Mammoth March Alabama - Oak Mountain (Shelby County, Alabama)

 

A couple of years ago, I learned of a annual hiking event held in multiple states called Mammoth March. The idea is to hike twenty miles in a single day. I've accomplished that feat many times over the years, but as I'm training for some big hikes later this year, I thought I would check out one of these events. 

Driving over the Birmingham, AL area last night after work, I spent the night at a hotel and got up early this morning to get to Oak Mountain State Park before my scheduled start time of 8:00 am. There are a lot of people here and I encounter several of them already on the trail, which crosses the entrance road, on my way in. I guess there were some very early start times. After finding parking, I headed to the check-in area. I was surprised at all of the hype around this. It is very similar to a big race, complete with the large inflatable starting arch. I was a little disappointed at having to wait in line to start the hike, but it's not that big of a deal. It did delay my start until about 8:20 am though. 

Once I was moving though, I was really moving. I maintained a pace of nearly 4 miles per hour for the first 8 miles of the hike. During this section, I passed countless hikers with a courteous "passing on your left". Everyone was encouraging each other, which was really nice. The mostly level trail itself was well maintained and followed the contours of Double Oak Lake for the first portion. At one point, I noticed a lady in front of my that I was quickly approaching raising her hands in the air. I asked if her fingers were swelling, which she said they were. I suggested that she should swing her arms more, which would help force the circulation. She said she would try that and thanked me for the tip. It reminded me just how much hiking I've done over the years and how much I've learned.

The next several miles had a slight elevation gain as we climbed towards the southeastern ridgeline. Along the way, we were treated to couple of aid stations fully stocked with snacks and water. I grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at one of them and quickly scarfed to down. Through this section, I continued to pass a number of other hikers and maintained a solid pace. 

Reaching the long ridge, we entered a yellow forest, which reminded me of the line from Robert Frost's most famous poem. The trail through this section parallels the ridge and offers the occasional lookout. I took advantage a couple of times and enjoyed the expansive view of the plains to the southeast. My pace slowed a bit through this section as I was getting a little tired, but I was still moving at nearly 3 miles per hour.

The long ridge came to an end at Peavine Falls, which I took a short detour to check out. Even climbing down some rocks though, only the very top of the waterfall was visible, which is kind of unfortunate. Just a short bit after the waterfall, I hit the last aid station and decided to rest for a few minutes. I ate another sandwich and banana, while drinking mandarin orange-flavored energy-hydration drink and chatting with several other participants. 

For the last stretch, I returned to my earlier pace and once again began pacing a lot of other participants. All of them were very nice and gracefully moved to the right to allow me to pass on the left. One lady had a black flag hanging from her backpack. It took me a minute to read what it said as it was flapping with her movement, but eventually, I made out the words "Live a great story!". That is such great advice and something I think about often and try my very best to embody every day. I'm really privileged to have been able to experience all that I have in my years on this planet. 

Nearing the finish line, I could hear a woman over the loud speaker congratulating hikers as they passed the mark. With a quick right turn, I joined them. I think the 19-mile marker was quite a ways off, because that last mile seemed very short and the one before it seemed extremely long. Either way though, the finisher's medal was placed around my neck and I crossed the finish line. My GPS track indicated that I had completed 20.7 miles in about 7:21 hours, which included roughly 30 minutes of break time along the way. I headed back to my car and put on some flip flops and a fresh shirt. Now I have a long drive home. While I'm glad I completed this event, it was a lot more hype than substance for me. The park itself is nice, but not unlike hundreds of other places I've visited in the past. To that those that completed their hike though, congratulations on a job well done.