Wandering This Earth: Black Creek Trail

Who would have ever thought the state of Mississippi held this gem, tucked away in the outskirts of Hattiesburg. Consisting of 41 beautiful miles of white sandbars, black water, and pine forests. The day started off with a slight detour (because of the navigator) and we found ourselves in the middle of "Shelby East Air / Ground Bombing Range." After a "thumbs-up" picture and a few curious looks, we made our way to Black Creek Canoe Rental. After stopping there and talking to a very nice gentleman, my opinion of Mississippi was slowly changing. Mississippi has never been to kind to me, due to my appearance and frankly I try to stay the hell out of it. We are roughly an hour and a half off schedule but we finally see the sign for the Black Creek Trail Head. Upon arrival we stop for another "thumbs-up" picture (it's a thing I make my wife do) and we are also cautioned by a nice gentleman about very large rattlesnakes. Onward we go into the beautiful, pine wood forests. We couldn't have asked for a better day and the trail was very well kept, at least better than what I am used to here in Mobile, Al. There were a few spots that got hairy but for the most part you couldn't have asked for a better place to spend the day. This trip was really just a scouting trip to see if we wanted to camp it and will be camping it pretty soon for my birthday. Luckily we didn't run into any snakes, but did see a few frogs and butterflies. About a mile and a half in we find a mighty pine tree had fallen mostly over the big creek. Being wild at heart and also letting the adventure always get the best of me I decided it would be a great idea to climb across it and get a better view of the mighty creek. This is definitely god's country and you couldn't have asked for a better view. A great desire to canoe this water came over me, but the hike would have to do for today. I could tell that my wife was jealous of my adventure, so on the way back we would stop and do it again and she would brave the mighty pine crossing half way, I was very proud! After this we found a nice little nook that would make a perfect camp site. Cannot wait for our camping trip here in the middle of September! The bridges are super awesome and make for a a great break in the grassy trail. Because of the long adventure to get here, we only had time to hike 3 miles, both ways, but I am not complaining at all, like I said earlier it was more a "scouting" trip than anything.