The Huge Cross on the Mountain

We’ve been trying to go on at least one decent hike a week before the weather gets cold.  This week we were fortunate to somehow fit in two hikes between the rain showers.

Since we first arrived in Alabama, I’ve wanted to hike to the huge cross located at Burritt on the Mountain near Monte Sano State Park. Yesterday we finally made it! We parked in the Trough Springs Trail parking lot, hiked down, around, up, across the road, and up, up, up before the trail leveled off on the easy Discovery Trail that loops around Burritt’s museum property. Not only did we see the magnificent 74 foot high, steel and concrete cross, we also saw some pretty neat Rock Bluffs complete with caves and the kids were able to crawl through a tunnel under Monte Sano Blvd. as we neared the end of the trail.

I really think this is one of my favorite hikes in Huntsville.  I know, I know. I always say that, but each week the scenery just gets better and better. I really wish I could show you some of the pictures from this hike so you could understand, but for now they are hopelessly trapped on my sons phone since he can’t send picture texts.  Why do the batteries in my camera always have to die when I need them?  

I’m hoping to persuade my husband to hike with us this coming weekend before all the leaves disappear off the trees for the winter. We want to stay nearby, I just can’t decide where to go!

Where is your favorite place to hike in the fall?

Natural Well: A Never Ending Pit

Last week we joined a friend and her two boys for a great hike to Natural Well, which is located on Monte Sano Mountain and is part of the McKay Hollow trail section. 

We met at the trailhead located on the right hand side of Monte Sano Blvd. just past Burritt on the Mountain.  The trail is pretty easy, though it is rocky underfoot. Shoes with thick soles would be handy as my cheap tennis shoes weren’t really cutting it.

Along the way you’ll find rocks and boulders along both sides of the path.   You’ll also see evidence of possibly a mill and some type of building as you approach the well. I don’t have any information about either at this point, but I do plan to do a bit of research a bit later. The return trip from the well has a couple uphill climbs on the way back to the parking lot but not anything that was too steep or difficult.

The well itself is actually a pit cave and looks just like the picture, a huge gaping hole in the ground, though it was cool to see. A pit cave is described as a cave passage that is is actually vertical instead of horizontal and can’t be explored without the use of a rope or ladder. The shaft you see in the picture descends nearly 190 feet straight down, before sloping to a total 325 feet below the surface of the mountain. 

If you are skilled in caving and rappelling, you can get a permit from the Monte Sano State Park office and explore the entire 1,150 foot horizontal passage with underground domes, waterfalls and tight passages.  

I don’t think anyone in our group is quite that adventurous yet, but on the other hand, viewing  an underground waterfall sounds pretty spectacular. I think. Right now I’ll stick to enjoying it from the comfort of my own home via this YouTube video that I found.

The pit is surrounded by a short partial wall (in front) and a chain link fence,  but personally, I wouldn’t leave my children unsupervised.

At about 3.5 miles round trip, this was a great fall hike, probably one that we’ll add to our growing list of favorites in Northern Alabama.

So, I’m curious. Have you been caving or rappelling? What has been your most memorable adventure?

Camping, a Family Bonding Experience

Before the birth of our children, my husband once expressed his desire to camp often as a family once we were parents. He’d listened to a radio broadcast on his daily hourly commute to work that stated that families that camped together, tended to be closer than families that did not. I don’t know how accurate that statement is or was, but with both of us growing up in households that could have been closer, we were willing to give our family any advantage in our power. 

Little did we know that years later, that wistful statement would prove prophetic, as we experienced one incredible adventure, ‘camping’ full time in our motor home!

I’ve expressed that for me, one of the most difficult aspects of leaving the prospects of our full-time traveling life behind us and settling back in to a stationary home is that I worried that some of the closeness we’d attained in our close quarters would be lost. I have now realized that what my family experienced has not been forgotten.

This was evident several weekends ago, when we took the opportunity to camp in a tent for the first time in nearly six years! We chose to camp at nearby Monte Sano State Park which happened to be our home for several weeks when we parked our motor home on the mountaintop retreat last spring.

We arrived in our spot, and my husband and I watched, amazed, as the kids jumped to work, unloading our gear and setting up camp without my husband and I even lifting a finger. Within minutes, our tent was up, a fire was made and we were busy cooking hamburgers using our pie irons. I couldn’t believe how relaxing it was to camp now that the kids are older. When they were younger, I remember thinking on several occasions that camping was just too exhausting!

My husband shared my thoughts and even suggested that we consider traveling across country with our van and tent…sounds good to me! When do we leave?           

We enjoyed our meal before heading off on a trail to show my husband the Stone Cuts that the kids and I had discovered earlier in the year.

The hike to the Stone Cuts is considered a moderate hike because it tends to be rocky and steep in some areas. It is certainly more enjoyable in the fall than it had been in the summer when it was so hot and humid.

Once we made our way to the rock formations, my daughter and I lost the guys as they ventured off to climb among the rock formations and show off a bit.   

By the time we returned to our camp, it was nearly dark. We enjoyed S’mores as we talked around the bonfire.  Since much of our camping gear is still in storage, we didn’t have a lantern and it had gotten too dark to sit around the picnic table for games, so we all piled inside the van to play a couple hands of Rummy and a new favorite, called Sevens. 

In the absence of technology, no computers, Xbox or cell phones, we bonded once again on what was a wonderful family camping trip!

What has been your favorite camping experience?