Category: St. Clair Outdoors

Triple Crown Bouldering

Horse Pens 40 part
of epic competition

Story and photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Horse Pens 40, high atop Chandler Mountain, is a destination point, or you might say a series of destination points, for boulder climbers from around the country, Canada and beyond.

As home to one of the finest sandstone bouldering fields in North America, climbers from as far away as Colorado, Quebec, California, Virginia and South Florida come to compete in the HP40 segment of the Triple Crown Bouldering competition.

The Triple Crown is the brain child of Jim Horton of North Wilkesboro, NC, Chad Wykle of Chattanooga TN, and Adam Henry of Birmingham. The idea was to create a series of bouldering events in the Southeast with a mission to raise funds for two organizations dedicated to maintaining access to bouldering sites. The Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition and the Carolina Climbers’ coalition are instrumental in procuring land for the climbing community. The motto is “Owned by Climbers and Managed by Climbers.” According to Wykle, the Triple Crown has been visiting Horse Pens 40 for 13 years.

Bouldering is a form of rock climbing without ropes, harnesses or other tools and hardware. It is a bare-handed sport performed relatively close to the ground. Chalk is used to keep hands dry and improve friction while bouldering shoes help feet grip the rock, and a small, stiff brush is used to clean the rocks. Bouldering mats, usually referred to as crash pads, minimize the risk of injury in the inevitable fall.

The lack of sophisticated equipment is more than offset by the physical strength, stamina and agility required for bouldering. Routes up the rocks are referred to as “problems.” But like all problems, the solution lies in breaking it down to the elements, figuring out what moves can be made to conquer the individual elements. Mentally solving the problem is the first step. Physically implementing the solution is where success and failure occur.

Watching a climber is akin to watching a gymnast perform a ballet from the ground to the top of the rock, clinging with fingertips, heels and toes. The burn is intense as a climber swings, suspended by only the fingertips of one hand, in search of another handhold or foothold. The elements of the problem are addressed one by one in an attempt to reach the top of the route.

Many problems require the climbers begin with their back on the ground with only a small crease in the rock. Using fingertips and incredible strength, climbers will lift their bodies from the ground, and find purchase with a heel, toe or another hand on some crack, or even a smooth surface.

The language of bouldering reveals some of the skills that are necessary for success. For example, a “hand jam” is a crack technique in which you slot your hand and cup the palm, wrapping the thumb underneath or beside your fingers, to jam against the crack’s walls. A “fingerlock” is a hold formed by inserting your digits in a finger crack and then twisting, with your weight coming to the lowest crammed knuckle. A “sloper” is a down sloping handhold that relies on skin friction and an open-hand grip. Horse Pens 40 is known for sloper problems.

In the beginning, practice becomes own sport

The sport originated as a method for rope climbers to practice advanced climbing techniques close to the ground, thus minimizing the risk of injury. The sport increased strength and stamina. Over time, bouldering evolved into a separate discipline, with rating systems to score the routes.

Typically, a bouldering problem involves no more than a 20-foot ascent. This makes it fairly simple to identify and rate routes by their difficulty. Worldwide, there are two primary rating systems. In Europe, the Fontainebleau, or “Font” scale is preferred, while in North America, the V scale is used.

The Font scale got its name from the Fontainebleau climbing region in France. The V scale was named for John Sherman, a notorious climber whose nickname was Vermin. Sherman referred to his V-Scale as “an ego yardstick” he and his friends would use to compare their feats. In both scales, the higher the rating, the more difficult the problem.

Both the Font Scale and the V Scale are open ended, allowing for advances in technique and skill sets in the future. Currently, the most difficult route rated on the V Scale is a V-16, but somewhere, someone may find and climb something more difficult.

Rating the competition

In competitions like the Triple Crown, problems are rated and assigned a point value. The higher the rating on the V Scale, the higher the point value. At Horse Pens 40, the most difficult routes were rated V11, with a few rated V$$$, indicating a cash prize for solving the problem. The highest point value, placed on a problem named “The Seam” was 10,000. The next highest, named “Sun Wall,” was 3,000.

At the Triple Crown, teams from colleges as well as various gyms were represented, but the competition was on an individual level within categories, as opposed to a team competition. Competition categories included both Male and Female Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Open. The Unisex Categories included Junior: 12 and under; Ancient Hard Person: 35 years and up; Stone Master: 45 years and up and Star Chaser. The Star Chaser category was open to all ages.

Climbers are placed in the various classes based on their experience and performance history. If a climber is registered as a novice, but their performance at the tournament indicates that they should be rated an intermediate climber, they are moved to the intermediate pool, and scored with the intermediate climbers.

