Category: Features

Hummingbird Heaven

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Every year, some of the smallest
birds alive flock to St. Clair County

By Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin

Close your eyes a minute, and you might think you’re at LaGuardia or some other heavily traveled airport as the whir of the air traffic heads in and out.

But this isn’t LaGuardia, not by a long shot. And that whir you hear? It’s just the yearly flight of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird — hundreds of them — heading in for a good meal at a familiar St. Clair County landing strip.

From the road, there’s not much to distinguish it from other residences in this Chandler Mountain neck of the woods. But step around back, and Bill and Jody Gilliland have quite a surprise in store.

Hanging from the backyard rooftop and dangling from clothes lines are rows and rows of hummingbird feeders, enticing these tiny creatures back year after year like regular customers to a local diner at lunch rush.

And they have been back every year for more than a decade. “They’re fairly loyal if they’re breeding,” Bill Gilliland said. A lot of times, they’ll come on the same date. They’re loyal to their route.

“We just furnish the yard and the birdfeeders is basically what we do,” he said, noting that he dedicates this time of year to keeping dozens of feeders stocked on a daily basis for his winged travelers. It takes about 200 gallons of sugar water a year to feed the thousands of birds in his yard.

“I buy the sugar,” Jody Gilliland said, downplaying her role in the process. Her husband handles the rest.

The Gillilands’ place has now become a hummingbird banding training station, where trackers from across the country and as far away as South America have come to train how to band a bird smaller than a person’s little finger.

According to Brandee Moore, who is a licensed bander living on Chandler Mountain, the tiny, aluminum band with a letter and five identification numbers is slipped onto the bird after a momentary capture, and the number is registered in a computer system so that wherever they travel, their frequent flyer miles can be logged. The band on the leg corresponds to measurements, like their bill, their age and sex. The number will never be given to any other bird, so the recapture can tell the history of that particular bird.

A hummingbird bander is not all that common — only 250 in the U.S.; not much more worldwide — because the bird is so small and has to be handled differently than other birds. To be certified requires a separate designation. And that’s why the Gillilands lend their property each year as a training ground.

“They like them to band 100 birds here” to ensure that they can build speed and precision during the capture process, Gilliland said.

And tracking their travels helps those who have an interest to learn about the habits of these fascinating birds. “We probably know about 10 percent,” Gilliland said. “We have lots to learn. But we know a lot more now than we did 30 years ago.”

They first start appearing at the Gillilands each March when migration begins. The male comes first, and the females follow. In late March, they are in full breeding plumage — “iridescent green, like jewels,” Gilliland said.

Thousands will make their way there each year through the end of October. “After Nov. 1, it’s likely not the Ruby Throated Hummingbird,” but some other species, like Rufous, Gilliland said.

By mid-July, traffic starts “picking up,” and in general, they’re all gone by mid to late October.

People who see hummingbirds in their yards generally think it is the same bird over and over again. In reality, though, if a feeder is feeding five birds, it probably is really feeding 25. “There’s a lot more you don’t see. What you see in the yard is four to five times more.

“That’s what we learn from banding.”

Gilliland, a retired State of Alabama engineer, and his wife, who also retired from the state, have always had an interest in birds. They were members of the Ornithological Society and the Audubon Society. They took continuing education classes at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and even taught some through the Audubon Society.

They met Bob and Martha Sargent of Clay, Alabama, who founded The Hummer/Bird Study Group. The group is nonprofit organization founded to study and preserve hummingbirds and other Neo-tropical songbirds. And they have been heavily involved ever since.

HBSG operates banding stations in Clay and Fort Morgan, Alabama. At Fort Morgan in the spring and fall, volunteers capture and band hummingbirds and other species because this coastal area is the first landfall and the last departure point for thousands of migrating birds.

“We are in the hummingbird path, passing through from the north,” said Sargent. From the westernmost point, they come from the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta Province and southern Canada.

From the east, they come from the maritime provinces like Nova Scotia and Labrador, Sargent said. After their “nesting duties, they head south” en route to southern Mexico and northern Panama “and everywhere in between.”

They are not cold-hardy birds, so when temperatures begin their descent, they in essence, “get out of town,” Sargent said. Over land, they stream southward through the Dakotas, Oklahoma and Texas. The eastern part of the population are transgulf migrants on their way to Mexico and Central America this time of year.

He likened them to a broad river, spreading out. “They are not flocking birds. They are independent, ornery, aggressive and mean. They just don’t like each other, but it works for them. That’s the neat thing.”

