Snakes on a River

My passion for nature was at an all time high (I guess I could say that everyday) and I had a friend working at the Coosa River Science School in Alabama so I asked if we could meet for a weekend trip. I hadn’t spent much time in Alabama so I was interested in checking it out. We had two spots in mind: Little River Canyon National Preserve and Desoto State Park. It was May 15′ so everything was lush and vibrant. We started with Little River Falls in the National Preserve and it was magnificent. So much so there was a rainbow.

It’s really cool because you can walk right up to the edge of the falls. I’d like to come back as I hear there are some perfect cliff jumping opportunities close by. After a quick visit we made our way to the Eberhart Trail a 3/4 mile hike down the bottom of the gorge. From there we wondered around on the Little River until we found a nice spot to set up the hammock and have lunch.

We were definitely not alone and by that I mean we saw a ton of snakes and bugs. There were giant centipedes around our hammock and when we crossed the river we’d see snakes swimming towards us. The wildlife was abundant no matter where you looked. My buddy studied biology so he would always pick up submerged rocks and look at the insects on the bottom of it. It’s a habit that’s rubbed off on me but to this day I’ve never seen a bigger stone fly than the ones in the Little River. After eating, relaxing, running from snakes and finding bugs we were ready for a new park.

We did some hiking in the nearby DeSoto State Park including a combo of the Azalea Cascades, Laurel Falls and Lost Falls Trails. Unfortunately all the falls were lost as there was almost no dripping water but at least we got our exercise in and saw more snakes.

That night we weren’t equipped for backcountry camping, didn’t secure a camping spot and weren’t even sure if they had either so we camped just outside the park at the Little River RV Park and Campground. It was inexpensive and got the job done so we could wake up early and check out DeSoto Falls and The DeSoto Scout Trail. They have a very welcoming sign in front of the place by the way!

DeSoto Falls which is actually outside of Desoto State Park was very impressive and looked like a rock climber’s paradise. There must be a hike to view the falls from the shore below so I have even more reason to go back.

After taking that in we had one more hike in us and that was on the DeSoto Scout Trail an awesome and historic 16 mile trail crossing through both parks mentioned. It follows the West bend of the Little River and parts of it are just sand or boulders. We only did a few miles of it but would love to do it all some time. Along the path there are plenty of opportunities for a swim but both times we started to get in we saw a snake. The last time a snake came on to the sand slithering towards us as we fumbled with our shoes before running off. We did find one last spot to relax a bit before heading back to our separate homes. Alabama is pretty neat and full of snakes…

How bout them socks and sandals. Sexy right?