Tuscaloosa County High Point Trip Report
Date: April 7, 2002
Author: John Mitchler
These three elongated areas lie along a ridge along I-20/59 southwest of Birmingham and are defended by
dense vegetation and brutal briars.
From exit 100 on I-20/59, go west on AL216 for 1.4 miles to Norwood Gap and continue to mile 1.7.
Turn right (north) on Alice Road. At mile 3.1, turn right (east) on Springer Road and ascend to the top of Rock Mountain.
The home of the Harmons is on the right. The relatively open forest is owned by the Alabama Forest Association.
The dashed road on the topo can be followed southwest along the ridge top and its turn to the south is obvious.
A footpath continues southwest along the ridge top but becomes overgrown to the point of being dangerous,
especially in the middle of the three areas. At times, I felt like Steve McQueen caught in barb
wire in the movie The Great Escape. I saw no evidence of Ken Oeser's path clearing and dearly missed it.
At the southwestern end of the northern most area are some tall pines which seem to be the highest point.
The southernmost area is a fenced pasture with a water tank at the southern end. I agree with Ken that the
northern end of the pasture is higher. No need to walk all the way to the tank. There is a north-south fence
at the north end of the pasture that descends north into open forest that is better than the ridge top.
Access from Alice Road to the northwest flanks of Rock Mountain is blocked by homes and lakes.