And that seasonal flight is something they have been doing for uncountable generations, Sargent said, “and the hummingbirds were doing just what they do now.”

Viewer submitted photo/John and Judy Hulsey:

Features

Alabama Gold

By David Story
Photos by Jerry Martin

Without flowering plants, there would be no honey.

It’s all about the nectar, says beekeeper and self-proclaimed “bee doctor” Jimmy Carmack, who’s appeared on numerous local TV shows and radio shows promoting honeybee issues. Owner of Carmack Farms in Odenville along with others in the state, he has become quite the expert.

Many myths have surrounded honey over the centuries: unfiltered honey can be good medicine for allergies, that the body metabolizes honey differently from other sweets or that honey’s as good as gold.

State Apiarist Dennis Barclift with Alabama’s Plant Protection section is quick to point out the pros and cons for people with allergies, “The pollen in the honey can make some people with allergies sicker. Others may claim to want honey because of its antibodies, which gives resistance allergies, but all this is speculation and folklore.”

Barclift adds, “However, we do know honey’s good for you; we know it tastes good and is a ready energy source since it’s simple sugar. The sugar’s broken down by the bees, so the human body can use it immediately. That’s why many athletes drink a solution of honey and water.”

And, honey’s indeed much in demand. “I get a lot of calls in the spring looking for local, unfiltered honey,” says Carmack, who’s participated in workshops and continuing education courses at Auburn University.

So, myths aside, two facts about honey are indisputable. Whether an entrepreneur like Carmack or a hobbyist, honey production’s fun and challenging. And, whether a chef or a homemaker, cooking with honey’s nutritional.

Man’s fascination with honey began 10,000 years ago. According to retired home economics instructor Lee Cannon, author of the Southern Living Quick & Easy Cookbook, honey extraction, and not solicitation, is the world’s oldest profession. Since the dawn of time, she says, man has craved honey, coveted honey and consumed honey.

“Honey’s the world’s oldest sweetener,” she adds “There’s evidence of honey gathering on mesolithic cave paintings in Valencia, Spain. In Ancient Greece honey was the primary sweetener. And in ancient Egypt, honey was used to sweeten cakes and biscuits; Middle Eastern people used honey for embalming’ and in the Americas, the Maya used honey from bees for culinary purposes. Honey was a 16th century sweetener popular before slavery in the West Indies made sugar cane plantations a reality. Then, sugar changed the game and took the place of honey.”

People still clamor for honey today, and in order to meet the growing demand, Carmack excises honey from hives at his apiaries, keeping bees in three or four counties. “We have colonies of bees all the way up to Huntsville,” says Carmack, who has set up exhibits at fairs, Earth Day events and Farm Day for Kids at statewide schools.

“We primarily produce wildflower honey, cotton honey and occasionally kudzu honey,” continues Carmack, who has worked with the apiary at Jones Valley Urban Farm in downtown Birmingham. “Our honeys have won numerous local, state and national ribbons.”

Other popular flavors indigenous to Alabama are “clover/spring flower (peach apple, and blackberry mixtures) and tulip poplar,” Barclift says.

And Cannon goes on to say some of the honeys with which she’s most familiar are alfalfa, buckwheat and basswood, the latter of which is an ornamental shade tree producing cream-colored flowers known for their nectar.

Buddy Adamson, director of the Alabama Farmers Federation’s Bee and Honey Producers Commodity Division, says the most common honeys in Alabama are wildflower, clover, cotton, soybean and privet, an invasive plant that’s nonetheless a “fruity” source of nectar. Lighter honeys are more prevalent and come with a milder flavor.

“Honey can be as clear as water,” explains Carmack, or almost as black as coal. It can vary from practically tasteless to bold and robust. The nectar source determines the color and flavor. For example, cotton honey is very sweet but prone to crystallization. He says that when honey granulates, it hasn’t gone bad. It can be re-liquefied by heating in a pan of water, but cautions that honey should never be refrigerated. Folklore has it, he adds, crystallized honey found in the pyramids of Egypt was still edible.

Once his honey’s extracted and packaged, Carmack sells jars of Pure Alabama Honey to retailers on US 280 at Cowboys’ gas station and Whole Foods, also on US 280, which in 2007 became the first national grocery chain to open its anchor store in Alabama with an exclusive supply of Pure Alabama Honey. Carmack, who’s described by Barclift as “knowledgeable about bees and a good beekeeper,” also sells at other venues, such as Valleydale Farmers Market on Saturdays in the summer and Pell City Farmers’ market on Wednesday afternoons.

