The Anniversary Continues...

Good Monday morning, everyone. As you know by now, my first book was published 20 years ago this October – Hike America Alabama. Since its release, the book has been renamed Hiking Alabama and is now in its fourth edition thanks to all of you!! I’ve had many requests for a copy of the first edition over the years but sadly, it’s out of print. Oh, you can buy it on eBay for $8 or on some off-the-wall sites for $300, but why when I’m giving the chapters away free?

I have already posted the Gulf Coast and Southeast region chapters and today, it’s the Central Region. These files are in PDF format and are available on my website’s Download Page. Remember, these chapters are 20 years old. A lot has changed since then, but it gives you a good idea about hiking in the state. And of course, you can buy the latest edition right now at your favorite bookstore.

Enjoy! I love to hear from you about the book and my other guides. Drop me a line.

Hiking Alabama 20th Anniversary Continued-Southeast Region

A little more from the first edition of my book, "Hiking Alabama" which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. It was called "Hike America Alabama" when it was originally released in October 2000 by a small company out of Virginia called Beachway Press. Not long after publication, Globe Pequot and their imprint, Falcon Books, re-released it with a new title - "Hike Alabama". There were two reasons for the name change. The first was because it fit with all of the other guides in their series. Second - there was a lawsuit. Apparently there was a guy out west who hand carved hiking sticks with images from each of the 50 states. He called the series of walking sticks "Hike America...(insert state name)". You just never know.

Today, I have for you the hikes of the Southeast Region from that first edition that has been long out of print. Remember, this was 20 years ago. Some trails have changed. Some have disappeared. And contact information has changed.

You can download a copy of the PDF file from my website's DOWNLOAD section:

Hiking Alabama's 20th Anniversary

Hard to believe but my first book, "Hike America Alabama" (later renamed "Hike Alabama" then renamed - again - to "Hiking Alabama") is celebrating its 20th anniversary! The book is now in its 4th edition, but the first was my favorite.

We're working out some fun events hopefully in October if the numbers of the virus cases ever start dropping in the state and we'll tell you about that as we get closer. I'll tell the story about how the book came about and the name change by Falcon in an upcoming post.

Many people have asked if that edition is still available. It is out of print but available only if you (A) want to buy it for $200 from some used book source on Amazon or (B) well, there is no "B". BUT, in lieu of that, I'm cobbling the book together piece by piece and will be posting each of the four regions over the next four Mondays.

The book began with the Gulf Coast region only because, well, I live there :) and that’s where we’ll start eventually working our way up north. These will be PDF files you can download from my website of the original galley from the publisher for each region. I see that the first one is missing the Honorable Mentions, but I'll post those tomorrow for you.

Remember, this is 20 years old. Phone numbers and websites have changed. Trails have changed (for example, the Redoubt Trail at Blakeley Historic State Park is WAY different now), but you will still get a feeling for the locations and how to hike them.

Next Monday - the Southeast Region. Hope you enjoy! And please, feel free to share and I’d love to hear your comments. Here's the link:

http://www.joe-cuhaj.com/downloads.html

In the Words of Bob Dylan...

A headline in the New York Tribune following the
hurricane of 1906 that slammed Mobile, Alabama.

In the words of Bob Dylan, "This is the story of a hurricane".

So much for the drought here on the Alabama Gulf Coast. Cristobel dropped nearly 6” of rain according to my gauge. Lots of gusty wind but not much else so we’re thankful for that. 

Mobile has seen its share of devastating hurricanes in the past. Many Mobilians don’t realize that the city was select to be one of the first 22 National Weather Service offices established in the country back in 1870. The office was housed in the old Customs building downtown. In September 1893, without the benefit of radar and satellite imagery, the meteorologists there knew something was brewing as they watched the barometer fall. Immediately, they hoisted a simple red flag atop the building warning residents of an incoming storm.

The weathermen and townspeople had no clue as to what was coming their way. An unnamed storm – later dubbed the Cheniere Caminada in honor of the Louisiana town that lost half its population that day – turned east and slammed Mobile. News accounts across the country painted a grim picture: “On the marsh, the loss of life is appalling. Whole families have been swept out of existence and the actual number of the lost will never be known.”

In the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, one family told of their frightening night: “We all remained in the house until 2 o’clock when the wind kept increasing and blew out and carried away the doors and windows. I was standing in water up to my armpits and the waves were continuously washing over my head. The women and children were almost strangled by the salt water.”

The Cheniere Caminada hurricane caused over $5 million in damages and took over 2,000 lives making it the fourth deadliest storm in U.S. history.

Read more about the storms that ravaged Mobile and the Alabama Gulf Coast in my book, “Hidden History of Mobile”.

Water(falls), Water(falls) Everywhere

Work is continuing on Hiking Waterfalls of Alabama. Despite the urgency to get this done by deadline (there has been a few roadblocks like, oh, droughts, floods, pandemics 😉 ). 3 more long weekends in store and I can start assembling the manuscript...barring a hurricane or something. 😲 Here's Just a few photos from my adventures.

(Photos copyright Falcon Books)