On the Triple Crown website (triplecrownbouldering.org), the spirit of the event is summed up in one line. “Space is limited, and we want only excited climbers who encourage each other.” At Horse Pens 40, everyone had that objective in common. One mother commented that her daughter had been climbing for six years, and she had never seen a more encouraging, enthusiastic group of people anywhere. Everyone seemed to want the other climbers to succeed. Eager to spot, coach, cheer and console characterized the climbers at every problem.

In many formal climbing competitions, coaching is strictly forbidden. This is not the case in the Triple Crown. Climbers are given encouragement and direction from spectators and spotters as they climb. Each new move is cheered, and when one “tops out,” the applause is generous.

Editor’s Note: The Triple Crown will return to Horse Pens 40 the weekend of November 19, 2016. Spectators are welcome. It is a family friendly event, so bring your children. Camping is available, or simply make it a day trip. You may leave with an insatiable urge to climb a rock.

Triple Crown Horse Pens 40

82 photos

Features

River Hero

Doug Morrison, a strong voice for conservation

Story by Leigh Pritchett
Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr.

Doug Morrison does not consider himself to be a hero.

He is just a man who appreciates God’s green earth, blue skies and crystal-clear waters, and he wants to keep them that way.

The Alabama Rivers Alliance sees it a little differently, though. Because Morrison has worked to protect creeks, rivers and their surroundings, the Springville resident was named a “2015 River Hero” by the alliance earlier this year.

“I was just doing my thing and loving doing it,” said Morrison, who picks up litter along St. Clair County Road 9 near the Big Canoe Creek bridge during his lunch hour.

The River Hero Award, according to the non-profit alliance, is “a lifetime achievement award given to passionate individuals who exemplify river stewardship and who have a rich history of advocating for the protection of Alabama’s waterways.”

Morrison, notes the alliance, received the award for helping to revive the Friends of Big Canoe Creek organization, for being president of the Coosa Riverkeeper, for working with Freshwater Land Trust to establish a Forever Wild preserve along a portion of Big Canoe Creek, and for being supportive of Alabama Rivers Alliance and other riverkeeper groups.

Morrison serves as president of the Friends of Big Canoe Creek, which has 50-60 members, and president of the Coosa Riverkeeper until his term expires this December.

“Every conservation project I’ve ever been involved in, there has been a champion,” said Wendy Jackson, executive director of the non-profit Freshwater Land Trust. “For Big Canoe Creek, that champion has been Doug Morrison, who has invested countless hours of his time and all of his heart to this project. Not only is he a river hero, he is my hero.”

Though Morrison is the one who received the award, he said he has not worked alone. He said both groups – the Friends of Big Canoe Creek and the Coosa Riverkeeper — have board members and membership “with the same passion and want to help.”

Path of understanding

Morrison’s journey to becoming a waterway champion actually started with a visit to Homestead Hollow in Springville.

During the excursion, Morrison and Joannie, his wife of 30 years, happened to drive along Oak Grove Road and into downtown Springville and decided this was the place for them.

They wanted to escape city life.

At the time, Morrison, an information technology consultant in the 401K record-keeping field, and his wife lived in Center Point.

A few years later, they saw an advertisement about a home for sale in Springville. The description mentioned a creek bordering the land.

When they visited the property, Mrs. Morrison explored the inside of the Victorian-style home, with its side turret and stained-glass transoms. Morrison, on the other hand, checked out Big Canoe Creek that flows about 140 yards from the home’s back deck. The pleasant childhood memories of looking for crawfish in Shades Creek in Jefferson County flooded his mind. Immediately, he was sold on the property.

That was in 1999.

For a while, he was content to sit next to his creek and occasionally be involved in various projects of Friends of Big Canoe Creek.

That changed noticeably after he saw neighbor Philip Dabney kayaking on the creek one day. Morrison decided he would like to do that, too.

As Morrison paddled in a kayak or canoe, he noticed details about the creek, the life in and around it, and the vegetation.

His fascination with the creek increased, and so did his activity on it. He took up wade fishing; he set a goal of paddling the creek all the way to Neely Henry Lake. (He has paddled about half of it to date.)

“As I paddled it and started networking with other river groups, (I discovered) a lot of creatures there, what depends on the clean water and what harms the water,” Morrison said.

More and more, he realized the importance of protecting this pristine creek that flows in the shadow of an Appalachian foothill.

With the help of neighbor Vickey Wheeler, a founding member of the original Friends of Big Canoe Creek, Morrison was able to reactivate the group in 2008.

Now called the Friends of Big Canoe Creek, the group has engaged during the past seven years in cleaning up the creek and its tributaries, monitoring watershed, testing water quality, promoting recreation and fishing, educating the community and planning special events.

