My wife, Scoot the Frog, put together a camping event to celebrate
my 36th birthday at the primitive camping area at the base of
Jericho Canyon. As a birthday gift to myself I hiked to the top of
the South Rim of the canyon and enjoyed a sunset from the end of
the trail. On the way back I took a moment to hide a cache up here
so that others may enjoy the view. The cache is a painted lock n'
lock container sitting on a ledge on the backside of a huge rock
along the trail. It has several rocks sitting in front of it to
keep it from washing away, but can be easily seen from the right
perspective. The boulder that hides the cache is between the trail
and the South Rim of the canyon. Although, the cache is on the back
side of the boulder from the trail it is not necessary to go
anywhere near the edge of the canyon. The cache is sitting on a
rock ledge about head high for a monkey, just to the left of a
large cleft in the stone.
Here is a picture of the boulder that hides the cache. Sorry about
the night photography, but as I said, I enjoyed watching the sunset
before I hid the cache.
The cache is hiding just behind the rock at the top left corner of
this picture.
This area is managed by the Alabama Forever Wild and is open to
the public. In addition to the hiking trails, there is a horse
trail that leads to the point where Turkey Creek and Hurricane
Creek meet, at that point you have to leave the horses and hike the
last mile into the canyon or up onto the rim, but I am sure that it
would be a nice ride. While hiking you will cross the horse trail a
couple of times. At the meeting of the creeks there is a meadow
that is open for tent camping if you decide to make this an
overnight adventure. The meadow is adjacent to Clarke Cemetery and
is sort of the hub of the trails, in that all of the different
routes leading to the Walls of Jericho terminate here and join into
a single trail that leads up the canyon or up to the South Rim.
To access this cache you must take the South Rim Trail out of
the primitive camping area near Clarke Cemetery. This cache is not
accessible from within the canyon, although it appears to be near
the Walls of Jericho trail, it is separated by a couple of hundred
vertical feet. There is no reason to go near the edge of the rim
while hiking on this trail or to find the cache. If you choose to
approach the edge, use extreme caution, although it is beautiful
you are in a remote area and a fall would undoubtedly be
life-threatening if not life-ending.
Although the sign at the Alabama trailhead claims it is a
six-mile hike, numerous gps tracks agree that the hike is about 7
miles in length, roundtrip. The hike is downhill most of the route
into the camping area and then a steep uphill climb to the rim of
the canyon. It is a strenuous hike, so you should wear comfortable
shoes and take plenty of water and snacks. The trail is well marked
but often is muddy for days after a rain shower. Several streams
have to be crossed, so plan on the possibility of getting wet. Be
advised that stream levels rise quickly during thunderstorms and
crossing them can be hazardous in swift water. Plan on a minimum of
six to seven hours to make the round trip.
Just a couple of more quick notes, the trailhead and parking for
hikers are actually in Alabama about a mile south of the border at
N 34 58.620 W 86 04.820, parking for horse trailers is about a mile
further south. There is plenty of parking available at the
trailhead. There is also now a Tennessee trailhead for the Walls of
Jericho area. This trailhead is located at N 34° 59.987 W 086°
03.341, and it meets the other trails at the first footbridge. The
descent into the camping area from the Tennessee side is less
pronounced, but is about 1.5 miles longer, making this a ten-mile
plus roundtrip. I have hiked both trails and they are equally
beautiful. For a true adventure, you can park one vehicle at each
trailhead and hike in from one state and out to the other, but be
sure to get an early start, it is a long walk.