Pure Alabama Honey’s available in five sizes: 8 ounces, 12 ounces, 16 ounces, 32 ounces, and 64 ounces, but individual retailers may not carry every size. “You’d be surprised at how big a seller our 64 ounces is,” Carmack says. “There are people who really go through a lot of honey.”

Adamson explains Carmack is the exception to the rule as there are practically no commercial-sized apiaries left in the state today, as opposed to almost 70 about eight years ago. According to Adamson, costs vary from $1 per lb. on up. He says one pint of honey is about 3 lbs. and may sell for around $4 to $5.

Barclift concurs, “Honey can go up to $2 to $5 a pound.”

An early fascination for bees

“Bees always interested me as a child,” explains Carmack. “Then, as an adult I was working with a guy who was a beekeeper, and he showed me what to buy along with the book, First Lessons in Beekeeping. We went to the old Sears store in Birmingham. It had a big garden center and sold beekeeping supplies. In 1973, I ordered my first bees there from York Bee in Jessup, Ga. I was hooked. I’ve been keeping bees ever since.”

Carmack, a certified master beekeeper through the University of Georgia’s Honey Bee Program, has served as president of the Jefferson County Beekeepers Association and president of the Alabama Beekeepers Association.

“I was involved with the Alabama Farmers Federation in creating a bee and honey commodity with their organization,” he says, “and served on the Bee and Honey State Committee for nine years.”

One thing Carmack says he learned during his tenure with the committee was people often don’t realize the benefits of bees and the role they play in agriculture: “The pollination bees provide is essential to many of our state’s most valued crops.”

Adamson agrees, “Beekeeping’s indeed important from the standpoint of pollination; honey’s important secondly to pollination.”

The nectar source for Carmack’s Pure Alabama Honey bees comes from wildflowers, which include a cross section of blooms: dandelion, clover, tulip poplar, holly, blackberry, mimosas and sumac.

“Pure Alabama Honey’s raw and strained as opposed to microscopically filtered, which means it still maintains the pollen granules that are so beneficial.” When pasteurized, honey is heated to a high temperature, breaking down the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes.

Barclift notes that “pasteurized” is a bad term: “Honey’s filtered but not ‘pasteurized’, and it’s often highly filtered or strained. Straining and filtering are cleaning processes, getting bits of wax, a purification, if you will, to get out bits of pollen from the comb.”

As for the nutritional benefits of honey, Cannon explains what’s in it: “It’s about a third fructose, a third glucose, and less than a fourth water. Higher sugars and sucrose make for less than a tenth of honey’s make-up.”

With an Italian-American background, Cannon’s traditional cuisine wasn’t steeped in honey – her mother, Philomena Ferrara, didn’t really cook a lot with it, so Cannon’s first culinary experience with honey was in the form of a pancake or ableskiver from a recipe prepared by her husband Bob’s Mormon mother, Winifred Morrell Cannon. “For every Sunday supper we ate ableskiver, prepared in a special ableskiver pan, topped with homemade honey butter.”

This family tradition has been carried on by Cannon’s sister-in-law, Winnifred Cannon Jardine, a home economics graduate of Iowa State University and author of the Mormon Country Cooking (She for many years was a food critic with The Desert News in Salt Lake City.).

“Today honey has become more expensive than sugar,” says Cannon, “but I still like to put honey on toast and squash – don’t peel the squash – it’s better than butter.”

St. Clair’s Savory Summer Produce

By Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin

The sign is like a portal to the South from spring and into the fall, beckoning one and all to come have a taste: FRESH PRODUCE, it says.

In the sweltering heat of a Southern summer, roadside stands and farmers’ markets peddle palate-pleasing delights straight from the garden.

It’s certainly no different in St. Clair County, where farms and backyard gardens — large and small — stretch from atop Chandler Mountain to the shores of the Coosa River below. Around these parts, cucumbers, okra, peas and beans with unsavory names like Rattlesnake are regular table fare, just like Silver Queen corn, eggplant, purple hull peas and yellow and zucchini squash.

Don’t forget the peppers — sweet and hot banana, green bells and even an Italian named Marconi.

Tomatoes? By far, they’re still the king. St. Clair County is home to one of the top five largest tomato crops in the country, perhaps the largest in the region. “We’re the tomato capital of the South,” said Judy Gilliland, who along with husband Hershel, raise five acres of vegetables and fruit on their Chandler Mountain Farm fit for the finest tables around.

