Brushy Creek Photos

Trip Report 1-23-07


Level: 5.0 ft
Flow: 300cfs (falling)
Gauge: Sipsey Fork at Grayson
Clarity: Ultra Clear
Weather: Upper 40's, Mostly Cloudy
Section: Brushy Lake FS 245- Hickory Grove Road FS 255

Brushy Lake

The entrance to the Bankhead coming from the north side and Wren, AL on HW 33 .





After paddling the Upper, Upper Mulberry, I headed for my real destination - the Bankhead National Forest. My goal was to spend three days and two nights exploring Brushy Creek and the Sipsey Fork.

This all started in early January, when I learned that I had four vacation days left over from 2006. I had to take them in the next few weeks, or I would lose them. It would most likely be time off during the week, in the coldest month of the year. I was going to be vacationing by myself. Nobody else would be interested in running rivers and camping in the cold weather. To me, I knew it was an excellent opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in Alabama on my own.








Brushy Lake







I spent several days before my trip looking at computer models and forecasts. There were two possible trips depending on the weather. I was either going to Southeast Alabama to float the Choctawhatchee and the Pea Rivers, fishing for Spotted Bass and camping on sandbars. Or, I was going to the Bankhead to maybe hunt, attempt to fish, and definitely canoe camp in the colder weather. I also was going to be biking my shuttles. I found the roads in the Bankhead to be fantastic to bike on.







Wide open roads with little traffic.







The forecast pointed at a heavy rain the north part of the state on Sunday. That system was to stall out in the southern part on the state Monday through Wednesday, leaving the north dry. Monday through Thursday was my window of opportunity. I headed north through the rain, catching the higher water on the Mulberry Monday afternoon. I stopped ion Cullman for the traditional Mexican feast at the local Loopy's. Then, I pushed west on U.S. 278 through Addison, and north on SR 63 to Brushy Lake campground. There are two maps that are very helpful in this area besides the Delorme map book. You can order at water resistant Bankhead map from Carto-Craft Maps 205-822-2103, and you can download the Black Warrior WMA hunting map.
The Carto-Craft map is the best, and is also available at the stores in Wren, AL north of the forest.







I had the place to myself.








I found the campground completely empty. I was perfect. There was no water and no electricity. There was a bathroom with a chamber pot toilet that was fairly clean. I found 13 sites to choose from. I picked a spot with lake view that was in the central portion of the campground near the bathhouse. The sites were level, clean, and had a nice table to cook on.







A cozy site.








The 33 acre lake is clear and very pretty. Brushy Creek and Owl Creek enter on the north end and keep a steady flow of clean water that drains the protected forest. There is a day use area close to the lower end. Brushy Lake offers fishing form bass and bream. I'm sure it gets some fishing pressure in the warm weather months. A short paddle around the lake, and a fairly short portage around the dam on river right brings you to the start of the remote 10 mile paddle on Brushy Creek. It was a nice place to get a good nights sleep right at the put in for tomorrow's float.

Here is a shot using the self timer on my Pentax right after a 21 mile bike ride form Hickory Grove road.












A short paddle across the lake takes you to the put in for Brushy Creek.

Upper, Upper Mulberry Fork

Mulberry Fork at the BCC takeout




The Mulberry Fork of the Warrior is one of the most consistent and popular whitewater runs in the state. Near the Cullman - Marshall County line, the Mulberry forms close to the town of Arab (pronounced A-Rab). The water quality is fair, and can get pretty muddy above the USGS gauge level of 4.5 feet. There are a large number of chicken houses in the area, as well as other agricultural impacts. However, the bluffs are scenic and the Mulberry is a nice low gradient, high volume river with nice waves.













