Clifty Canyon Backpacking, Sipsey Wilderness, Alabama

In this video, Jonathan along with some new friends and I go on a two night backpacking off-trail exploration of the remote Clifty Canyon in the Sipsey Wilderness of North Alabama. We started out at the Borden Creek Trail head and, arriving late on the first night we hiked in only 0.7 mi (1.1 km) to a camp site just across the Borden Creek bridge. The next morning, we immediately went off-trail and hiked upstream on a community trail along the west side of Borden and then Braziel Creeks. We followed Braziel creek upstream until we reached the Clifty Canyon. At this point, we turned into canyon and followed the Clifty Creek until we reached a lovely camp site with a huge fire ring. Leaving most of our gear at this camp site (including, it turns out, my phone which was recording our path), we first explored a side canyon (to the right in this view) which had a small cascade with a lovely rock overhang. Then, returning to camp, we bushwhacked our way up the main Clifty Canyon battling brush and uneven slopes until we reached the amazing Clifty Creek Falls. After soaking up the beautiful canyon and waterfalls as much as we could, we returned to our camp site for the evening. The next morning, we hiked back out the way we came in, returning to the Borden Creek Trail Head following the Clifty, then Braziel for a long way and finally Borden Creeks. This was an especially beautiful hike in an especially wild part of the Sipsey Wilderness. The Sipsey Wilderness (#sipseywilderness) lies within the Bankhead National Forest in northwestern Alabama. Sipsey was the first designated wilderness area in Alabama in 1975 and now encompasses about 24,922 acres (10,086 ha). Rivers and streams have carved canyons and valleys in the limestone and sandstone of the local plateau resulting in a wide range of micro-climates in a short hiking distance, some amazing natural features, a few historic sites, as well as endless nooks and crannies to explore. Wilderness camping, building campfires, hunting, and fishing are permitted. Drones are not allowed. Sipsey is a "Leave no Trace" area (https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/) with, despite appearances, no designated fire rings, camp sites or facilities. Unfortunately, there are many traces of the hundreds who hike and camp here every year. Please be considerate and do not add to the already extensive damage in this special place. Check out Gone Feral with Squidly's channel:    / @goneferalwithsquidly   My custom maps of the Sipsey Wilderness: https://drive.google.com/drive/folder... My other videos of the Sipsey Wilderness:    • Sipsey Wilderness   Link toTrail info: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/rec... Equipment: Camera: GoPro Hero12 Black: https://gopro.com/en/us/shop/cameras/... Title card music by Lobo-Loco: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lob... #hike #hiking #backpacking #waterfall