When Morrison learned that the group, Coosa Riverkeeper, was forming, he wanted to participate because Big Canoe Creek is in the Coosa River watershed. Morrison was asked to serve on the board of directors and has been president for three years.

Representing the Friends of Big Canoe Creek, Morrison and Board members have worked with Freshwater Land Trust’s Executive Director Wendy Jackson, city and county officials to designate between 300 and 600 acres adjoining the creek as a preserve through the state’s Forever Wild program.

“We are continuing efforts to make Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve a reality and are still working hard to see this through. Many wonderful folks have been involved, and there seems to be a genuine interest in having green space for folks to recreate in nature, to get their kids outdoors, away from their electronic life and truly experience what nature has to offer.

“In a book by Richard Louv, called Last Child in the Woods, he used the phrase, ‘Nature Deficit Disorder.’ That hit home with me, and I see how important it is to get folks back to nature, to have a place to sit quietly, listen to the forest, observe the creatures in the forest and listen to the simple sounds of a running stream. It is just downright good for your soul. So we are working hard to make this happen for the community, where folks can get away to a place in their neck of the woods and enjoy a natural setting.”

Unique creek

Big Canoe Creek begins at Zamora Lake Park in Clay in Jefferson County and crosses northern St. Clair County. When the creek reaches Gadsden in Etowah County, it becomes part of the Coosa River.

As Big Canoe Creek winds along its 50-mile path, it is fed by Gulf Creek, Muckleroy Creek, a Little Canoe Creek near Springville and another Little Canoe Creek in Etowah County.

One of its unique aspects is that it flows northeasterly, Morrison said.

In the creek is an array of fish, such as redhorse sucker, bass, crappie, bream, rainbow shiner, longear sunfish, alligator gar and southern studfish. Some are so colorful that they look tropical.

“Big and Lit-tle Canoe Creeks are home to 54 known species of fish and 23 rare and imper-iled plants and ani-mals doc-u-mented through-out the water-shed,” reveals Freshwater Land Trust.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, two federally protected mussels — the southern pocketbook and the triangular kidneyshell — can be found in Big Canoe Creek. Federal listing is being sought, as well, for the Canoe Creek clubshell mussel and the trispot darter.

The Canoe Creek clubshell mussel “is entirely new to sci-ence and was recently dis-cov-ered,” reports Freshwater Land Trust. As for the trispot darter, it is “a rare fish once thought to be extinct in Alabama.”

In 2004, 18 miles of the creek were deemed a “critical habitat” under the Endangered Species Act, states the Friends of Big Canoe Creek web site (www.bigcanoecreek.org).

A “critical habitat,” explains the wildlife service, is an area that “contains features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species.”

The fact that mussels live in Big Canoe Creek is indeed positive because they require good water quality to exist.

“Their persistence in the Big Canoe Creek watershed is a testament to its ecological integrity,” states www.bigcanoecreek.org.

Wading in the creek one afternoon with a Discover photographer, Morrison came upon a sizable freshwater crustacean.

“There’s a big ole crawfish back there,” he said, estimating the critter to be possibly 6 inches long.

Studies of crawfish in Big Canoe Creek have found quite a diverse population.

“I didn’t know there were so many varieties of them,” Morrison said.

The creek also attracts blue herons, green herons, box turtles, salamanders, minks, otters, owls, raccoons, turkey, deer and many other creatures. Morrison said he has encountered a black coyote and a bobcat that was “one of the biggest … I’ve ever seen.”

In 2013, the Friends of Big Canoe Creek was involved in a huge undertaking to remove part of a 19th century grist mill dam, the only dam on the creek. A study showed that the dam was keeping fish from migrating up and down stream. Also, the pooling of water behind the dam was promoting a buildup of sediment, which was adversely affecting aquatic life.

Seven national, state and local entities teamed to remove a portion of Goodwin’s Mill Dam to let the creek flow unobstructed.

Morrison said a recent biodiversity survey indicated that the different species living in that part of the creek are flourishing since the dam’s removal.

Life changer

Big Canoe Creek and its interests have become an integral part of Morrison’s everyday life.

He has his coffee at the creek some mornings and relaxes there after work. He likes “just sitting on the bank, listening to the water” as it hits the rocks of the shoal. He goes there at night, builds a fire and enjoys the peacefulness.

Often, he gives presentations about the creek, counsels Boy Scouts working toward their sustainability merit badge, presents rain barrel workshops, and encourages groups to practice the three R’s of reduce, reuse, recycle.

Because it is largely hidden, Big Canoe Creek remains untouched with few threats to its ecology. “We’re blessed not to have industry on it,” Morrison said.

However, he does not want the creek to remain a secret.

“I’d like to continue educating people about it,” he said. Specifically, he envisions more video documentation that would “bring to people’s living rooms” the beauty and life in and around Big Canoe Creek.

