Volunteers hope to bring the Appalachian trail to Alabama - USA Today

[WhiteBlaze]

Volunteers hope to bring the Appalachian trail to Alabama USA Today - 31 minutes ago Until, that is, it's compared with the legendary route where it winds up: The mighty Appalachian Trail. The 2175-mile path winds through mountains, ...

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[minnesotasmith]

"I thruhiked the entire Appalachian Trail in 2006, going from Georgia to Maine through 14 states, all 2174.6 miles over 9 months. I intend to do it again in 2009, this time adding the Pinhoti Trail in Alabama and N. Georgia to it.

There are multiple reasons IMO why very few of the roughly 1800 people who attempt an Appalachian Trail thruhike each year (only about 400 finish) currently or forseeably would tack on the Pinhotil Trail as well:

1) The AL section may be completed, but the GA section is not. There are 20+ miles of roadwalks remaining in the longer Georgia section.

2) There are about 7 trail shelters in the AL section, around half the frequency per mile that the AT has in general, but there are NONE in the GA section, with no plans to add them anytime soon.

3) There are no hostels (places of business where hikers can shower, wash clothes, have a food/gear package sent, make a phone call, and sleep) along the Pinhoti. Note that nearly all thruhikers have to be careful with money, such that the going hostel rate in the U.S. south is $20 or less a night, so the occasional motel in Pinhoti Trail towns is little use to most of them. A full-service truckstop with showers and laundry facilities would partially do, but there are few to none of those of which I am aware near the Pinhoti, either.

4) Local towns near the Pinhoti are not otherwise geared up for thruhikers, either, with locals not being accustomed to giving hikers rides between towns and the trail, few to no buffet restaurants (hikers have to eat a LOT with all the calories they burn hiking), no hiking equipment stores ("outfitters"), etc.

5) Much of the Pinhoti allows all-terrain vehicles, horses, bicycles, etc., which are notorious for damaging trails and their ambience. The AT is a foot-travel-only trail in the interest of preventing trail damage, mess, and noise. Those users would have to be kept out as part of making the Pinhoti an AT extension, and ATV users in particular normally take substantial law enforcement attention to respond to no-trespassing rules.

6) The Pinhoti is so far south and low-altitude, it is too hot and insect-plagued as a practical matter to hike on during the majority of the year. Thruhikers commonly carry a variety of equipment to deal with biting insects, but more casual hikers hardly ever do, so there will probably never be many day/weekend hikers (the bulk of current AT users) on the Pinhoti most of the year.

7) The Pinhoti in GA does not actually currently connect to the AT. It instead ends on the Benton MacKaye Trail, which then intersects the AT a number of miles north of the AT's actual beginning. The Pinhoti in GA needs to be rerouted directly to either Springer Mtn. or Amicalola State Park (the two places AT northbound thruhikers mainly start) to avoid thuhikers starting on the Pinhoti having to backtrack, hitch rides, pay a shuttler, or skip part of the AT. Like #1 & 2, this is a problem affecting use of the Pinhoti that the AL Pinhoti Club is powerless to fix, the less-able GA club being well behind the AL Club in developing their section of the Pinhoti Trail.

For these reasons, I don't expect many other hikers to add the Pinhoti Trail to an Appalachian Trail thruhike (as I am planning) during the next decade or two at least."
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I doubt that my comment will do much to light a fire under anyone to fix the problems the Pinhoti currently has with appealing to most AT hikers, but every little bit, right?

[minnesotasmith]

Found out the e-mail address of a contact at the Birmingham, Alabama Chamber of Commerce, where this Cosby guy is affiliated who is pushing the idea of extending the AT to include the Pinhoti, and e-mailed a copy of my comment to them to forward to him.

Even if (as I expect) nothing will ever come of officially extending the AT to Flagg Mtn. in Alabama, perhaps in a small way it could help improve the Pinhoti to closer to AT standards WRT infrastructure.

[minnesotasmith]

Anyway these two "Appalachian Trail News Today" threads could be merged?

