322:. Mary Ivy Burks of Birmingham worked to establish a Sipsey Wilderness Area in the Bankhead National Forest at a time when many believed that "The Wilderness Act" should apply only to the western part of the United States. She was in the forefront of what became known as the Eastern Wilderness Movement. Her work to secure the Sipsey Wilderness in the Bankhead National Forest was her crowning achievement. John Randolph and Mike Leonard led the effort to expand the wilderness in a second phase during the 1980s. Alabama would be the agent of change, as a strange union of environmentalists, loggers, bird watchers, and others joined together to push to change the Act to allow for the designation of Sipsey as a wilderness area. Thanks to a bill introduced by Senator
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of tornadoes, there was extensive damage to much of the north Sipsey area. It was not considered feasible to fully repair the trail system at the time and efforts were focused on more popular routes. Several badly damaged trails were considered "abandoned" indefinitely, pending the resources to clear
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It appears that more recently (beginning in late 2013) some effort to clear and reroute the remainder of these trails has started taking place, although it is limited and trail reports continue to suggest difficulty hiking and following some less common trails. It is suggested that potential hikers
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Saltpeter
Furnace: Located not far from the Bee Branches, a small cave is hidden by a waterfall, and that cave was once so important that a small skirmish was fought at the nearby Hubbard's
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can also be found in the wilderness. The most significant are about 260 acres (110 ha) along Bee Branch Gorge and Buck Rough Canyon, which include old
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them. There is a notice to this effect placarded at the main Sipsey
Trailhead, however this notice is not always present at outlying trailheads.
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225:, United States. Designated in 1975 and expanded in 1988, 24,922-acre (10,086 ha) Sipsey is the largest and most frequently visited
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are very common in the wilderness. This feature has earned the wilderness the nickname "Land of 1000 Waterfalls."
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area in
Alabama and contains dozens of waterfalls. It was also the first designated wilderness area east of the
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Lister, Priscilla (June 30, 2006). "Amazing
Alabama: Waterfalls, wildflowers and fantastic food beckon".
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The Battle for
Alabama's Wilderness; Saving the Great Gymnasiums of Nature, by John N. Randolph
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664:- Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club including Trailhead Directions and Trail Descriptions.
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could be a wilderness just as much as a larger tract of virgin land in the west.
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The Sipsey
Wilderness Hiking Club promotes hiking in the Sipsey Wilderness.
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Friends of
Sandwich Range and Wild River: Eastern Wilderness Act of 1975
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FT 210: Mitchell Ridge Trail, 7.3 mi (11.7 km).
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Alabama
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
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Sipsey River Picnic Area: Where Cranal Road crosses the
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find reliable recent information while planning a hike.
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FT 206: Thompson Creek Trail, 3.7 mi (6.0 km).
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FT 209: Sipsey River Trail, 6.7 mi (10.8 km).
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FT 207: Braziel Creek Trail, 4.6 mi (7.4 km).
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FT 200: Borden Creek Trail, 2.7 mi (4.3 km).
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FT 224: Bunyan Hill Trail, 4.8 mi (7.7 km).
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which is dissected into a rough landscape by several
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FT 208: Northwest Trail, 7.0 mi (11.3 km).
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FT 204: Bee Ridge Trail, 2.7 mi (4.3 km).
416:FT 223: Gum Pond Trail, 1.8 mi (2.9 km).
392:FT 202: Randolph Trail, 3.4 mi (5.5 km).
494:"Sipsey Wilderness. Applicable Wilderness Law(s)"
395:FT 203: Lookout Trail, 4.3 mi (6.9 km).
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389:FT 201: Rippey Trail, 2.6 mi (4.2 km).
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314:made it essentially impossible to designate a
248:The wilderness consists of the low plateau of
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1276:Alabama placenames of Native American origin
1266:Protected areas of Lawrence County, Alabama
983:Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail
550:"Old Growth in the East: A Survey. Alabama"
464:, a major ingredient in the manufacture of
271:ecoregion. Much of the wilderness was once
1271:Protected areas of Winston County, Alabama
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16:Wilderness area in Alabama, United States
632:"Things to Do: Recreation Opportunities"
567:"Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club homepage"
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365:A map of trails is available from the
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219:Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River
968:Little River Canyon National Preserve
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328:Eastern Wilderness Areas Act of 1975
269:Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
548:Mary Byrd Davis (23 January 2008).