“People that paddle it get to experience that beauty,” he said. “And once you experience that beauty, you may become like me and want to protect it.”

Whenever he has the opportunity, he talks about Big Canoe Creek and the Coosa River because of water’s importance to man and creature. “In my opinion, anyone who fishes or swims or drinks water from the Coosa watershed ought to be concerned about it and support the work of the Coosa Riverkeeper,” he said.

He encourages people to support riverkeeper efforts in their area because these groups are the “eyes and ears of the water community.”

Morrison realizes that his transformation from a guy who enjoyed a creek to a guy determined to preserve it has been a significant one.

“(The creek) has changed my life,” said Morrison, the father of two and grandfather of four. “I wasn’t into … conservation … until we moved out here. The creek changed me. It has given me a better appreciation of what we have here in our state. To see what we have in our own back yard is incredible. … This may sound corny, but it’s true: Be a better steward of the earth. Enjoy what God has given us, this common ground for all living beings to thrive.”

Information from Alabama Rivers Alliance, Freshwater Land Trust and The Friends of Big Canoe Creek was used with permission.

Working Breeds

Leeds trainers teaching dogs to herd sheep

Story and photos
by Jim Smothers

There’s a bond between people and their dogs like no other – a type of teamwork found in few other relationships.

That’s what got Kim Crenshaw hooked on dog training, and what led her to Doyle Ivie. Together they are offering a new avenue for that type of teamwork in this part of the state.

While Crenshaw is an experienced obedience and agility teacher and trainer, she wanted to see how her dogs would respond to the challenge of herding sheep. After a workshop with Ivie at his Farmington, Georgia, ranch she has brought him to her home and training center in Leeds to give more central Alabama dog owners a chance to introduce their pets to sheep herding.

He is of the generation that doesn’t think about dogs as members of the family—they are tools, there to do a job, and he’s taken it on as his job to train them.

“Most of the time, the dogs have never even seen a sheep before,” he said, “and some of the people haven’t either.”

About a dozen people came out for Ivie’s latest workshop in Leeds. They got to see how their dogs would interact with the sheep and how well they would respond to new commands for moving the sheep to specific locations.

“Everything out there can think, that’s the problem,” he said. The sheep, the dog and the person all have a mind of their own. “That’s where the dedicated training comes in. There are a lot of variables. Everything is moving here. With agility and obedience, everything is still.”

Ivie says he’s been “cowboying” all of his life and started training dogs about 20 years ago. It was during that time, while learning to use dogs to help move livestock, that he got acquainted with the late Bob Vest. Vest’s career and training methods are legendary in the herding dog community, and are recounted in The Traveling Herding Teacher.

“He was a good instructor,” Ivie said. “I learned a lot from him, and he insisted that I start helping people.”

At his ranch Ivie has a herd of just over 100 sheep. Keeping them healthy can be a challenge, mainly due to feet problems and parasites. He said livestock have to be trained to the dogs, too, so that their reactions to the dogs can help move the herd and keep it together.

“The entire herd doesn’t have to be trained, just enough to start the herd moving,” he said.

It’s up to the shepherd and the dog to direct their movement, whether it’s to the “way side” (counterclockwise) or the “by side” (clockwise).

He cautions that herding can be dangerous.

“It’s a contact sport,” he said.

It’s up to the shepherd to train his or her dog not only how to move the herd, but how to stop it. In training and competition, the herd is typically between the shepherd and the dog, with hand signals used for direction and to stop movement by having the dog lie down.

“When you get tired of having your knees knocked off, you’ll learn to stop that dog!” he said.

Crenshaw said there are some big misconceptions about herding.

“It’s not chasing,” she said. “Some people say their dog would be good at herding because he likes to chase bicycles or something. It’s not about chasing or nipping at them (the sheep). It’s usually trying to push the sheep back to the person. When you see the dog get behind the sheep and push them toward the person, that’s instinct. It’s really cool to watch.”

After the workshop, Crenshaw and Ivie took the summer off from working with the sheep. The summer heat is just too much for them. They plan to pick it back up in the early fall, but no date had been set as of this writing.

“I think everyone had a good time,” she added. “The beginners got a good taste of it, and there is nothing else offered in the Birmingham area for herding dogs.”

For dogs and handlers with herding experience, it’s a great opportunity to work with sheep.

Some dogs pick up on the skills very quickly, with an intuitive sense of how to move with the sheep. Others need more time to catch on.

“You can take five young dogs that have never seen sheep before, and some will turn on,” Crenshaw said. “Some don’t. Some seem confused. It can take a little bit of coaxing for them to know it’s okay to move them because they know they are not supposed to chase other animals.”