[Alligator]

Anyway these two "Appalachian Trail News Today" threads could be merged?

Which ones? There are already a couple of news threads on the idea of the Pinhoti AT meeting/combination.

[MOWGLI]

"

5) Much of the Pinhoti allows all-terrain vehicles, horses, bicycles, etc., which are notorious for damaging trails and their ambience. The AT is a foot-travel-only trail in the interest of preventing trail damage, mess, and noise. Those users would have to be kept out as part of making the Pinhoti an AT extension, and ATV users in particular normally take substantial law enforcement attention to respond to no-trespassing rules.

6) The Pinhoti is so far south and low-altitude, it is too hot and insect-plagued as a practical matter to hike on during the majority of the year. Thruhikers commonly carry a variety of equipment to deal with biting insects, but more casual hikers hardly ever do, so there will probably never be many day/weekend hikers (the bulk of current AT users) on the Pinhoti most of the year.

7) The Pinhoti in GA does not actually currently connect to the AT. It instead ends on the Benton MacKaye Trail, which then intersects the AT a number of miles north of the AT's actual beginning. The Pinhoti in GA needs to be rerouted directly to either Springer Mtn. or Amicalola State Park (the two places AT northbound thruhikers mainly start) to avoid thuhikers starting on the Pinhoti having to backtrack, hitch rides, pay a shuttler, or skip part of the AT. Like #1 & 2, this is a problem affecting use of the Pinhoti that the AL Pinhoti Club is powerless to fix, the less-able GA club being well behind the AL Club in developing their section of the Pinhoti Trail.

For these reasons, I don't expect many other hikers to add the Pinhoti Trail to an Appalachian Trail thruhike (as I am planning) during the next decade or two at least."
==================================================
I doubt that my comment will do much to light a fire under anyone to fix the problems the Pinhoti currently has with appealing to most AT hikers, but every little bit, right?

A couple of problems with the above post.

• The Pinhoti does not "allow" All terrain vehicles anywhere on the trail. Not in Georgia, and not in Alabama.
• It is completely inaccurate to suggest that the Pinhoti is "too hot" & "insect-plagued" during the "majority of the year"
• The Benton MacKaye Trail starts exactly .2 miles north of the southern terminus of the AT on Springer Mountain. Not "a number of miles north of the AT's actual beginning."
• The shelters and campsites along the Pinhoti in Alabama are quite sufficient for any backpacker.

You should really hike the trail before you attempt to (mis) characterize it.

[Cuffs]

MS, you, again, are speaking out of your a$$. You have misinformation on the Pinhoti and are passing that misinformation along as fact. And, Mr. Tom Cosby will most likely email you back. He is a hiker, but is not affiliated with any trail group, just the C of C. I highly suggest you learn a little more before you wind up putting your other foot in your mouth... it might put a crimp in your '09 hike...

[double d]

I think extending the AT into Alabama has alot more to do with the Alabama's state tourism department then it does with the AT. The AT should start in Ga (nobo of course) and finish in Ma. Using the logic from one of the articles, if the AT is extended into Alabama, then the AT should be extened into Canada.

[Appalachian Tater]

Services will appear when there is demand for them, not vice versa. The A.T. didn't always have the services it has now.

Also, the vast majority of hikers aren't thru-hikers and have little need for hostels and other services for long-distance hikers.

I grew up next door to Alabama and I can assure you that the biting insects in some of the areas up north have the mosquitoes in the south beat by a mile and insect repellant works better on them, too.

The heat and humidity can be just as bad up here, too, it just doesn't last as many months.

[MOWGLI]

Nimblewill Nomad loved his experiences on the Pinhoti. While the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association may be small, when they learn that a thru-hiker is coming through the area, they often do whatever they can to assist that individual.

[tlbj6142]

The shelters and campsites along the Pinhoti in Alabama are quite sufficient for any backpacker.

You left out the lack of "town services" and hostels. As we all know without "town services", hostels or shelters there wouldn't be backpacking. It just can't happen.