Hawaii 5-0 Rapid at 6.5 feet

The Lower Mulberry Fork is the section below U.S. 31 at Garden City. It provides straightforward class II action with good play spots. This section can be run at levels as low as 3.8 feet, and is usually running in most of the winter and spring months. It also can develop some very impressive wave trains at higher levels of up to 7 feet. The take out for this short 3 mile section is at the Haiwai 5-0 wave playspot at the Birmingham Canoe Club parking area. This is also the site of the Mulberry Fork Races each spring. This is an extremely popular stretch of Alabama whitewater. The best fishing would be at levels below 4.5 feet. The river clears up nicely and spotted bass are plentiful. It would be interesting to float below the BCC takeout and fish the river to Black Bottom or Sloan. This could be done in a canoe at levels in the 3'-4' range.

The Upper Mulberry Fork is considered to be the 6.5 mile section between County Road 10 and U.S. 31. This section still receives the extra volume of the Duck and Broglen Rivers which enter just above CR 10. It does need a little more water - say around 4.5 feet - to be running well enough to enjoy the whitewater action. All the rapids are straightforward class II's and like the lower section, produces bigger and bigger waves at high levels. The section is a nice rollercoaster ride above 5'. Below 4.5' you might drag some, but the river runs clear and the fishing would be good.

There are some other options above these two sections if the water is up. But, like many Alabama streams at their headwaters, a good whitewater floating level is usually too high for fishing. The low gradient section between County Road 51 and County Road 10 could make a decent float fishing trip at levels around 5 feet. Above County Road 51, you pretty much have to wade it it at levels that are fishable. The minimal float for class I-II whitewater between U.S. 278 and County Road 51 is 5 feet.

So that leaves the section above U.S. 278. Alabamawhitewater.com refers to this as the Upper, Upper Mulberry Fork of Warrior. This is a nice class II+ section that can be run after recent rains of 1.5" or more. This headwater run begins at State Highway 67, and is only floatable when its too high to fish. Ideally you want a rising level above 5.5 feet on the Garden City Gauge. As of early 2007 there are several logjams that you have to go over or around, but they are worth the effort if the water is pumping. There is very little flatwater, and the pools are short.

Trip Report 1/22/07 - Upper, Upper Mulberry













A class I shoal near the put-in


Level: 6.2 ft
Flow: 2100 cfs (falling fast)
Clarity: Stained
Weather: Upper 40's, Cloudy
Section: HW 67 - US 231 (Near Holly Pond, AL)

I had some leftover vacation days to take in January, and choose to head to north central Alabama for some solo camping, paddling, and cycling. My goal was to spend most of my time in the Bankhead National Forest, but I wanted to catch the Mulberry or the Locust on my way up.

A good soaking rain fell on Sunday the 21st, pushing the Mulberry Fork level to 6.8' that night. I left Mobile around 5am Monday morning for the Cullman area. I chose the Mulberry Fork as my destination because I figured it was the best chance to meet up with some other paddlers. The reality of the situation was though, that it was cold and cloudy Monday in January. Nobody was on the river that day.

I considered paddling the lower Mulberry, but the 6+ foot level was a bit pushy for a solo open canoe trip. I had paddled this section at a similar level in the early 90's and remembered the lunch stop rapid to be pretty impressive. After taking some pictures of the Haiwii 5-0 at the put in, I headed up river for the more technical and less pushy upper Mulberry.

The river at HW 67 put-in had crested overnight. It was running fairly clear and looked to be fairly close to the minimum for this run. This was a much safer option for a run by myself. This is actually considered to be a class +II run, but that rating is for levels above 6' at Garden City and rising. The gauge is far downstream from this section and represents what happened upstream a good 12-24 hours earlier. I would consider it borderline class II at 6.0' an falling due to the strainers and logs, and the technical nature of the drops.

Setting up a shuttle by myself was a new concept to me. The main thing I wanted to accomplish, was to leave the vehicle at the bottom of the run - at the take out. That way, when I was tired and wet at the end of the run, I didn't have a bike ride to deal with.