Crenshaw and Ivie both have extensive resumés in the dog-training world. Ivie has a background as a competitor, trainer and judge in organizations including the AHBA, AKC and ASCA among others. Crenshaw has been a professional trainer for more than 25 years and is a judge for agility, rally obedience and obedience competitions.

“Really, it’s all based in obedience,” Crenshaw said. You have to have a good relationship with the dog, to be able to read the dog, tell what they’re thinking, and communicate what their role is. All the dogs have to be good at walking on leash and have a great recall in agility or sheep herding.

“If the sheep are going where you don’t want them to go, you have to be able to call them off. They have to be able to go, come and stop. Those are skills you have to have with any of the sports. If you want to do hunting, a retriever has to have those skills, too. Those foundation skills of obedience are the foundation skills for all of the extra games you play with your dog.”

She added that a number of games and activities have been developed to encourage owners to spend more recreational time with their dogs, whatever the breed or instincts. Any dog owner should be able to find some type of activity suitable for his or her dog.

“Whatever dog a person has in their backyard, there’s something it can do and enjoy,” she said. “If it has a good nose for tracking, you can make a game out of finding lost things. There are so many dog sports that are so much fun and can get people and dogs off the couch. There are plenty of opportunities for physical and mental activities.”

The dogs and handlers at the latest workshop demonstrated a wide range of abilities and aptitudes for herding during the two days of working with the sheep.

“I think everyone had a good time,” Crenshaw said.

For more about Crenshaw and Ivie, visit
www.bhamdogtrainer.com and www.woodsendstockdog.com

Features

Shel-Clair Farms

A world of cattle drives, scenic trails

Story by Elaine Hobson Miller
Photos by Mike Callahan

With the strains of “Rawhide” swelling inside their heads, 18 intrepid cowpokes slap their hands on their thighs, kick their horses and yell, “Head ‘em up, move ‘em out,” as they ride off to round up the herd.

“I’ve always wanted to say that,” one of the cowgirls remarks.

It’s all part of the annual cattle call at the Shel-Clair Farms, a 1,000-acre spread that straddles the borders of Shelby and St. Clair counties off U.S. 231 South. Owned by Ralph, Randy and Wayne Bearden, the farm and ranch is home to row crops, horse boarders, trails and fishin’ holes. It’s also home to 150 to 200 cows that have to be mustered for weaning, pregnancy checking and vaccinating every spring.

“I started the roundup in 2009 as a way to get the cows to the barn and have some fun at the same time,” says Randy Bearden, farm manager. “We skipped last year because someone got hurt in 2013. But we decided to try again this year.”

No one got hurt this year, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Twelve of the 18 riders were Shel-Clair boarders, who are accustomed to cantering among the cattle without incident. Rounding them up from the various fields and meadows and pushing them to the pasture near the old corn silo is another matter.

“Stay behind them, because they’ll turn the opposite way if you don’t,” Randy tells the group before it heads out one steamy Sunday afternoon in May. “Don’t run them, because some of them are pregnant.”

After these basic instructions, the weekend drovers take off in search of their hoofed subjects. Some of the cows are down in the hollows; others are in the woods cooling off. As soon as a few are spotted, the whooping and hollering begins.

“Woo-hoo, get on out of there, girls,” riders yell at the reluctant cows and calves. “Giddy-up, whoop whoop. Move along.” Once a few of the animals start moving, the others follow. A handful are insubordinate, however, and try their best to avoid the horses. They double back into the woods and stop in the streams to avoid capture, forcing mounted participants to split into teams to rally them.

During the three-hour event, riders pass an abandoned, barn-shaped house built during World War II that has almost been reclaimed by Mother Nature. They climb a ridge, where a bunch of folks watched Alabama play the University of Florida several years ago on a giant, flat-screen TV run by a gas generator. They stop briefly at the creek that was full of trout until the river otters ate them, then listen to cows bellowing from a nearby pasture. A slight breeze moves the tree leaves and tall weeds, making the humidity a little more bearable.

“The creek runs out of a spring where the water is crystal clear and never gets above 63 degrees,” Randy says. “It has a few bass and bream now.” The Beardens also have an 8-acre lake on the opposite side of the farm where they allow the public to fish for a fee.

It’s their day job and more

Randy cuts about 400 round bales and another 1,000 square bales of hay each year to feed the cows. If there is an abundance, he will sell some hay, but the herd uses most of it. The number of cows varies when some go to market or have babies. He tries to keep 150 mama cows and two bulls all the time. “Most cattle farms in the state have only 30 to 40 head,” he says. “But this is how I make my living. I don’t have an off-farm job.” He says the money he gets from leasing 110 acres for row crops pays the taxes.

