Fat Man’s Squeeze is a cave you must go through while hiking the Borden Creek Trail in the Bankhead National Forest. By that I mean you literally have to go through the cave because the trail, Trail 200, goes through it. I normally hike for the joy of visiting waterfalls, but I hiked to Fat Man’s Squeeze just because the name amused me, then was delighted to find out that it has a waterfall attached to it where the cave exits on the north side. That said, if you fear caves, you’ll probably be fine with this one because it is maybe 100 feet long. The amusing part is that the entrance on the south side of it is very tiny, which is likely how it got the name. I’m claustrophobic and did just fine.
A few tips if you’re going to take this hike. First, take a flashlight, you’ll probably not need it, but if you want to be super careful and check for spiders and other creepy things in the cave, it’ll come in handy. But this cave gets a lot of human visitors each day, so chances are not much will be hanging out in it since humans scare things off and knock webs down on a regular cycle. You may also want to note that I did this on a rainy day, which coupled with the north entrance coming out into an active waterfall, resulted in exiting the cave in a mud slick, so proper footwear is important.
The way I hiked this was to start from the Sipsey Recreation Area parking lot. Fat Man’s Squeeze is much closer to the Borden Creek Trailhead however, and if you only want to reach the cave, then you might want to start there. However I coupled this hike with visiting Fall Creek Falls which is a simple mile out and back detour off of this hike, and between that experience and this one, it made for the best day in the Bankhead I’ve ever had. If you have the ability to park at one trailhead and hike through to the other, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise get ready for a roughly 4 mile out and back hike from the Sipsey Recreation Area. You’ll start by hiking north from the parking lot for half a mile on Trail 209, aka the Sipsey River Trail, which follows the Sipsey Fork. It then intersects Borden Creek, and you’ll find a signpost (if you look carefully) showing that Trail 209 continues across the creek (through the water & toward Fall Creek Falls). Trail 200, aka the Borden Creek Trail, continues from this point without crossing the creek. Stick with Trail 200 to head to Fat Man’s Squeeze.
At this point depending on rainfall you may have seen a few seasonal waterfalls, and as you progress another half mile or so north on the Borden Creek Trail you’ll likely come to a few small but stable seeming waterfalls where the creek bends. I noticed one spot where a lot of primitive camping happens, at the perfect angle to look at two different unnamed small falls simultaneously. so keep an eye out, there’s plenty to see and this sort of thing is why you’d do well to hike this from the south side instead of starting from the north side to get to Fat Man’s Squeeze. The views of Borden Creek are breathtaking and with little waterfalls and abundant plant life here, this is just a great hike. Did I mention there are Eastern Hemlocks all over the place? Those are great too.
When you finally arrive at Fat Man’s Squeeze you absolutely cannot miss it, because the trail just stops abruptly. That’s when you find the squeeze. For me it required taking off my hiking pack temporarily to be able to maneuver inside the cave. I celebrated too soon after entering however because less than 100 feet away was the exit, but there was a giant mud slick, and the surprise of a waterfall contributing to that. So this was a muddy experience, with some slipping and sliding, inside and outside of a cave. And you know what? I loved it.
All things considered, this hike coupled with the Fall Creek Falls hike are the best time I’ve had in the Bankhead National Forest so far. Even better, finding the trailhead is very easy since the Sipsey Recreation Area parking lot is off a main road (Cranal Road / hwy 60) and almost impossible to miss.
