From Mountaintops to Underground Caverns in Sweet Home Alabama
From Georgia, I moved on to Hollis Hunt Campground which is in the Talladega National Forest, just southeast of Birmingham, Alabama. This was a good campground, but limited service. I have AT&T on my phone and I could only find a bar in random spots. But Verizon did well so I had no problem staying here to work.
Lower Level Falls 
High Falls Second Level
There are no national parks in Alabama, so it was a few state parks that were on my list to visit here. Saturday started off with two different waterfalls I wanted to see. Neither of these were technically in a park, more just in the national forest. The first one, High Falls was a very short hike but with beautiful views. I probably finished the whole thing and was back in my car under 40 minutes, and that includes a lot of picture taking. You’ll reach the first set of falls in a matter of minutes, but that’s not the end so keep going! The trail weaves back and forth across the stream, and then finishes up some stairs along the left side of the waterfall, where you finish at the top. It will loop like there is more trail to go once you ascend the stairs, but that is actually another through-trail that connects to a really long one. Not saying you can’t do it, just know it’s no longer part of the High Falls hike.
The second one, Devil’s Den Falls, was one I looked for because I heard it was a popular watering hole for cliff jumping. Now, I will admit, “cliff” seems like quite an aggressive term after having gone there and done it myself. It was more like “small-ledge-about-15ft-over-the-water-jumping,” but still fun nevertheless. The hike to get here was very fun though. A little bit past the trailhead there will be a fork, and most people go left to follow the trail, but if you go right, you climb up the river the entire way there.
And apparently, no matter how many times you do this kind of thing, it still freaks you out every new time. Who knew?
And yes the water was freezing. Do I regret it? Never.
First official park was Oak Mountain State Park where I did the highly recommended King’s Chair Loop. This trail is about 4.5 miles long and provides some amazing panoramic views of Alabama. It is rated moderate on AllTrails and I agree with that. The trail follows a path through the forest and there is only a small section with serious incline. At this park, all the trails are color-coded, rather than named, so I much preferred to follow my AllTrails map than the one provided. The color system set in place throughout could be quite confusing.
Sunday morning started at Monte Sano State Park where I did the Stone Cuts Trail. This was such a drastic difference in scenery compared to the day before. The massive stone structures are just smack dab in the middle of the forest, and yet they look like they were cut out by a river. The trail takes you climbing up them, through caves that’ve been created and out the other side. This 2.5 mile hike is also moderate. Other than through the rocks, there’s not much climbing. My only piece of advice: about halfway through, you’ll come to a split where one direction is the Stone Cuts Bypass and the other is the Stone Cuts Trail. Make sure to stay right on the Stone Cuts Trail if you actually want to see them, otherwise, the Bypass “cuts” (see what I did there? I’m hilarious) them out completely.
Last stop in Alabama was something I had no idea even existed here: Cathedral Caverns State Park. This was the craziest thing I had seen so far. You have to book a tour to see the cavern however, it is not self guided. It is 4miles roundtrip and takes almost 2 hours. It starts off at this unassuming cave mouth. It’s so dark you can’t see inside but as soon as you cross the threshold, the temperature drops like 20 degrees and you see the cave of wonders. The trail throughout the cave is wheelchair accessible with only a few steep inclines. There are many different rooms full of amazing natural structures, and towards the end you walk through a stalagmite forest. Before you turn around to start the trip back, the tour guide has you stand still, and they turn off all the lights so that you stand in complete darkness. You will not be able to see your hand even right in front of your face. It it a very surreal feeling. In this kind of sensory deprivation, your brain thinks you will begin to adjust, but your eyes never truly will. It is dangerous because the longer you spend in complete darkness the more likely you are to go crazy. Eventually, your brain will even start to create hallucinations.
The story of how the cave was first bought and then eventually became state property is in my Instagram story. There is even a post about the stalagmite forest and the funny story of the first owners. Let’s just say the wife was very surprised by their new purchase. My Instagram is linked to the right if you want to check it out! One last “Did You Know?” before closing this up. This cavern was a designated fallout shelter during the Cold War that was estimated to be able to hold 10,000 people. Things got so precarious that it was fully stocked in anticipation of having to use it and all of those supplies are still there today. How crazy is that?
