The past few months have been a scramble against time to get as much outdoor activity in before the summer heat would melt my ambition.
I was lucky enough to join the Woodkats, a backpacking group of family and friends, for an easter weekend trek into the Sipsey Wilderness in north west alabama. What was to be a fairly easy 3 day hiking trip turned into a nearly impassable log crawl through countless felled trees. A storm with high winds had passed through a few days before our arrival leaving massive trees covering trails. After climbing through tick infested trees for hours we abandoned the trail and navigated by map and compass to our camp along the sipsey river. The second day we made it to the "big tree," Alabama's largest tree. After talking with several people with local knowledge of the wilderness area we opted to hike out on the third day on an unmarked trail instead of attempting to retrace our steps back through the carnage from which we came. This trip certainly gave me a new respect for storms. In the weeks since our trip, the Sipsey was hit again with a trail of tornados that destroyed towns all across the south.
Eager to get one last spring journey in, I joined UAB's outdoor pursuits group on a backpacking trip into the Savage Gulf of TN. This is part of the south cumberland recreation area with is in between Nashville and Chattanooga. Luckily and unknowingly I boarded the "international" van. Our group consisted of several graduate students from varying backgrounds and cultures around the world. We traded stories along the trails learning from one another. The Savage Gulf proved to be an impressive sight. We took in several beautiful canyon overlooks and dazzling waterfalls. This was a very unique experience I will not soon forget.
I am already yearning for autumn and it is barely June. The heat here is oppressively challenging to overcome. I fill my blood thickening with the heat, but I vow to live in every season. Summer is here.
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