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423:Trail maps are available from the
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978:Pinhoti National Recreation Trail
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609:Braziel Creek (207) Trail Report
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706:Sipsey Wilderness in Literature
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580:Judson College: Mary Ivy Burks
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662:Sipsey Wilderness Hiking Club
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178:24,922 acres (100.86 km)
74:Show map of the United States
636:United States Forest Service
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1261:Wilderness areas of Alabama
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931:Dugger Mountain Wilderness
460:. The cave is a source of
318:area anywhere east of the
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1192:Wildlife Management Areas
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1059:Confederate Memorial Park
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855:National Wildlife Refuges
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696:Sipsey River Hiking Trail
691:Borden Creek Hiking Trail
267:The wilderness is in the
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186:January 3, 1975
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343:Sipsey River Picnic Area
215:Bankhead National Forest
802:Birmingham Civil Rights
680:TopoQuest map of region
355:Braziel Creek Trailhead
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352:Borden Creek Trailhead
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960:Other protected areas
687:- USDA Forest Service
670:- USDA Forest Service
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159:34.32508°N 87.45139°W
1134:Tannehill Ironworks
973:Natchez Trace Trail
845:William B. Bankhead
708:- CherokeeBlood.com
520:Copley News Service
436:2011 Super Outbreak
425:U.S. Forest Service
361:Flannigin Trailhead
338:Official trailheads
312:1964 Wilderness Act
306:History of creation
202:U.S. Forest Service
198:Governing body
164:34.32508; -87.45139
155: /
132:Haleyville, Alabama
99:Show map of Alabama
794:National Monuments
784:Tuskegee Institute
766:and Historic Sites
585:2011-07-19 at the
498:Wilderness Connect
458:American Civil War
447:Places of interest
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358:Gum Pond Trailhead
349:Thompson Trailhead
346:Randolph Trailhead
277:old-growth forests
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1034:Cathedral Caverns
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988:Weeks Bay Reserve
936:Sipsey Wilderness
926:Cheaha Wilderness
903:Watercress Darter
893:Mountain Longleaf
668:Sipsey Wilderness
367:US Forest Service
320:Mississippi River
250:Brindlee Mountain
231:Mississippi River
211:Sipsey Wilderness
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128:Nearest city
22:Sipsey Wilderness
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1256:IUCN Category Ib
1124:Rickwood Caverns
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676:- Wilderness.net
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1200:Cahaba River
1172:Little River
1114:Oak Mountain
1094:Lake Lurleen
1024:Blue Springs
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868:Cahaba River
812:Russell Cave
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639:. Retrieved
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297:Tulip Poplar
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213:lies within
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47:Sipsey River
1157:Choccolocco
1084:Joe Wheeler
1011:State Parks
952:Sipsey Fork
456:during the
454:cotton mill
434:During the
427:, and from
289:Sweet Birch
217:around the
183:Established
162: /
138:Coordinates
1250:Categories
1205:Lauderdale
1139:Wind Creek
1109:Monte Sano
898:Sauta Cave
863:Bon Secour
674:Wilderness
641:2009-03-22
480:References
316:wilderness
262:waterfalls
227:Wilderness
190:1975-01-03
150:87°27′05″W
147:34°19′30″N
119:counties,
1099:Lakepoint
1054:Chickasaw
883:Fern Cave
835:Talladega
685:Trail Map
466:gunpowder
462:saltpeter
429:Briartech
381:Trail 202
293:White Oak
1182:Weogufka
1049:Chewacla
888:Key Cave
840:Tuskegee
583:Archived
113:Lawrence
109:Location
1069:Florala
908:Wheeler
878:Eufaula
873:Choctaw
830:Conecuh
755:Federal
747:Alabama
223:Alabama
188: (
121:Alabama
117:Winston
1167:Geneva
1104:Meaher
1064:DeSoto
1044:Cheaha
503:22 May
326:, the
295:, and
273:logged
258:rivers
254:creeks
1177:Macon
1162:Hauss
1002:State
553:(PDF)
1079:Gulf
505:2017
256:and
209:The
175:Area
31:Ib (
1235:web
745:of
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332:US
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