And for dessert, Crimson Sweet watermelons are a farm favorite.

Up on Chandler Mountain is a treasure of thousands of acres of scores of varieties of tomatoes from traditional to heirloom. But there is plenty more to see along the countryside.

The Gillilands are third generation farmers on Three Oaks Farm, named for the trio of the more than century-old oaks that stand watch over their family home. Children and grandchildren, who lend a hand during planting and harvest, have become fourth and fifth generations of this branch of St. Clair County farmers.

“We grow as much as we ever need,” said Gilliland. They grow enough to sell all summer long at farmer’s markets in Trussville, Pell City, Sylacauga, Leeds and Ross Bridge, where city folks line up for their own taste of summer from early June to September.

Gilliland, a retired engineer from the state, and Mrs. Gilliland, who retired from a law firm, returned to their roots when they got the chance, moving back in 1990 from big-city life to the family farm in Steele.

Now they spend 14-hour days harvesting the fruits — and vegetables — of their labor. If you close your eyes and imagine the birth of a buffet of fresh-picked paradise, that would be the fields of Three Oaks.

The Gillilands are locally famous for their heirloom tomatoes, and Mrs. Gilliland explains the different varieties they grow as deftly as a seasoned teacher giving a history lesson. “They’re the ugly face with the great taste. That’s what you call an heirloom,” she said, noting a series of deep ridges of these oversized tomatoes with an unmistakably sweet taste.

There are Yellow Blush, a variegated variety; Brandywine, which is pink; Yellow, a milder type; and Cherokee Purple. They share a common benefit. “All heirlooms are low in acid,” she said.

Just down the road a piece, young Jake Owen lures passersby to his produce stand with a fresh cut watermelon perched atop a sign listing his family’s vegetables du jour. The flesh of the watermelon is the deepest of reds, arousing taste buds of no telling how many motorists happening by.

His family owns six acres flanking the fruit and vegetable stand — “five more across the road,” he said. He and his father handle the chores of growing and harvesting from the farm that produces enough “to feed all of us,” he said, referring to his family. Owen has been selling the farm’s produce for two years but plans to go to work on the commercial tomato farms of Chandler Mountain next year, he said of his future.

Then, he turned a moment to the past, talking about his farming lineage. “Daddy’s been growing stuff as long as he’s been living.” His grandfather grew cotton, and his “kinfolks” in Oneonta in the next county farm as well.

For Andy Kemp, who along with wife, Paula, started A&P Farms five years ago, it was the lure of land that helped them find their way to St. Clair County. Andy, who managed a parts distributorship in Memphis, Tenn., and Paula, who worked as a software developer for BellSouth, “dreamed of having our own property — acreage,” he said. “We found this, not knowing we’d farm,” pointing to field after field of fruits and vegetables nearing picking time. They own 75 acres “to the peak of the mountain,” he said, and they began growing and providing their bounty to one farmers market five years ago.

Today, they sell at seven farmer’s markets a week and supply a grocery store in Birmingham as well as Community Supported Agriculture — an outreach of East Lake United Methodist Church — to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to buyers and for charitable purposes.

“It’s a lot of work, but we enjoy it,” Kemp said. While there are plenty of vegetables readying for harvesting across his acreage, his favorite is growing fruit — 15,000 strawberry plants, 160 peach trees and four 200-foot trellises of blackberries. “We pick 150 watermelons every two to three days and 150 to 200 cantaloupes every couple of days.

Then it’s on to market in East Lake, Birmingham’s noted Pepper Place, Valleydale, Trussville, Pell City, Adamsville and Gardendale.

Between growing, picking and marketing, “It’s daylight to dark seven days a week.”

Heirlooms are A&P’s specialty, but he has plenty of the main ingredient to a good old fashioned tomato sandwich.

His crop these days is helped by a pair of high tunnels, similar to hot houses but strictly solar. The sides are rolled up during the day and let down at night, allowing Kemp to extend his growing season by four months. Planting season can begin March 1 in the tunnel instead of the traditional mid-April dates.

“I had 50 boxes (of tomatoes) in May. By May 15, we’re picking red tomatoes. I hope to have them into November.”

And there’s no waste for any of Kemp’s crop. They freeze what’s left, and over the winter, they produce jams, jellies and relish. Perhaps the T-shirt he donned said it best: “We grow it. You eat it.”

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St. Clair Rocks

climbing-Horse-Pens-1 — North Carolinian Conner Love begins Horse Pens ascent.

