Veterans Only - Sipsey Wilderness “Big Tree” Hike

Please read in Full. This event is for US Military Veterans Only (be prepared to show propf of service). This will be a DIFFICULT hike. Group can’t exceed 10 people so please only RSVP “going” only if you’re 100% sure you can go. Due to the limit of people, no guests will be allowed, only HOA members.
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Please only RSVP if you can hike 9 miles over varying terrain (Most of the trail is normal trail but there will be some rock scrambling, climbing over/under fallen trees, and creek crossings)
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The hike will be about 9 miles with 800-900 ft elevation gain. The terrain can be difficult in several places so please only RSVP if you’re in decent enough shape to handle the distance, elevation, and terrain.
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We will see the “Big Tree” of Alabama, waterfalls, other beautiful trees, the Sipsey river, and cool rock formations. Hopefully we will see some mushrooms too 🍄🍄
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We will meet at 7:30am at the Cracker Barrel in Madison to carpool to the Thompson creek trailhead. We will only be waiting 5-10 minutes so please be on time or early to the carpool location. The drive will be about 1.5 hrs.
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Expect to be gone all day and getting back to Madison around 6-7pm. We can grab food in Moulton on the way back home. There’s a decent steakhouse called Western Sirloin as well as a nice Mexican restaurants.
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Please bring enough water and food for the hike. I recommend 2 liters of water for the distance. If you have a water filter, you can bring that and refill at the creeks or waterfalls. I recommend bringing a decent hiking backpack to carry gear, trekking pole(s), headlamp (just in case), spare socks for the hike, and a fresh pair of clothes to change into after the hike (you’ll want a fresh set, trust me)