Beholding the beautiful

Tom Spencer grew up hiking at Oak Mountain State Park but recently came to see it in new light in his newly published guide to hiking in and around Birmingham. We talked with him about Five-Star Trails: Birmingham and the hiking research behind it.

How did you come to author this book?

For a dozen years I was a reporter at The Birmingham News, and in the last part of that I covered the environment and the outdoors. I reported on a lot of the development of green spaces and preservation of public lands, and it’s something I have always been interested in, having grown up hiking, backpacking and camping in Alabama.

When I was leaving The Birmingham News, I was approached by Menasha Ridge Press. They were conscious of the establishment of Red Mountain Park and expansions at Ruffner Park and Railroad Park and wanted an updated guide. They had previously published 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles guidebooks across the country. Now they are moving to more Five-Star Trails guides and did not have one yet for Birmingham. 

How did you decide which hikes would make the book?

Part of the process was narrowing down to regional hikes in Cheaha and Little River Canyon, but the primary focus was the main hiking attractions here in Birmingham: Ruffner, Red Mountain, Moss Rock, Oak Mountain, etc. In-town hikes are easy for the spur of the moment. Some were chosen because they were integrated in the fabric of the community and others because they tell aspects of the stories of the community.

What was your research process like?

The hiking took close to a year with writing interspersed. I tried to get aspects of all the seasons in there, starting in early summer hitting Cahaba lilies and hitting Cheaha and Sipsey in the fall. The research was fun, and I dragged my kids out a lot, and my wife is an outdoors woman. I accumulated notes and pictures and then had to get serious about writing it during spring and summer.

What have you learned about hiking with kids?

One of the most rewarding parts of the whole experience was taking my kids along and getting them to see some of these places. You almost always run into resistance from kids about going. They would complain, but once we got them there, they were almost immediately running and jumping on rocks and eager to see what was around the bend.

Having some sort of destination, a scenic overlook or body of water, is key to enticing them along and firing the imagination. You want to push them some, but not too hard.

My daughter Anna has gotten into taking pictures, so she often was my chief photographer. It was great to see her budding interest in that field. 

What were some of your favorite hikes?

The epic adventure of getting to the big tree in the Sipsey Wilderness is the marquee. Cheaha’s Chinnabee Silent Trail is a beautiful walk with a few waterfalls, Devil’s Den and Cheaha Falls. I was involved early on in Friends of Red Mountain Park, so it’s been a real pleasure to go out there and watch it develop and watch it grow into a full-fledged park. The Ruffner hike out to Hawk’s View is always a favorite. I took my wife there on our first date, and it helped convince her that Birmingham might be someplace she would like to settle.

The subtitle of your book is “Your Guide to the Area’s Most Beautiful Hikes.” How does the beauty of the area compare to other places you have hiked?

I have hiked out West in the Rockies and some in Tennessee and Virginia, and I went to school at UVA. I think what’s amazing is that from Birmingham, in a short distance you can go to very varied terrain. A place like the Sipsey preserves a different kind of forest than you find most anywhere else, with coves and canyons with these prehistoric trees and big poplar trees. And then you can go around Cheaha and you’d swear you had driven into North Carolina and the Blue Ridge Parkway with its dramatic peaks and overlooks. Little River Canyon is just up the road, and you find yourself in the grand canyon in the east. Going along the Cahaba, there is nothing more beautiful than when the lilies are in bloom. In town we have developed sidewalks, Red Mountain, the Ruffner expansion, urban walks downtown; we are beginning to rediscover walking as a pastime and important part of living. 

What has been your relationship with Oak Mountain State Park over the years?

Like a lot of people, my first hike was down to Peavine Falls, and I remember that vividly. I camped out as a Scout at Oak Mountain State Park, and we went so often that eventually I felt like I had really done that park. 

When I moved back to Birmingham, I didn’t tend to go out that direction. Going back for this project, though, I learned they have done such a great job at expanding and maintaining the trail system there. 

It’s amazing to think that 15 minutes from the Galleria, you can be at the top of an Appalachian mountain peak and feel remote and in the wilderness. It’s particularly pretty after it rains out there and there is water running down the mountain. It’s a great place to quickly get away and experience the varied terrains. 

When you are up on the way to Peavine Falls, you can look out at the valley between Oak Mountain and Shades Mountain, and you see the Galleria pop up, but for the most part you still see a great canopy of trees. For as much development as we have had, the southern forest is resilient in abundance, which is part of what makes our native landscape special. 

Where do you like to hike at Oak Mountain?

Peavine Falls is always a classic, but I love getting up on the blue trail. It goes straight up from the north trailhead and climbs the mountain rapidly and gives views in the remote backcountry of the park. That’s my trail of choice.  There is a little bit of a challenge and the reward of great scenery at the top, and solitude too. 

Is there anything else you want to say about hikes around town?

I think it’s important that everyone realize that these parks don’t succeed without citizen involvement and private support. We don’t have a lot of local tax dollars that go to funding some of these venues, so it’s important that anyone who cares about these places gets involved as a volunteer and support them, and that we make it a public priority. 

Five-Star Trails: Birmingham is available at Little Professor Book Center, Church Street Coffee and Books, Books-A-Million and Mountain High Outfitters.