He sells the cows at the Ashville Stockyard, and one obstreperous specimen is about to make that trip a trifle early if she keeps trying Randy’s patience. “That’s Number 36,” he says of the stubborn mama who insists on running away from the horses and the herd with her calf at her side. “She does this every year,” he adds, as disgusted as a mother who can’t control her toddler’s tantrums.

Randy’s family started farming in Shelby County in 1929 when J.E. “Ned” Bearden opened a dairy farm in Helena. Ned and his wife, Irene “Ma” Bearden, raised six children on that farm. Their son Ralph and Ralph’s sons, Randy and Wayne, started Shel-Clair Farms in 1972. Tired of getting up before dawn for milking or at 2 a.m. to repair a broken well pump, they closed their dairy business in 2005 and transitioned to a row-crop and beef-cattle operation. They added horse trails and boarding in 2007.

They have developed 12 miles of scenic trails that cover rolling hills, cross small creeks, ramble through forests and pass by a waterfall. The trails have names like Open Range, Ridge Mountain and Hurricane Mountain. The Haunted Swamp, part of the Hurricane trail, is so named because of the cow skulls hanging from trees and various bones scattered about. At least, that’s Randy’s story.

The trails are well-marked, unless the cows have knocked down some of the signs. Day riders, who are just as welcome as the boarders, can’t pass the farm’s Sycamore Sally without stopping for photos in the huge tree’s hollow trunk. That may change, though, because Randy found a snake inside the tree recently.

When he’s not rounding up cattle by horseback, Randy rides through the property in a red Ford pickup with a Blue Heeler named Blue on the bed’s tool box. Blue paces back and forth, trying to keep his balance. Randy says he has only fallen off once.

After the roundup, which took twice as long this spring as it normally does because some of the cows were less than cooperative, Randy treats riders to pizza and soft drinks at his new barn.

Sharon Jones of Leeds, one of the farm’s original boarders, is a veteran at the Bearden roundup. “I ride by myself a lot, so I really enjoy riding with a group,” she says, between bites of pizza. “It hypers my horse up, too, so he’s more fun to ride.” Madison Sharp, 18, a recent graduate of the Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile, is another boarder who has done several roundups. “It’s fun,” she says. “It’s interesting to watch my horse think.”

It was Jackie Cockrell’s first roundup, and she brought along her 11-year-old son, Colton. “It was very exciting,” says Cockrell, who keeps their horses at her own farm in Leeds. “I would do it again next year.” Colton agrees. “Yeah, that was fun,” he says.

For more information about riding or fishing at
Shel-Clair, visit its website @ shelclairfarms.com

Features

2015 Panther Run

Brutal fun at The Ridge

Story by Graham Hadley
Photos by Michael Callahan
and Graham Hadley

Starting with a yell and a cheer, the participants in the 2015 Panther Run at the Ridge were ready to face just about any obstacle.

It’s a good thing — because there were more than 30 of them between the runners and the finish line at the specially designed course on a Springville mountaintop in St. Clair County.

Normally an off-highway vehicle, nature and outdoor park — sometimes even a concert venue — the Ridge is converted once a year into a long, winding obstacle and mud-run course that attracts fitness enthusiasts from near and far, with some competitors coming from all over the country.

For that one day, July 13 this year, the Ridge, which is most famous as a top destination for off-road vehicles, is closed for riding and open for running (and climbing, crawling, rolling and whatever else it takes to get over the obstacles).

The Ridge started hosting the Panther Run three years ago, said park owner Jason White. What started out as a small event has reached epic proportions. With every entrant slot for the race sold out last year, they added more for this year.

And sold out again.

“We sold out. We sold out last year, so we added about 50 more slots, …” he said. “We had 800 tickets we sold, plus there were around 30 volunteers, and then there were spectators, too.”

White estimates they topped 900 to 1,000 people in the park for the race.

The Ridge is normally run by a handful of people — mostly White and his family and close friends — but it takes a small army of helpers and volunteers to get the facility converted from an OHV park to the grueling 5K mud and obstacle course that has made the Panther Run such a big draw.

“It takes over a month to prep the course, including building the obstacles. It takes a lot of work, but anything worth doing is worth doing right,” White said.

Particular attention is paid to the obstacles. Organizers spend days looking at what has worked at previous races, what has worked at other venues, and then they group brainstorm all of those ideas into what unique obstacles they can feasibly — and safely — build for the Panther Run.

“Everyone gets together and brainstorms. There are six of us whose job it is to go over all the ideas and weed out the ones too hard to build or that are too complicated,” White said.

“Though we look at what other courses do, we tweak their ideas, then make them different to try to make them unique to us. We want everyone to experience something different when they come here.”

That attention to detail, their location and the facilities at the Ridge create a special experience that White credits with making the Panther Run so widely popular.

