Backpacking the Big Tree, Bunyan Hill Loop in the Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama

This video is of a one night backpacking trip in the Sipsey Wilderness of North Alabama to visit the Big Tree by way of the Bunyan Hill Wagon Road (Trail 224) and the Sipsey Fork Trail (Trail 209).

Jonathan, Jacob and I started out at the Borden Creek Trailhead and descended down to the old bridge over the Borden Creek. There we crossed over the bridge and headed up Trail 224, the Bunyan Hill Wagon Road. This is a long and boring but easy 4 mile (6.4 km) hike along the top of a ridge that takes you all the way to Trail 204. Trail 204 turns south and heads down to East Bee Branch Falls and the Big Tree. We set up camp near the Big Tree (the biggest/champion tulip poplar in Alabama) and enjoyed the cool dampness of the canyon.
The next morning, we packed up and continued down the Bee Branch Canyon, dodging a lot of fallen trees, until we reached the Sipsey Fork. There we turned east on Trail 209 and followed the Sipsey Fork downstream through some beautiful canyons and lots of small stream crossings. This long stretch is pretty easy hiking with only a few trees down and no elevation gain.
Eventually we came to Fall Creek Falls where we cooled down before continuing on to the Borden Creek. We then followed the west side of Borden Creek north on a less traveled trail with a lot of downed trees and obstacles until we returned to the old bridge over Borden Creek. Finally, we climbed back up to the top of the plateau and our car at the trail head.
This 15 mile (24 km) long loop is normally an easy backpacking trip, but we happened to hit one of the last hot/humid days in early fall and the heat added an extra level of difficulty to this hike. Nevertheless, it was still a lovely weekend outing in the Sipsey Wilderness.

The Sipsey Wilderness (#sipseywilderness) lies within the Bankhead National Forest in northwestern Alabama. Sipsey was the first designated wilderness area in Alabama in 1975 and now encompasses about 24,922 acres (10,086 ha). Rivers and streams have carved canyons and valleys in the limestone and sandstone of the local plateau resulting in a wide range of micro-climates in a short hiking distance, some amazing natural features, a few historic sites, as well as endless nooks and crannies to explore. Wilderness camping, building campfires, hunting, and fishing are permitted. Drones are not allowed. Sipsey is a "Leave no Trace" area (https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/) with, despite appearances, no designated fire rings, camp sites or facilities. Unfortunately, there are many traces of the hundreds who hike and camp here every year. Please be considerate and do not add to the already extensive damage in this special place.

My custom maps of the Sipsey Wilderness: https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...

My other videos of the Sipsey Wilderness:
   • Sipsey Wilderness  

Trail info: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/tra...

Equipment:
Camera: GoPro Hero12 Black: https://gopro.com/en/us/shop/cameras/...

Title card music by Lobo-Loco: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lob...

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#hiking
#backpacking
#waterfall
#bigtrees