Borden Creek Trailhead
How to get there:
Take 33 to the Sipsey Picnic/Borden Creek Trailhead turn-off (CR 60), 12 miles
north of Double Springs and 13 miles south of Moulton. Drive 0.7 miles and the
graveled turn-off to Borden Creek Trailhead is on the right side of the road
and is clearly marked. Follow it 3 miles to the dead end and park.
What to expect:
No facilities, small parking area, dead-end road, many campsites, not a fee
area now (Spring 2008) but bring $3 per car just in case they decide to start
charging. It is marked as a fee site on maps. Borden Creek is a trailhead for
a larger system of several trails, I will focus on the 200 trail, which goes
2.7 miles from the trailhead to the Sipsey Picnic Area, where you can turn around
or have a second car waiting.
To get to the Sipsey Picnic Area, just don't turn off the road (CR 60)toward Borden Creek, it's on the left a few miles down. There is a definite $3 per car parking fee in place, do not fail to pay it, the area is monitored well.
The 200 trail starts at the parking area on 'this' side of the creek.
There are good campsites with creek access on both sides of the creek (a bridge crosses the creek itself) that are close enough to the parking area to make primitive camping a very comfortable affair. I brought air mattresses, a table, a love-seat style chair and the camping kennel along with the usual camping fare.
The trail is wide and kept free of obstacles
At .5 miles in, the trail disappears into a short tunnel. In wet seasons, there is a waterfall flowing at one end of the tunnel.
The trail goes through huge trees, along the creek and beside these huge cliffs that in the warmer months are covered in spider webs all the way to the top.
You can see in the middle of this picture the path a waterfall would take, if it had rained this summer.
More cliffs
On another trip, we walked up the creekbed, wading in the shallow water when we came to any. This sandbar was rooted up all along the left side by wild hogs, some of the trotter prints were itty and there were snout-prints in the damp mud.
The dry summer has hastened Autumn, but with none of the beauty the season usually brings.
There are small pockets of water in the creek still deep enough to have fun in, even though it has been dry. These pockets are usually spring-fed and VERY cold compared to the more shallow areas that are still just holding leftover rain. This spot was actually very clean and clear, with a sand-covered bottom. The kids just hopped in and got the fine sand all stirred up.