View Full Version : Pin-Chin-Sky
Looking to make a slow loop this weekend...2 nights. Is there ANY water at Cheaha falls? Its easy enough to stash some @ Turnipseed, but I'd rather not if I can filter there. I know I can get water @ Lake Chinabee. Anyone been out in the last week?
martincr70
11-14-2016, 18:31
There is a swimming hole with dark stagnant water and that's it. You might find a small trickle at Devil's Den but highly unlikely, there was one there four weeks ago.
Tundracamper
11-14-2016, 18:56
Did I see something about a fire in that area - or am I getting my fires confused?
Tundracamper
11-14-2016, 18:59
Here's what I saw. This is two weeks old. Can I presume the fire it out?
http://www.annistonstar.com/news/local/crews-fighting-wildfire-in-talladega-national-forest-as-drought-continues/article_f57e931c-9fa9-11e6-85db-1bab91f6d1c6.html
Yes that fire was contained. You could always call the Ranger Station to be sure. Unfortunately the fires have been occurring far too frequently.
There is a swimming hole with dark stagnant water and that's it. You might find a small trickle at Devil's Den but highly unlikely, there was one there four weeks ago.
Thanks! That does not sound very appealing. Looks like a stash this time. Ive never had to do this before...
Fire is definitely another concern. Dang...we need some rain!
I was on that route Friday (11/18). The fires are all South of Adams Gap. They are currently out but a ranger told me someone keeps purposefully restarting them. So far they haven't been able to catch whatever waste of flesh keeps doing this. Anyway, I did not have any issues with smoke. Water is extremely scarce. if you see any water at all you pretty much should guzzle what you have and refill. Cheaha falls is no longer a water fall. it's a rock formation. Behind it is a pool of black water full of fish and other aquatic animals who are all experiencing Armageddon. Though the water didn't look awsome I filtered it and it seemed fine. I didn't get to the skyline portion. Long story that I can sum up with the fact that I walked the wrong direction on the Pinhoti out of Adams gap and didn't figure it out for most of a day, then there was a hitchhiking thing and well. anyway. I will say this, a few more markings on the stairway to heaven would be good. In the fall the leaves cover the trail and your only method of navigation is to wait until someone comes the opposite direction to see how to get out of there.
Stairway, I believe, is in the wilderness area. They will not re-blaze the trails, and are actually painting over existing blazes. Makes no sense to me...
Tundracamper
11-28-2016, 15:36
I got lost 3 or 4 times on the stairway last year. At some point they will probably just need to close it. It's sad that we can't have a few blobs of paint on the trees. Do folks really get that upset at some tree markings? Oh well.
Just the jackwagons that sit in an office and make the decisions. Sounds good on paper. I have my garmin with me when I solo, so I didnt really get lost, or off trail. I see how easy it would be. Someone might just go up the trail with a template and can of paint, to re mark the trail. I'd be ok with that... I dont understand why they can have signs, logging roads, etc., but no blazes.
I got lost 3 or 4 times on the stairway last year. At some point they will probably just need to close it. It's sad that we can't have a few blobs of paint on the trees. Do folks really get that upset at some tree markings? Oh well.
Does anyone have a water update for the pin chin sky? We've had a decent amount of rain since November but I'm not sure it's made a dent yet.
Thanks
I have been on the Skyway and Chinnabee since the rain. There are several locations that have water available now.
Thanks - last pictures I saw showed everything including the falls completely dry but those are probably at least a month old and I was hoping that the rain had helped the situation.
I went back to finish the hike that I screwed up. Cheaha falls now has some flowing water, not much but plenty for drinking. The other smaller water sources on the route are still dry.
LA_MantaRay12
12-22-2016, 23:12
Hiked the entire Pin/Sky/Chin loop between Monday around 11am and Tuesday at 1pm. Pinhoti - there are no water sources after the stream behind Turnipseed. Skyway had plenty of water. Cheaha flowing good Also hiked the section of Pinhoti from Cheaha trailhead to Caney and there was no water. Spent the night at McDill Pt. Beautiful morning.
Pinhoti was was really cool. Here are some pics from Monday. Ice everywhere.
3750137502
schlanky
01-16-2017, 11:28
I hiked the loop on Jan 14-15 for the first time in about five years. At noon on Jan 14, there were 22 cars at/around Adams Gap TH when I walked through. When I got off the trail at about 1 pm on Jan 15, I counted 28 cars in/around the Turnipseed lot. Driving past the Cheaha TH, it was more crowded than I've ever seen it.
There was a little water up at the big intersection, and not much, but enough to filter, at a few other seeps on the dry side of the loop. Stream crossings were all pretty easy on the wet side of the loop. Coming down Stairway to Heaven, it was blazed well enough for me to stay on the "trail" with no problems.
I heard it was really crowded up there, last weekend. A friend of mine went from Adams towards Porters for 12 miles, then back. The only folks she saw were on the campsite she was hoping to use.