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View Full Version : What is the official southern terminus of the Pinhoti trail? logistic help needed



ratherbclimbin
12-21-2013, 18:18
What is the official starting point of the pinhoti trail? I am getting so many mixed responses from so many forums on the web. Is it flagged mountain? Weogufka? Trailhead 603a? Bulls gap? I'm confused. My girlfriend and I are hiking the entire pinhoti and AT next year and need some logistical assistance. Seems like a beautiful track but the southern section is impossible to find accurate maps on and. A proper guidebook telling how to navigate the roadwalks. Pinhoti trail alliance is of some help but still don't have accurate data on the section from mile 0 to bulls gap. Please help.

blisterbob
12-21-2013, 18:42
Plans and work are underway for a new section of woods trail around Flagg Mtn.
It is marked but not recommended for hiking just yet unless you want to sidehill bushwhack
for 5 miles. So for the time being you have 2 choices; 1-Road walk from the top of Flagg
Mtn. to Weogufka or 2- Start at the 4 way stop in Weogufka. Since you're doing a thru, you
probably want to start at the top of Flagg, hike down the cc camp rd. to CR 55, turn rt. to
CR 56, turn rt. again to the 4 way stop in Weogufka.
Pinhoti Trail Alliance is a good source of info, although it hasn't been updated to include the
11.2 miles of woods trail on Rebecca Mtn. mile 22.9 to 34.3 - 603A TH to Bull Gap TH.
The road walk from Weogufka to 603A has been blazed mostly on utility poles along the
rd. and the turns are marked well.
Hope this helps,

ratherbclimbin
12-21-2013, 19:44
Plans and work are underway for a new section of woods trail around Flagg Mtn.
It is marked but not recommended for hiking just yet unless you want to sidehill bushwhack
for 5 miles. So for the time being you have 2 choices; 1-Road walk from the top of Flagg
Mtn. to Weogufka or 2- Start at the 4 way stop in Weogufka. Since you're doing a thru, you
probably want to start at the top of Flagg, hike down the cc camp rd. to CR 55, turn rt. to
CR 56, turn rt. again to the 4 way stop in Weogufka.
Pinhoti Trail Alliance is a good source of info, although it hasn't been updated to include the
11.2 miles of woods trail on Rebecca Mtn. mile 22.9 to 34.3 - 603A TH to Bull Gap TH.
The road walk from Weogufka to 603A has been blazed mostly on utility poles along the
rd. and the turns are marked well.
Hope this helps,

Yes this is a big help, thank you blister bob.....I have a few more questions? Is Flagg Mountain open to the public? I have read that the access point to the mountain is locked by the owner. What is the recommended way to access the mountain? We will be starting around the week of Feb 8th or feb 15th. Also are maps needed to navigate the new section mile 22.9-34.3 and is there any corresponding guide for this section. I know there is a guide on the PTA website but is this the most current information out there? I appreciate your advice.

Matt65
12-21-2013, 21:18
What is the recommended way to access the mountain?

I can't give great information, but here's what I have: I drove over Flagg Mountain about a year ago. It is off of CC Camp Road, 35151 and can be seen on Google Earth. The gate to the tower is locked for cars. I have heard of hikers going in on foot though.

Directions from Weoguffca Post office (from Google):
Weogufka Post Office
Coosa County
AL
1. Head west on Co Rd 56 toward Co Rd 29
115 ft
2. Turn left onto Co Rd 29
5.6 mi
3. Turn right onto Co Rd 16
0.7 mi
4. Take the 1st right onto CC Camp Rd
1.8 mi

CC Camp Rd
Sylacauga, AL 35151

This video shows the entrance to the trail on Flagg. I have never hiked this but believe it comes near the tower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVCqXExVo-k&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

blisterbob
12-21-2013, 22:02
I know there is a guide on the PTA website but is this the most current information out there? .[/QUOTE]
There is another trail guide and if you look around on this forum you will come across it, but there is some
conflicting info. You do not need a guide for Rebecca Mtn. it is blazed well and the trail is easy to follow.
After that the PTA info will get you through.

ednotmilkman
12-22-2013, 16:17
if you need shuttle help, ask here and someone might know someone, that might be interested in helping you get from airport or bus station to the start point. I live almost 3 hours from Flagg or I'd volunteer myself. If you want to try the unfinished trail on the north side of Flagg Mountain, there is a link to a new web site, somewhere else on this WB / Pinhoti thread that has the tracks shown on Google Earth. It has been blazed and cleared of brush this fall, but you will slip and fall on the sidehills unless you are careful and use your hiking poles.

speaker
12-23-2013, 14:38
Hey ratherbclimbin,
I have been setting up a new trail guide website, which should be of some help. It is more up to date than the PTA website, and hopefully should help you find what you are looking for, especially with respect to the initial 30+ miles of the Pinhoti.

http://www.trailguidewiki.com/wiki/Pinhoti_Trail_Guide

It is set up as a wiki, so if you find anything wrong during your hike, you can always fix it for the next hiker.