By GiGi Hood

Photos by Michael Callahan

Outstretched fingers and toes of well-worn climbing shoes find their way into tiny cracks and ledges barely big enough to hold a thimble in some places. Yet they slide a toe here, a few fingers there to steady their climb and make their way up gigantic boulders that have become the pinnacle of a sport rocking the country.

Its history dates back to the 19^th century, and it is thriving in modern-day St. Clair County.

Stop for a second and just visualize the mountainous area of the county, thinking about the rock formations, the crags and crevices, areas where the sun casts shadows, places where no sun shines at all. Think about the pinnacle and imagine standing at the bottom, looking up and in your mind, “mapping” the best way to make a successful ascension to that pinnacle.

With three sites scattered along the county’s ridges and even in an open field, rock climbers from all over are descending on St. Clair County, climbing boulders that define this sport of strength, power, agility and determination as sheer as the rocks they climb.

Anticipation, fear, exuberance, sense of accomplishment, agony, ecstasy, are all words used by avid climbers when describing the fete of attempting to conquer an immovable and, possibly, an insurmountable object. As one climber simply put it, “if you can’t move it, then master it!”

Some of the country’s best rock climbing exists within the boundaries of St. Clair County. The cliffs of Steele, the boulder field of Shoal Creek Valley and Horse Pens 40 are all venues that are rocking the sport.

St. Clair County, with its centuries-old rock outcroppings, is considered a “must visit, must-do” place among climbers. Located in the northeast corner of St. Clair County, near the city of Steele, the area is considered to be a premier place within the Southeastern United States and commands great respect and recognition within the sphere of climbing circles.

Boulderers travel from all over the United States to the Shoal Creek Boulder Field and Horse Pens 40 to challenge themselves by climbing awe-inspiring rock formations with names like Turtle Rock, Buzzard Rock, Mushroom Rock and Stone Fort. The rock composition, which is best described as a cross between “Fontainebleua” and English Grit Stone, has created a fine sandstone texture that is conducive to a great climbing experience. Add the multiple challenging toe and hand holds that exist along the route a climber plans, coupled with great platform landings among an overlay of trees and beautiful surrounding, and you have the perfect recipe for a sport called bouldering.

Conner Love, a 19-year-old from Rocky Mount, N.C., couldn’t resist the allure and challenges of Horse Pens 40. On his way to start a new job with a rock climbing equipment business in Tempe, Arizona, he made Horse Pens one of his last stops before heading west. “I just couldn’t imagine leaving the eastern coast area without personally engaging in a climbing experience here at Horse Pens,” he said. “Anyone who really knows the sport will tell you Horse Pens is the premiere venue for bouldering, as well as one leg of the Triple Crown, the most coveted championship event in the sport.”

Referring to it as just one of the three parts of The Triple Crown is an understatement. The event is recognized as the largest bouldering competition in the U.S. Participant numbers are always larger than usual and hundreds of spectators from all over the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe flock to the Horse Pens 40 outing.

Conner points out that bouldering is much less complicated and less cumbersome than some of the climbing alternatives. “It’s just so simple,” he said. “There’s not a lot of cost because there’s not a lot of equipment. It’s just you, your shoes, some chalk and maybe a crash pad if you’re learning or practicing,” he pointed out.

With all of its “no-strings-attached” simplicity, bouldering is an artistic experience. The rocks, themselves a molded work of art, are the canvas. The climbing experience with its toe holds, grabs, crimps and a carefully chosen path from bottom to top, sets the stage. The climber, a gifted artist, graces that stage with a brilliant display of core strength, physical, mental and technical prowess, coupled with agility and grace as the ballet of the ascent is performed.

The legend of Horse Pens

Horse Pens, with its wonder-of-the-world serenity and jagged outcroppings, has been in existence for more years than most can imagine. Throughout time, its usage has been diverse as well as multi-cultural. It has corralled wild horses, provided the backdrop for Indian peace treaty signings, hidden Civil War soldiers and their wagons laden with supplies and munitions for the troops, provided refuge to fugitives on the lam, and played host to many arts and music festivals.

During the 1970s, while under the ownership of Warren Musgrove, the property was the site of many large bluegrass festivals, camping and great times. The irony was that the only drawback to his successful business venture was the beautiful rocks that beckoned adventuresome visitors to scale them. Deemed a huge liability, insurance would only be provided to the owner as long as no one was permitted to climb on the magnificent outcroppings. So, Musgrove hired young men to sit atop the boulder platforms and keep the climbers at bay during Horse Pens 40 events.