[MOWGLI]

You left out the lack of "town services" and hostels. As we all know without "town services", hostels or shelters there wouldn't be backpacking. It just can't happen.

There are plenty of "town services." Just not as much data about them. And some of them you have to go further from the trail. Hostels are far from necessary. In fact, IMO, there are too many on the AT.

[Mags]

I would not mind hiking the Pinhoti myself at some point. Doing the southern part of the Appalachians, esp. in the Fall, would be quite nice.

The lack of shelters would actually be a plus to be honest.

[MOWGLI]

PS: Don't misunderstand my points. I am not in favor of extending the AT. The AT is what it is.

[minnesotasmith]

A couple of problems with the above post.

• The Pinhoti does not "allow" All terrain vehicles anywhere on the trail. Not in Georgia, and not in Alabama.
• It is completely inaccurate to suggest that the Pinhoti is "too hot" & "insect-plagued" during the "majority of the year"
• The Benton MacKaye Trail starts exactly .2 miles north of the southern terminus of the AT on Springer Mountain. Not "a number of miles north of the AT's actual beginning."
• The shelters and campsites along the Pinhoti in Alabama are quite sufficient for any backpacker.

1) I read somewhere that ATVs are a problem in multiple locations on the Pinhoti, but can't find the source right now. Allowed de facto (from negligible law enforcement, or de jure, same deal from the POV of hikers who don't care for inevitable multifoot-deep mudholes/ruts/vanished trailbeds from rampant ATVers.

2) From the thread where I posted e-mails I received in reply to my questions from e-mailing the entire GA Pinhoti Board of Directors: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=37496, at least one member of that board rides horses on the Pinhoti.

3) From that same thread, one of the board (Marty ___) told me:

"The most expeditious route to reach Springer [from the northern terminus of the Pinhoti] is probably to return down the Pinhoti Trail 7 miles to the junction of the Pinhoti Trail and the Mountain Creek Trail. Here, continue another 1.6 miles to reach a road that passes Hills Lake on its way to the paved Gates Chapel Road. Turn left, follow Gates Chapel Road for 4.8 miles to Georgia Highway 52. Turn left (east) on Highway 52. In 5.2 miles, reach Ellijay, Georgia. Continue on Georgia 52 east of Ellijay for 21 miles to reach to the gate of Amicalola Falls State Park. Turn left, enter the park, and reach the visitor's center and trailhead for the Springer Mountain Approach Trail in less than 1/2 mile. This is the most direct route you will find."

Their online maps of the GA Pinhoti s**k to the point of uselessness, and my ordered copy of their field guide has not yet arrived in the mail, so I'm just going by what a member of their board told me. I figured he'd likely be right...


4) Yeah, that area is insect central in the summer (which stretches from April to Halloween). One of my graduate schools was Auburn University. I had a summer camp as a kid not far from the northern part of the where the Pinhoti runs in Alabama. And, I did extensive field geology work for my thesis in the hills NE of Birmingham. So, I do know something about how that locale is in summer.

5) If the lack of shelters is not a factor in probably not one in a thousand AT thruhike attempts starting in Alabama on the Pinhoti, you'll need to find another one. As much as thruhikers use the shelters on the AT, it's a pretty good partial explanation IMO.

[Cuffs]

PS: Don't misunderstand my points. I am not in favor of extending the AT. The AT is what it is.

I second that motion. I just want the facts out there, not what some people 'think' the Pinhoti is (or is not.)

[MOWGLI]

1) I read somewhere that ATVs are a problem in multiple locations on the Pinhoti, but can't find the source right now. Allowed de facto (from negligible law enforcement, or de jure, same deal from the POV of hikers who don't care for inevitable multifoot-deep mudholes/ruts/vanished trailbeds from rampant ATVers.

2) From the thread where I posted e-mails I received in reply to my questions from e-mailing the entire GA Pinhoti Board of Directors: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=37496, at least one member of that board rides horses on the Pinhoti.