“I think it has reached out to people. We are piling in runners from all over the Southeast. Word of mouth and positive reviews online and on social media are pulling people from farther and farther out,” he said. “We have been compared to big events like the Warrior Dash and the Tough Mudder.”

The competitors

One of the key components to the success of the Panther Run is that everyone who competes is a winner. The fastest man and the fastest woman get special recognition, but everyone who takes part receives a medal and shirt, regardless of when they finish or if they were able to complete every obstacle on the course.

And there are different difficulty levels, from beginner all the way up to special endurance passes that let those runners continue lapping the course as long as the event is going on.

“We had the unlimited pass at this race. We sold about 20 of those where they get to keep running the course. I don’t know why they did it, but they did,” White said.

Some of the runners come alone, but more often they are part of groups — many times made up of experienced obstacle runners, traditional runners and beginners.

First-timer Shawna Stokes of Birmingham smiled, pointed to her teammates, Alania Stokes, Miranda Fohner and Wendy Thompson, and said, “I thought it would be fun to watch, and then I got sucked into running it.”

Miranda said they were going to work together as a team, especially since not everyone had done this before — “We are not going to be pushing anyone down.”

Though Shawna said she had a more competitive perspective on things. “You’re not pushing anyone down,” she clarified with a smile, adding, “I tried to do this a couple of years ago, but none of my guy friends wanted to do it.”

A number of local businesses were on the scene to support groups of employees and staff. CrossFit and other exercise centers from Alabama and surrounding states were particularly well represented.

Jay Stackhouse from Priceville and Staci Clemons from Summerville were there, both running in the early elite heat. Then, they helped other competitors they brought from the gym where she is a fitness trainer.

“It was pretty brutal, with some extremely challenging obstacles. The netting was particularly hard,” he said.

“The two of us came as a team to compete; then we came back to the course to help everyone we have with us. They may hate us while we are pushing them to finish, then they love it.”

Pell City-based Northside Medical Associates had around 40 runners in the race, something they said was a good way for the co-workers to have a day out together while promoting the importance of exercise and fitness.

“This is our first year out here organized as Northside,” said Ronnie Harris, human resources manager for Northside, speculating that Laura Gossett and Dr. Michael Dupre would end up leading their heats.

As much as the Panther Run is a competitive event, the underlying theme is for everyone to come out and have fun — and for many runners, that meant costumes.

One team, the Incredibles, sporting outfits from the Pixar movie of the same name, was made up of four family members and two friends.

For Majesta Bishop of Huntsville, who learned about the event on Facebook, it was her first race, though she is a hobby runner. One other member of the Incredibles team had done the obstacle run before.

As they donned their costumes and got ready for their heat, the team kept pumping each other up with encouraging words — a common theme for the day.

Sporting brightly colored hair and face paint, John Archer from Albertville said he was there with Sand Mountain CrossFit. John, who did competitive swimming for nine years, said, “This is my first run and I am very excited. The face paint and the hair, I did it because I thought it would be fun.”

Another group of runners were facing off along more traditional Alabama lines — in friendly fashion — made clear by their team name: Three tigers and an elephant. Larry Turner, Cambria Ware, Sidney Ware and Brandi Turner were all there to support each other, though there would be some friendly internal competition.

After the race heats, the tired but happy runners gathered for food and company along the various paths at the Ridge.

Buddy Spidle, a loan officer from Birmingham, said his experience was “outstanding.”

This was the first obstacle race for the physically fit former U.S. Marine. “It certainly tapped all my physical resources. It was very demanding; it was very thorough. It was fun, and I will be back,” he said.
More to come?

The Panther Run has become so successful, White is considering doing another race in the fall.

“We might do a second race — not necessarily the exact same thing, but we are definitely looking at some kind of race in the fall.

Whether it is putting together that race or preparing for next year’s Panther Run, White said none of it can happen without all the volunteer help they receive.

“I want to say thanks to all the volunteers — from people who help build obstacles to volunteer fire departments. This would not be possible without everyone coming together,” he said, adding that many of the people helping make the Panther Run a reality are former participants who have stepped up to keep the event going.

“We build relationships with people, become friends with people who want to come out here and see the park stay open and the race happen,” he said.

One of those — Billy Findeiss of Odenville (sporting a kilt for the run) agreed. He is one of those runners who also volunteers his time to make the event happen.

“I have been here every year, every year helping build the obstacles. These are great people, Jason and everyone are great people,” he said before having to go make sure one of the water-wall obstacles was working properly. Then, he took on the Panther Run himself in one of the later heats.