Now mayor of Steele, John Wesley McHugh remembers being hired by Musgrove to be a rock sitter and then having his title changed by one of the festival goers. “We would sit on the rocks, watch for people attempting to climb (much like a lifeguard) and then holler for them to get down,” he explained. “Sitting atop my perch on Buzzard Rock, I was so intent on looking out and around, I didn’t see a fellow climbing up the boulder right behind me. When he reached the platform where I was sitting, we were both shocked to see each other. And then as soon as he got himself together he shouted down to his buddy and told him not to try to ascend because there was a rock cop sitting up there. After that time, the name stuck, and we were always referred to as the Rock Cops.”

Mayor McHugh is also quick to point out that while Horse Pens 40 is an awesome bouldering spot, the crags of Steele are second to none with regard to the free-climbing aspect of the sport.

It was a climbing hotspot from the mid 1970s until 1987.

“It had become so popular that the landowners and farmers were having their tomato crops trampled as well as their peace and quiet compromised. The climbers had to park on the road and then walk through the farmers fields to the walls. Tired of the situation, the locals petitioned to deny the climbers private access and they won,” he explained. With no public access to the climbing walls, the thrill of attempting to master the cliffs while enjoying gorgeous vistas became nothing but a memory of days gone by.

While the cliffs of Steele were off limits, stories of the adventures were never forgotten and the memories were passed down to the newer generations of climbers. As time passed the shared memories motivated climbers, and new dreams emerged about once again climbing those walls. Those dreams and determination, coupled with good fortune led to the birth of new days of climbing at Steele.

When a local landowner decided to sell 25 acres that adjoined the cliffs, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition raised the money and purchased the site. And, by so doing, climbing the crags of Steele was no longer a fond memory. Once again, it had become reality, and the glory days for climbers at Steele had returned.

Climber shares love for sport

climbing-steele-7 — Birmingham climber David Hemphill likes Steele’s challenge.

David Hemphill, a Birmingham native and part of that new generation of climbers, grew up with a love of backpacking, hiking and fishing. In 1994, he found the next level in the progression of his love for outdoor experiences while working at Alabama Outdoors. “One day, construction began on an indoor climbing wall at Alabama Outdoors. Once it was completed, they gave the employees climbing lessons. Talk about love at first sight, I was hooked from the get-go,” he fondly explained.

“Later I began teaching climbing classes, and from that point on, my enchantment with the sport has never stopped growing. It involves such a complexity of body, mind and soul. There’s always a spirit of inner challenge and a feeling of competitiveness. But there is also such a peaceful side — the side that provides camaraderie, wandering, exploring and just being in such a beautiful surrounding. It allows you to do so much on so many different levels of enjoyment,” he explained. “Not unlike the game of chess, it gives you the opportunity to think, to plan, to meditate, to find solace and finally, there’s always a sense of achievement and a sense of personal growth. I’m 46 years young, and I hope I can climb forever.”

Hemphill has combined his love of the sport with an educational aspect. He has completed Wilderness Emergency Medical Training at SOLO, which he pointed out is probably the best school in the country for such instruction.

“I want to be able to help when the time is needed,” he said. “As careful as we all try to be, there is always an element of danger, a chance that medical training may be needed. I just wanted to be equipped with the necessary tools should that challenge ever arise — either for myself or someone else.”

Thanks to the Southeastern Climbing Coalition’s endeavors of raising the money and purchasing the property just north of Horse Pens, more and more people take advantage of having a place to hike, climb and commune with nature, he said. “There’s a road up to a parking area, with a trailer and a path that leads to the cliff walls.”

There is an easy hike from the parking lot and trailer to the Nardo Wall, which is the closest. Only about 800 feet from point to point, with an easy ascension, there is better accessibility for climbers carrying their gear or for people who just want to watch and perhaps participate vicariously.

“The acquisition of the property has been a great success story and a wonderful achievement by a committed group of people,” he explained. “It has returned a wonderful sport to the crags where innumerable pleasures can be derived and at the same time, the locals can enjoy their peace and solitude and not fear that their livelihoods will be compromised.

“It has also provided this generation with a second chance to prove that we as climbers, while enjoying our sport, can be good respectful neighbors to the surrounding community.”

Summing it up, much like a tour guide, Hemphill said, “St. Clair County is full of recreational areas and natural beauty. Whether hiking, fishing, riding through one of the picturesque back roads, bouldering at Horse Pens 40 or the Shoals, or climbing at Steele, it really is a place that has something for everyone.”

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