Sipsey Loop 2019 Trip Report

[WesArnold]

It's been forever since I've done a trip report, but I felt like doing one so here I am! Hope some of you fellas remember me.

So, I am really not one for hot-weather camping, but my buddy Whit is all about it. We had planned this trip to be at the first of October thinking maybe the weather would have cooled off. Boy, were we wrong. It wasn't a bad time though! Plenty of canopy and shade. Here's the starting out pics:
We started at Randolph Trailhead.




We went up 201 to 209 and then took a right:


Went down 209 till we found a good camp spot. Stayed there for the night.


I didn't get a good pic of my set-up, but I did get a good one of my buddy Whit's set-up.








The next day we went down to 204 and went north up towards the tree.



I didn't take any pics of the tree once we got there. Just a video that I haven't uploaded in such a way I can post it. Nonetheless we came back down 204a back to 209 and took it back over 202 and headed back toward the car. Made it all the way on Saturday. Probably should have stayed one more night, but we got to talking about women and cheeseburgers and decided to hike it out early!




And here's the victory finish shot:

[TrailSlug]

Wow. Hiking in record heat had to be tough. Was there any water flowing at the creek crossings?

[WesArnold]

Wow. Hiking in record heat had to be tough. Was there any water flowing at the creek crossings?

Yes, the water was low, but it was flowing! I drank 4 L during the day Saturday and refilled again before the last 3 or so miles out. We had planned to stay two nights but the heat was relentless, we were just wanting out by Saturday!

[BillyBob58]

Yes, the water was low, but it was flowing! I drank 4 L during the day Saturday and refilled again before the last 3 or so miles out. We had planned to stay two nights but the heat was relentless, we were just wanting out by Saturday!

You guys are tough, enduring all that heat! Great to hear that the water was still flowing after such a drought. Were the creeks still flowing, or just the Sipsey River? I have seen Fall Creek come down to just a trickle in recent droughts(most of which seem to be in the fall), with the pools stagnant and smelly, not attractive for drinking. and I even saw a picture a few years back of a bone dry Borden Creek. So if the creeks were still flowing, that was good. Recent high temps have been 30* cooler than just a few days ago, plus some rain!

[WesArnold]

You guys are tough, enduring all that heat! Great to hear that the water was still flowing after such a drought. Were the creeks still flowing, or just the Sipsey River? I have seen Fall Creek come down to just a trickle in recent droughts(most of which seem to be in the fall), with the pools stagnant and smelly, not attractive for drinking. and I even saw a picture a few years back of a bone dry Borden Creek. So if the creeks were still flowing, that was good. Recent high temps have been 30* cooler than just a few days ago, plus some rain!

Very little water in creeks. Definitely didn’t drink any of what was in any of the creeks! Stinky and lots of skeeters.


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[dstenberg1]

Thanks for posting. What was the total mileage for the loop?

[WesArnold]

Thanks for posting. What was the total mileage for the loop?

I'm not 100% sure. Whit was tracking with a GPS watch, but I was just doing it round-about with the estimates from the map. My estimate put it around 10-12 miles total.

[dstenberg1]

I'm not 100% sure. Whit was tracking with a GPS watch, but I was just doing it round-about with the estimates from the map. My estimate put it around 10-12 miles total.

Thanks for the estimate! I was looking for a loop hike in Sipsey to try out with my son.