More fun in the woods

Yes, I know the Super Bowl was this weekend (way to go Steelers), but the highlight of my weekend was another trip to the Sipsey Wilderness Area. If you're a regular reader, you already know of my love for the Sipsey. This time, though, I wasn't exploring the Sipsey by myself. No, this time I met up with Cousin Kari and her husband, Jason. We tentatively planned the trip last week, but we were waiting to see if the weather was going to cooperate. Saturday morning at 7:00 we decided it was "good enough" -- highs in the mid-40's and blustery winds. The TV weather guy kept saying, "If you have to be out, make sure you bundle up as the wind chill may be down in the 20's. Still, we figured we could handle it so we set out.

Our first task was to find the Kinlock Shelter -- a rock formation/cave/overhang that we'd all heard about but never visited. Thanks to a handy guide book, I had a set of GPS coordinates so we figured we could find it. We did and it was quite spectacular. Of course I failed to take a "front on" picture so you could get an idea of the scope of the formation, but here it is:

The only problem with the Kinlock Shelter was that it was too close to the road, so we didn't feel we'd really done a hike. Given all the rain the past few weeks, though, we figured it'd be a great day to seek some waterfalls. [Insert ominous foreshadowing music here.]

So we then headed out to the Caney Creek Falls -- upper and lower. Kari and Jason had been to the Upper Falls, but they wanted to find the Lower Falls as well. Of course one reason they hadn't been to the Lower Caney was the lack of a distinct trail there, but that didn't stop us. No we headed for the Lower Falls, basically making our own trail at times. Everything was fine and dandy until we came to a place where another creek came into the Caney. We were going to have to cross some creek, so we figured we might as well get on the "right" side of the Caney. Jason found a downed tree that we agreed could be used to cross. The problem was it was a tad narrow to walk across, yet too "branchy" to scoot across easily. Jason had already crossed and Kari was contemplating her route when I discovered a third option -- falling in the creek and wading across!

Again, you may remember on my earlier Sipsey trips I have often felt like the "don't be this guy" guy in the old outdoor safety films? Well to make a long story sort of short ... I tried to edge across a narrow ledge of land to get to the tree. My narrow ledge, though, was quite narrow, muddy, and leaf-covered. Surprisingly, the narrow, muddy, leaf-covered ledge did not provide the best footing. I had taken one step, maybe two, when my feet just zoomed out from under me. I seem to recall that I had time for a short YELP and then I plunged, straight as an arrow, into the water. It was about an 8-10 ft. drop (though I threatened to exaggerate to 25 or 30 feet) before I hit the water, so I had a bit of momentum. I don't remember the fall, but I do remember going under (Jason says I didn't go completely under because he never lost sight of my cap) and going into an immediate panic as I didn't know how deep the water was and I swim like a rock in the best of conditions.

In just a flash, though, I had found the bottom and the water turned out to be ONLY about chest deep (temp in mid-40s, mind you). After Jason alertly yelled for me to go to the other side, I managed to get out of the creek without drowning. Still, I figured that just made me a nominee for the "hypothermia man" role rather than the "drowning man" role in the safety films. Kari and Jason offered to cut off our trip and rush back to the truck -- as sane people would have done -- but once I calmed down and the adrenaline stopped rushing through my body, I decided it wasn't that bad.

Though I never was one, I pack like a boy scout. Hence, I had a dry fleece pullover, a dry pair of socks, etc. in my bag, which fortunately didn't take on too much water. Consequently, I was able to get dry feet, a dry upper body, and a warm head (I had a "boggan" in my pack too), so I wasn't in too bad a shape. I did, though, have to deal with the discomfort of wet pants. Fortunately, I'd put on "long johns" that morning (thinking it was going to be colder than it was) and they were about 50% polyester, so they basically insulated my lower body from my wet pants. Yes, a smart man still would have left the woods, but I've never claimed to be smart in the woods.

So, we continued. I figured if nothing else, I'd have a good blog story for Monday. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the high point of our Caney trek. We did make it to the Lower Falls (after much bushwhacking through deadfalls), but we couldn't find a way down into the canyon where we needed to be for a good view. Actually, we did eventually find a way down, but we were about a quarter mile beyond the falls and the high water kept us from just walking back up the canyon. Plus, someone (Kari) had the good sense to suggest that old Wet Pants (me) might want to get out of the woods before dark. Have I mentioned I really like Cousin Kari?

So, we cut the trip a little short, but we had a memorable story. Yep, you can bet I'm going to get some mileage out of this as a campfire story -- especially the part about continuing the hike! It looks as if I may have to replace my cheap digital camera, but in all seriousness I guess I was pretty darned lucky.

Oh, the most amazing part, ... I broke down and told the Caffeine Parents about my fall -- I figured Cousin Kari's mom would blab -- and they acted as if it were no big deal. They freaked out about me camping when it was so cold, yet they were amazingly calm about my plunge into the icy waters of Caney Creek! Go figure. Anyway, the "picture posting" seems to be working now, so here's a shot of the Upper Caney Falls: