Bike, Hike, Bike Tour - February 18-20, 2018

I was wanting to go on an adventure before I started working weekends again at Dollywood in March. My first thought was to walk from my home in Chattanooga to my in-laws’ home in Huntsville, Alabama. I figured this 120-mile trip carrying about 25 pounds of gear would take me about 6 days. I guess I’m a fair weather hiker because I was only going to attempt it if I had a week of no to low rain chance. The weather did not cooperate so I decided to nix this plan. It was probably a good thing I decided not to do this trip because I could not even make it out of the community I live in walking and carrying a backpack without arising suspicions and having the police called on me.  No telling how many times I would have had the police called on me walking 120 miles.

With this plan axed, I decided to turn to my reliable ole bicycle for an adventure. I do not mind biking in the rain, so a forecast with rain in it would not cancel the trip. I called my cycling buddy, Bob, and he was up for a trip to the Walls of Jericho in Jackson County, Alabama, that would involve biking and hiking.

We cycled to the primitive campsite near the Walls of Jericho trailhead using the same route we used in October. Bob and I have biked to this campsite numerous times, and I regularly stop at this campsite when I bike from Chattanooga to Huntsville. It was starting to sprinkle rain when we arrived at the campsite, but we were able to get our tents pitched and get inside the tents before the steady rain arrived. We heard the yip-howls of coyotes that night in the distance. Also, an owl landed on a limb close to our tents and started communicating with another owl in the distance. It’s amazing how loud an owl’s “hoot” is when it is close. Below is a pic of our campsite. 

The next morning we got up ready for our 4-mile, each way, hike into the canyon to the waterfall. Since we would be gone for several hours, Bob decided to hide his nice touring bicycle in the woods near our campsite to keep it from possibly being stolen. He laid it on the ground, put a tarp over it, and then put some twigs and leaves over the tarp. His plan worked as the bike was still there when we got back. Amazingly, we were even able to find it upon our return. Below is a pic of camouflaged bike. 

I decided to ride my $15 yard sale Viscount bicycle on this trip since I would be leaving it at the campsite for several hours. I would not want to lose this bike, but it would not be as great of a loss as it would if my nicer touring bike was stolen. Below is a pic of the Viscount. 

On the hike down, I ran across this tree that has an amazing resemblance of Bob. (Look closely at the lower knot hole in the tree.)

At the bottom of the canyon, we had to use a log bridge to cross a stream. 

There is an old cemetery near a primitive campsite on the canyon floor. Below is a pic of Bob checking out a headstone at the cemetery.

Below are some pics of a stream and the waterfall.

Watch out for the low hanging sharp rocks near the waterfall or you might end up with one of these on your head.

Since it rained the night before, the trail at the bottom of the canyon was muddy in places. I wore my Vibram Five Finger shoes on the hike, and mud squishing up between my toes brought back good childhood memories. 

It is rumored that Davy Crockett hunted in the area surrounding the Walls of Jericho when his family lived close by. In the pic below, you might initially think it is the ghost of Davy Crockett, but it’s just Bob. 

We got pretty warm hiking back up the mountain.  Bob found this perfect little babbling brook to cool off in.

We made it back to our campsite, camped another night, and then biked back home to Chattanooga the following day. This was a very enjoyable and relaxing trip. If you find yourself looking for a good place to hike, the Walls of Jericho might just be what you’re looking for.