I am still looking for gpx data on some of the sections, so if you plan on carrying a gps for your hike, let me know and we can work something out.

-speaker

Hitchin' Post
12-23-2013, 15:44
Awesome guide, Speaker.

ednotmilkman
12-23-2013, 15:54
The official southern end according to Pinhoti Trail Alliance must be Flagg Mountain since the trail guide book gives that as the start point. So I would say you have not done a complete thru until you walk to Flagg, but that's just an opinion. There is no dedicated parking area yet anywhere at Flagg Mountain, but plenty of room to leave a car beside the road for a short time.

However the US Forest Service will have their official TH on FS603A since that is on their land and the sections south of 603A are roadwalk. Long term plans for the Pinhoti include purchasing land to replace the roadwalk from Weogufga to FS603A, and extending it further southwest to the Coosa River at either CR55, SR22 or even the dam itself of either Mitchell or Lay Lake. This can happen through the current public lands in Coosa Wildlife Management Area and further land acquisitions through Alabama Forever Wild. There are REALLY LONG range plans for the trail west of the Coosa River, extending over to Oakmulgee unit of Talladega National Forest, but that may be called part of the Alabama Trail instead of the Pinhoti.

blisterbob
12-23-2013, 18:11
Hey ratherbclimbin,
I have been setting up a new trail guide website, which should be of some help. It is more up to date than the PTA website, and hopefully should help you find what you are looking for, especially with respect to the initial 30+ miles of the Pinhoti.

http://www.trailguidewiki.com/wiki/Pinhoti_Trail_Guide

It is set up as a wiki, so if you find anything wrong during your hike, you can always fix it for the next hiker.

I am still looking for gpx data on some of the sections, so if you plan on carrying a gps for your hike, let me know and we can work something out.

-speaker

I do not agree that a trail guide should be available for any and all to make entries based on their ideas.
I think it will lead to more mistakes and confusion.
Therefore any info I post from a guide will be based on PTA to avoid mileage discrepancies since it is still
the guide most hikers use.

ratherbclimbin
12-23-2013, 23:47
I will be starting on top of flagg mountain and following blistbobs directions to weogufka then on to the rest of the trail as guided on the PTA website. I want to thank everyone who replied. Whiteblaze members are always extremely helpful!!

speaker
12-26-2013, 13:51
I do not agree that a trail guide should be available for any and all to make entries based on their ideas.
I think it will lead to more mistakes and confusion.


I am curious as to what types of mistakes or confusion you think will occur? Basing the guide on gps data, I think it will be easier to keep accurate and up to date. Granted there can always be some type of mistakes, but on the whole it will be more accurate than a guide written 5-10 years ago. Also, it is really easy to moderate and edit all changes that anyone makes on the guide. If something seems out of place or mistaken, it is easy to revert their changes until more information is available.

Most hikers probably aren't going to make any changes at all, and it will largely be written by the trail maintainers as they create new trail. I am simply hoping to provide the tools for a community driven guide, rather than putting all of the work on a single author, and still keep the guide up to date for future hikers.

For example, I know that every other guide that I have seen is not accurate for the Rebecca Mtn section (S-03), since that is relatively new section of trail. Granted, the PTA directions will still get you from point A to point B, but by hiking the old road walk route, rather than the nice new 12 mile section of trail that the maintainers spent a lot of time and effort on. Personally I would rather hike the new trail. But always, HYOH.

blisterbob
12-26-2013, 19:52
I expressed my opinion and stand by it.
Any further discussion would be argumentative.

SonrisaJo
12-26-2013, 23:02
ratherbclimbing, I did that roadwalk last year and I found it really enjoyable. It is very well-blazed and the locals were overwhelmingly friendly. Have fun!

ednotmilkman
12-28-2013, 20:11
I've discovered as my section hikes have gotten longer with more time and experience, that I enjoy a day of road walking after walking in the woods for a full week or more. Now I can even see myself doing a thru-hike of the GA Pinhoti some day by going South from the AT or BMK all the way back to Jackson Chapel Rd. Probably not as interested in the Weogufga to FS603 roadwalk section since I'm already familiar with the roads there.