Floatation is a good idea anywhere on the Mulberry




So, first I drove the canoe up to State Road 67. The access is steep, but a short carry around the rock ledge on the downstream river right side was possible. I took my 16' Mad River Explorer (with my new carry yoke on the center thwart) off the truck, carried down to the river, and locked it up. I stashed my extra gear in the woods nearby. Secondly I drove my truck (with a Trek Road Bike in the back) back down to the take out. There is great parking at the downstream river left side at U.S. 231. I left the truck there and began my first serious bike ride in probably ten years.

My shuttle route was west on U.S. 278, then north on County Road 1742. The traffic was heavy on 278, but the distance was short. Traffic was minimal on 1742, but there was the occasional chicken truck passing through with it's wonderful aroma. I also encountered a few loud, but harmless dogs along the way. I took a right on County Road 1725 to shorten the distance slightly. I then took a right on State Highway 67 and peddled the short downhill ride to the put in. Overall the ride was about 10 miles, but none of the hills were especially steep. It took 30 or 40 minutes in all.

The word is that the owner of the property at the HW 67 bridge downstream river right is friendly. I did not meet him, but be careful not to block his gate to his craft shop if you park there. There is enough room on the shoulder to park 1-2 vehicles here.

The run itself started out with a number of minor shoals and a few interesting logjams. I can only recall one logjam that I had to carry over. You could squeeze over or around the rest at this level. At higher levels, some of the log jams could become serious strainers for the unprepared. The whitewater action picks up, and the logjams disappear after Pan Creek on river right adds to the flow after the second mile.














Nice Bluffs!



I enjoyed several nice drops. There was some good scenery with picturesque bluffs along the way. The river did have some trash in it though, and there was that faint smell of the chicken farms. Apparently many of the property owners along the river don't care about keeping the stream clean. I was surpirsed there were only a few cabins. However, there were a several areas with rope swings that looked like places where the locals party and swim in the summer.











The best of the drops (a little blurry)




I'd love to run it again directly after a big rain when the lower Mulberry is too big. I imagine the redeye and spotted bass fishing would be pretty decent when the the water warms up, and slows down - in the late spring.

Hatchet Creek 07' Photos

Click to Enlarge...

Hatchet Creek 07'

Hatchet Creek (trip report coming soon)















The river was at 1,110 cfs and falling when we launched at US 280.















The waters were muddier than usual after hard rains. All rapids were clean and most class I's were closer to being II's.

















We left the fishing rods at home for this float. The rapids did not dissapoint.

Sepulga River

This is the Sepulga on 01/02/07 at a great level for paddling...

Level: 5.25 ft
Flow: 825 cfs (steady)
Clarity: Muddy
Weather: mid 50's, Partly Sunny
Section: Us 31 - US 84 (near Evergreen, AL)

We paddled this section as part of my weekly outdoors segment on Fox Ten News. You can see the story and the video at fox10tv.com on the lower half of the weather page. Most of the minor shoals were washed out at this level. The main drop did contain some nice waves to play in. My photographer Vania paddled the rapid in a tandem canoe with Curtis Wright. They took a nice wave over the bow on the main drop. Again fisherman were catching mostly catfish.


Here are the low water pics from 11/28/06...















Level: 4.2 ft
Flow: 290 cfs (falling)
Clarity: Stained
Fishing: poor due to cold weather
Weather: Low 50's, Partly Sunny
Section: Us 31 - US 84 (near Evergreen, AL)

I paddled the Sepulga River for the first time on 12/28/2006 with Curtis and Hillary. There is a fast shoal right after the HW 31 put in. Then, the action is slow for the next 4 miles. I picked up one small largemouth on a finesse worm, despite stained water and chilly temperatures. Fisherman were catching blue and channel catfish from boats.















This cabin on river right sits at the begining of the entertaining shoals section. Curtis and Hillary paddle this South Alabama Class I. The gradient picks up in the next mile with a few drops and ledges.
















Here is the first drop of Sepulga Falls. There are actually two drops in this rapid. The first is a decent ledge. The second drop creates some nice standing waves at higher water.