Check out the Panther Run and The Ridge online and on Facebook

The Panther Run

91 photos

Features

Chicken Head Run

Zachary Mason:
And the Music Lives On

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Michael Callahan
Submitted photos

On a cool, spring morning in April, offering only a slight hint of warmer weather ahead, hundreds of people gathered at Pell City Lakeside Park in memory of Zachary Mason.

The next day would have been his birthday. Music from loud speakers echoed throughout the park, a celebratory prelude to the Fourth Annual Chicken Head Run. Zack would have liked that. Music was his first love. Friends and family were his passion. “Chicken Head” is what he playfully called most everybody. It became his trademark.

And on this weekend each year, they come together to raise money for the Zachary Mason Memorial Fund, which provides music scholarships to deserving students at Pell City High School.

Zack would have liked that, too. He walked at graduation from Pell City High School to a standing ovation in 2012, a tribute to the accomplishment of their fellow classmate who was born with Down’s Syndrome.

The son of Randy Mason and Melinda Pierce, Zack had a knack for making friends – plenty of them. “Anybody who had any contact with him fell in love with him,” said Tanya Osborne, his eighth- and ninth-grade teacher, who came up with the idea for the run. “He was my gentle giant. He was the sweetest thing possible. He played with my kids. He has a special place in my heart, and I will never forget him.”

In August the year he died, she saw information on Facebook about a Down’s Syndrome run in Gadsden. She and others formed a team for Zack. They donned T-shirts with a “kissy face” picture of Zack and dubbed themselves, “Zack Attack.”

About 30 people ran in that race, and it was the catalyst for a run every year since in Pell City near his birthday. “He called everybody Chicken Head. It was the perfect name for the race,” Osborne said. Now in its fourth year, the Chicken Head Run attracts nearly 200 runners and has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships.

It’s a way to remember Zack and to keep the music alive. His aunt and Randy’s sister, Cacky Berlin, comes each year from her home in Clyde, N.C. “This is his element,” she said as she motioned toward the crowd, the music and the runners. “He touched so many people in his short life. It’s unbelievable. It’ really great that this race can help other students. He would be so happy.”

Rhonda Purdy, Melinda’s best friend, echoed the sentiment. “The music lives on,” she said. “It’s a way to continue to share what Zack loved most – music.”

His mother, Melinda, called it “exciting” and a testament to Zack. “He touched so many lives.”

Rhonda’s son, Adam, was one of those whose life was particularly touched. When Zack died, “I was heading down a path I didn’t need to go down. He changed my life. He was my best friend and my little brother. It was so sad to lose someone so close to us, but he inspired every life he met. He touched more people than most of us will touch in our life,” he said.

“As tough as it is, it makes it all worthwhile to see all these people,” Adam said.

Stepfather Todd Pierce concurred, recounting stories of “how much he loved people. He would be in the middle of all of it. He loved everybody.”

Zack was especially close to his brother, Austin, who was running the time clock at the race. Photos of them together over the years reflect the bond the two shared.

Shelby Weaver, a student at Jacksonville State University, won a music scholarship from the memorial fund. “It helps me to know I have a community scholarship like I have. It’s support from home. Because Zack loved music like he did, it helps me continue what I’m doing.”

His father, Randy, is known for his civic leadership. You could always count on spotting Randy involved in countless worthy causes throughout the city. And you could always spot Zack right alongside him.

Randy made it a point to make sure Zack was involved, too – at Chamber of Commerce events, Civitans and at Pell City Center for Education and the Performing Arts, where Randy acts as stage manager for shows.

“Both Randy and Zack are such a blessing to our community,” said former executive director of the Chamber of Commerce Erica Grieve, as she distributed packets for runners. “It is great to be able to come together in memory of Zack.”

“He came to all the rehearsals,” said CEPA Artistic Director Kathy McCoy. “He sang with Steve Shafer in the Christmas production. He would sit in the audience, and he knew every song, every word, so we started putting him on stage. He was our real sweetie.”

Unlike most teens surrounded only by peers, Zack’s reach transcended age demographics. At his 18th birthday celebration, 70 to 80 adults showed up, his grandmother, Sara Bain recalled. Four singers donated their time to entertain. When the classic, “My Girl,” was performed, Zack knew all the words. Barely masking her surprise, she said. “I didn’t know he knew the moves!”

Zack spent a great deal of time with his grandparents, and music was usually at the center of it, Bain said. He had baskets of cassettes and CDs at their home, and in the last few months of his life he took particular interest in the Gaithers Homecoming music video, featuring Singing in My Soul. “He played it over and over. All of it ministered to him deeply and therefore to me, too, because I watched and listened through Zachary’s eyes, ears and heart.”

What reminds her most of her grandson is a saying that seems to fit perfectly. “Live Simply. Love Generously. Laugh Often. Live Freely. That was Zachary.”