Dogwood
12-28-2013, 20:20
I've discovered as my section hikes have gotten longer with more time and experience, that I enjoy a day of road walking after walking in the woods for a full week or more. Now I can even see myself doing a thru-hike of the GA Pinhoti some day by going South from the AT or BMK all the way back to Jackson Chapel Rd. Probably not as interested in the Weogufga to FS603 roadwalk section since I'm already familiar with the roads there.

Me too, but not at the start of a 300+ mile hike especially when the road walk is like 24 or so miles.

Mountain Dog
01-02-2014, 20:55
I would not put a lot of stock in the PTA or the trail guides being "Official". The PTA, to my knowledge" is not a complete or governing association of all clubs maintaining the Pinhoti. Solo, who is semi retired from the Pinhoti/hiking created the PTA, the site, and the guide book. One southern club wanted Flagg to be the southern end and if you say it enough, it will become a reality. I do not really care where the official end, ends up. But as of now, the Forest service is the only entity that really has any say over the entire Pinhoti.

Dogwood
01-02-2014, 23:15
I would not put a lot of stock in the PTA or the trail guides being "Official". The PTA, to my knowledge" is not a complete or governing association of all clubs maintaining the Pinhoti. Solo, who is semi retired from the Pinhoti/hiking created the PTA, the site, and the guide book. One southern club wanted Flagg to be the southern end and if you say it enough, it will become a reality. I do not really care where the official end, ends up. But as of now, the Forest service is the only entity that really has any say over the entire Pinhoti.

My exact thoughts too. But I'm referring all further debates to you the company public spokesperson. :)

ratherbclimbin
02-15-2014, 00:00
Starting on the Pinhoti from Flagg mountain on March 1st!!!!! Plan to hike to Maine.

blisterbob
02-15-2014, 08:16
If you plan to post a journal as you progress, let me know which website.
I usually follow the journals of hikers that come through the Al. Pinhoti.

Best wishes for a safe adventure.

marti038
02-15-2014, 15:11
If you plan to post a journal as you progress, let me know which website.
I usually follow the journals of hikers that come through the Al. Pinhoti.

Best wishes for a safe adventure.

Ditto. (10 characters)

Matt65
02-15-2014, 17:20
Starting on the Pinhoti from Flagg mountain on March 1st!!!!! Plan to hike to Maine.

Outstanding! Safe travels and keep us posted.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

ratherbclimbin
02-17-2014, 17:07
Outstanding! Safe travels and keep us posted.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

We are planning on releasing a documentary once our hike is over. I will try to get on white blaze occasionally to post updates. Thanks for all the support we are very excited.

ratherbclimbin
02-19-2014, 20:13
We will be posting updates to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/ATConquered/266167216892819 (https://www.facebook.com/pages/ATConquered/266167216892819) , if anyone wants to see a little insight of the trail or would like to follow our continuous experience on the trail check us out. We will be starting the trail on March 1st and we will be keeping our page updated as frequently as possible. We will also be adding videos on our youtube channel that you can watch. The link will be added to our facebook page shortly.
PS if you enjoy our page like us on facebook it gives us tons of encouragement.

ratherbclimbin
02-19-2014, 20:14
Also thank you for all of your help blisterbob you have been a huge help and great resource for the trail.

Matt65
02-19-2014, 20:25
Liked! Look forward to seeing the updates.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

marti038
02-20-2014, 09:45
We will be posting updates to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/ATConquered/266167216892819 (https://www.facebook.com/pages/ATConquered/266167216892819) , if anyone wants to see a little insight of the trail or would like to follow our continuous experience on the trail check us out. We will be starting the trail on March 1st and we will be keeping our page updated as frequently as possible. We will also be adding videos on our youtube channel that you can watch. The link will be added to our facebook page shortly.
PS if you enjoy our page like us on facebook it gives us tons of encouragement.



Thanks for letting us know. I'll definitely be watching.

I'm sure you guys have it all worked out, but if you need any logistical assistance in and/or around Birmingham or getting to Weogufka, let me know. I'd be happy to help if possible.

ratherbclimbin
02-23-2014, 18:13
Hey everyone our first video is up check it out on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QvPWrbCl1g