout, as well as a stop at a Kroger, where I dropped a $50 for food and beer - mostly beer.

I stopped in Addison to gas-up, cig-up, and change from work clothes to TT attire. I was most dashing according to the reflection in the Mighty Mighty Tacomas driver's side quarter-glass. "The TT hotties are gonna go gaga", I said aloud. Sarabelle just rolled her eyes. My preparations were paying off mightily - my plan had really come together. I was excited with the prospect of reuniting with my fellow TTers for the first time since last year's Trail Days. Damn near pumped, I was.

I turned north on county road 63, then right on Mount Olive. I was soon at the campground. I found the TT group and commented about how well Stovie looked - "Stovie" got quite hostile. It was about then that I began to suspect that something was amiss.

I ended up parked at the nearby boatramp where I had a couple beers and a light snack. I was asleep by pitch-dark. I woke to see the moon at about nine o'clock, and knew the sun, too, would soon be showing.

Within an hour, I was in the shadow of Calhoun College, and on the phone with my sleepy Uncle Larry. He gave me directions to his house (seeing's how I had been to his lake house only once, and that was 15 years ago). I was with he and his wife Barbara within a half hour. We had breakfast, toured the grounds to peruse his latest landscape projects, boathouse renovations, etc, then trucked to his farm 40 minutes away. Last year's F-4 tornado had done alot of damage, indeed.

By dark, I was on the road to Huntsville to visit my first cousin Angie and her family. I left two messages, but never got a response until last night when I was safely back in the Peach State. Instead of visiting with them, I found a bar for wings and beers. It was there that I conversed with a native of McDonough - a soldier stationed at the arsenal. Nice fellow. We bought each other beers as I showed him my drawing portfolios and he shared stories about his tours in the Gulf region. That night - Saturday - I slept at a truckstop. I rose early and got coffee. The dogs and I walked the grounds for a while - pausing to get a picture of Gizmeaux on the truck scales - then headed back to Georgia.

As usual, it was some goooooood times! LOL!”

“Nice TR, gojo!
Sorry "Stovie" got hostile. ;-)”

“Oh my...you really did go this weekend.”

“I'm sorry the real Stovie missed gizmo, Sarabelle, and gojo. I was looking forward to seeing sweet Sarabelle and hearing Gizmo's latest wild adventures, and maybe seeing their daddy again. ;-)”

“He called me Thursday to see about Sipsey carpooling, I was pretty busy last week so i figured I'd call him Sunday. When I did, he was driving back from the Sipsey. oops”

“Look at it this way gojo, the weather YOU had was TWICE AS NICE as the weather being predicted for NEXT weekend!”

“Indeed...this is probably exactly as he planned ;)”

“Well, the "Big Water" part should be truthfull...I say ya'll come! (And Bring Rain Gear!)...the waterfalls should be Bustin' one.....and with all the tarps I know this group has, we can rig a decent tarp pavillion to use around the fire.”

“No doubt about it. We have no excuse for not staying dry at camp...barring extremely high accompanying winds :)

If anyone has access to a supply of dry firewood that you could easily bring some of, may not hurt to have it if the weekend does turn out to be a soaker. I typically just load up the bed of my truck as I'm driving the FS roads on my way to the campground but if the rain sets in good before I can get there, may not be much point in that.”

“Yeah, the rain is setting in on Wednesday. Not gonna beat it up there :)”

“The waterfalls will be ROCKIN'!”

“Fall Creek Falls can probably be removed from the "quick" list unless we want to swim Bordon
last edited: 3/23/09 1:14:38 PM”

“There is a nice fire log lying in the middle of Mt. Olive Rd - looked like oak to me.”

“LOL...I'll be sure and grab it if it's still there.”

“I will too - if you don't beat me to it.
I'm gonna make every effort to make it next week. How can I deny Stovie and Belle their long overdue reunion?”

“:-)”

“Uh...got home and watching the weather...Rain is now 80 to 90% with severe weather possibilities....I'm thinkin' that this is a trip I can reschedule....this after I said plan rain and show anyway...dunno...prolly gonna pass on this one......”

“If the forecast starts indicating tornado type conditions for an extended period of time, I'll probably be in favor of postponing or at least truncating the trip a bit to work around it. Still a lot of time for that forecast to change...for better or worse. Hang in there.”

“I'm free most anytime.”

“I don't know if I'll be able to, but I am thinking about it.”

“Based on the damage done to my uncle's property 10 months ago, I would not expect my Eureka! Aurora I to withstand a tornado - though it is a great tent! The winner of an extensive, seven-tents-or-so field test performed in 1999 by Backpacker Magazine professional outdoors people. I would highly recommend it for anyone (were it still manufactured).

BP Baby, Belle, and I did a two-niter at Sipsey in 2001. Rough weather. A tornado touched down about 10 miles away - killing four.”

“BTW - Georgia leads the nation with 32 tornados this year - I've seen enough foulest weather for a minute . Illinois is a distant 2nd with, like 11, btw.”

“Prediction...3 heavy bands of rain right through saturday...GADSDEN predicted 6 and 1/2 inches! (CULLMAN 5 1/2...)

I'm calling this one for myself, I'm not goin'....don't want to swim home.

Weather channel is callin' these systems a drought buster.....”

“5 1/2!! wow

I'm definitely going to Eagle Creek/Little Ugly this weekend no matter what. I've seen Quillan after a rain and it's impressive...waterfalls are everywhere”

“Damn”

“..I'm a no....just got word that my ex mother-in-law passed away..I will head for Ohio in a few days...
..plus I have another damn cold....
:(”

“I'm not givin up yet Stovie and may not. I'll probably make my final call Thursday morning.”

“ya'll need hammocks.....cause Brushy has a tendency to flood if ya camp on the "pads"”

“I will definitely be hammocking it with a super duper size tarp as a rainfly :)”

“ST - Looks to be mostly cleared off by Saturday afternoon...you live close enough you could make it for that night at least.”

“If the weather changes, so will my plans.”