Cheaha Challenge

The Earth Science field trip for the year was a series of hikes through Cheaha & the surrounding Talladega National Forest.  Eighth graders started out easy (and got a reminder of our major safety rules) with a meandering walk out to Bald Rock, where we found a newly shed snakeskin (but luckily not the owner) […]

The Earth Science field trip for the year was a series of hikes through Cheaha & the surrounding Talladega National Forest.  Eighth graders started out easy (and got a reminder of our major safety rules) with a meandering walk out to Bald Rock, where we found a newly shed snakeskin (but luckily not the owner) and tried to find landmarks.  For a group of teens, they were amazingly calm and peaceful as we watched birds wheel around in the sky below for  quite a while.

Next we  swung by and did the obligatory “highest point” pic before wandering into the new Civilian Conservation Corp museum where we had a great volunteer who told us about the part FDR & his New Deal played in the national park system, including Cheaha.  The kids also got to see how a pine straw basket was made.

It was time to step things up a notch and break a good sweat, so it was off to Pulpit Rock with an incredibly scenic view to enjoy along with lunch.  Notice how well they followed the “if you are in three feet of edge, you are on your rump and then belly up to the edge.  To leave, do the reverse.”  They were one of the best groups I’ve taken there yet when it came to THE RULES.

Huffing and puffing over the last 50 yard uphill, we loaded into the van and headed out of the park and deep into the Talladega National Forest.  For a while there, they might have thought they heard the distant sounds of banjos!  But in the middle of nowhere, we pulled up to Chinnabee Lake.  With a warning of a 2 hr. stop that brought groans to my hot and tired little students, we headed up the Chinnabee Silent Trail–Sky Trail branch.  Imagine their surprise when only about a 1/2 mile in, we dropped down to the creek and I shucked my backpack and waded in.  It did not take very long for them to follow as we headed back downstream doing a creek crawl and playing in various falls, ending up with a fun-filled stop at the local swimming hole know as Devil’s Den.

It was great field trip (no students lost or injured!) that I hope will be one of their treasured memories of science class at Chambers Academy.