3) From that same thread, one of the board (Marty ___) told me:

"The most expeditious route to reach Springer [from the northern terminus of the Pinhoti] is probably to return down the Pinhoti Trail 7 miles to the junction of the Pinhoti Trail and the Mountain Creek Trail. Here, continue another 1.6 miles to reach a road that passes Hills Lake on its way to the paved Gates Chapel Road. Turn left, follow Gates Chapel Road for 4.8 miles to Georgia Highway 52. Turn left (east) on Highway 52. In 5.2 miles, reach Ellijay, Georgia. Continue on Georgia 52 east of Ellijay for 21 miles to reach to the gate of Amicalola Falls State Park. Turn left, enter the park, and reach the visitor's center and trailhead for the Springer Mountain Approach Trail in less than 1/2 mile. This is the most direct route you will find."

Their online maps of the GA Pinhoti s**k to the point of uselessness, and my ordered copy of their field guide has not yet arrived in the mail, so I'm just going by what a member of their board told me. I figured he'd likely be right...


4) Yeah, that area is insect central in the summer (which stretches from April to Halloween). One of my graduate schools was Auburn University. I had a summer camp as a kid not far from the northern part of the where the Pinhoti runs in Alabama. And, I did extensive field geology work for my thesis in the hills NE of Birmingham. So, I do know something about how that locale is in summer.

5) If the lack of shelters is not a factor in probably not one in a thousand AT thruhike attempts starting in Alabama on the Pinhoti, you'll need to find another one. As much as thruhikers use the shelters on the AT, it's a pretty good partial explanation IMO.

A few responses;

Enforcement in our national Forests is an issue all over the USA. There are sections of the AT where (regrettably) ATVs are ridden.

I read your email exchange with the GA Pinhoti Board. I know all of those folks including Larry Wheat (who rides horses). The Pinhoti in Georgia is open to bikes & horses.

Marty is an engineer. He told you the most expeditious route to the AT. Most hikers want to remain on trails though. That is possible with the exception of the two road walks in Georgia.

The situation with maps on the Georgia section of the Pinhoti is not ideal. I agree with that point. But the determined hiker can get through there without much problem. The biggest issue in Georgia is water.

The Pinhoti would make a great hike from October to early April IMO. That's almost half the year without bugs and heat. You plan on starting in February, so bugs & heat are essentially a non-issue for you.

The Alabama section of the Pinhoti has some of the best campsites. A number of them on earthen dams above lakes (impoundments). Very unique.

Enjoy your experience MS. But please refrain from characterizing the trail before you set foot on it.

[minnesotasmith]

You plan on starting in February, so bugs & heat are essentially a non-issue for you.

I'm starting the Pinhoti around New Year's or a bit before that. It's the AT I figure on starting no later than mid-February.

Agreed that bugs will likely not be much of an issue for me on the Pinhoti (or on the AT till somewhere between Pearisburg and the SNP).

[Odd Thomas]

Also, the vast majority of hikers aren't thru-hikers and have little need for hostels and other services for long-distance hikers.

This is kind of mooted by the fact that the only new people in the equation after changing the trail's name to "the Appalachian Trail" would be thru-hikers.

[MOWGLI]

This is kind of mooted by the fact that the only new people in the equation after changing the trail's name to "the Appalachian Trail" would be thru-hikers.

I don't agree. With the very effective media coverage that this "campaign" is generating, I'm sure all kinds of hikers are seeking out the Pinhoti, including day hikers and section hikers. Think about the Pinhoti 5 years ago. Hardly anyone knew it existed. Now it seems most hikers in the SE, and many around the US know about it's existence. And that's a good thing - cause it's a great trail.

Since it is primarily a linear trail, there aren't too many loop opportunities for day hikers, excepting around Cheaha State Park with the Chinabee Silent Trail. There is a 17 mile loop I'd like to do as a day hike sometime. Maybe this fall. Perhaps we can get a group from WB together to do it.