Article addressing extending the south end of the AT

[oldwetherman]

https://www.annistonstar.com/opinion...77b617709.html

[Lone Wolf]

never gonna happen

[map man]

I, too, think the AT should be extended south -- but only 8.8 miles to the Amicalola Visitor Center. I also think the northern terminus should be somewhere other than inside Baxter State Park so AT hikers need trouble the Baxter caretakers no more. A classy, modest terminus monument could be placed at the ATC-owned tentsite near Abol Bridge.

[blw2]

I think the trail also misses Kentucky, right? Another Appalachian Mountain state.....

Regardless, I do think that extension would be very logical. I have no understanding though of the history or logistics of the idea.... but as Lone Wolf says, never happen (I'm basing that on the article saying it would take congress to get it done).

I think it would be really great in concept to link up the pinhoti to the Florida trail....but that part of course would not be Appalachian....

[blw2]

I, too, think the AT should be extended south -- but only 8.8 miles to the Amicalola Visitor Center. I also think the northern terminus should be somewhere other than inside Baxter State Park so AT hikers need trouble the Baxter caretakers no more. A classy, modest terminus monument could be placed at the ATC-owned tentsite near Abol Bridge.

Yeah, if I were being asked I'd say both ends should be a trail head....but that's just my logic. Amialola makes sense on that end to me, and I'd say someplace past Katahdin might make sense for the North..... but what do I know...

[Rain Man]

First, build the trail and support facilities. THEN think about approaching Congress.

[Uncle Joe]

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the Pinhoti still have some lengthy road sections? Shore that up and I think extending the AT is a fine idea.

[Dogwood]

Ain't gonna do it officially. Aren't there enough hiking trails already that connect to the AT that aren't being utilized or cared for? What's the constant infatuation with everything AT anyway if you really enjoy hiking? Ah, oh no, AT blasphemy. String up the rope. Light the fire. Aren't their already major threats to the AT?

[Knee Jerk]

I agree with Map Man: Start it (or end it for SOBO's) at the Amicalola Visitor Center - most people take the steps to the top anyway so why not give them credit for those 8 miles of approach trail.

Then end it (or begin it for SOBO's) with a nice monument at Abol and cut out the old fogey's at Baxter. If people still want to hike to the top of Katahdin, they can keep right on going.

[Dan Roper]

The Pinhoti does have long road-walk stretches in excess of 20 miles. And finding ways to close those stretches is going to be challenging. The problem is that the trail crosses the Great Valley of northwest Georgia, which in the valleys has relatively sparse public land and not much that folks would enjoy backpacking. (But if you want a truly wonderful experience, do the 15-mile stretch from Snake Creek Gap to Dug Gap, west of Dalton, which is lovely and unspoiled...except for the roar of traffic from I-75 which is unceasing).

I like having the termini of the AT off a trailheads. It gives hikers time to decompress a bit when starting or completing the trail, without a zillion folks standing around by their cars, being noisy. I know Katahdin can be busy, but it's only busy with people who work hard to get to the top. They are part of the club, unlike the biker gangs and motorists that often turn places like Newfound Gap into something like Wal-Mart on steroids.

But I do, personally and privately and for more than 40 years, consider the Approach Trail part of the official AT. It's just part of my hiker DNA after much reading about the AT when I was a teenager. "I have to do the Approach Trail" became part of my own creed.

[FrogLevel]

Sure, why not?

[Sarcasm the elf]

never gonna happen

This... and it would have taken me four paragraphs to write the sams thing.

[rocketsocks]

“It’s all the same trail man”~ Janis Joplin












Fake news

[Singto]

If the terminuses or termini...ha!....get moved....make them far easier to access.

[FatMan]

Great idea. I am all for it as I am about to head out for my morning AT hike where already in mid Feb I will find throngs of thru hikers making the trail a muddy bog. And let's not forget the trash and TP blooms for a touch of color which of course add to the enjoyment of thru hiker season here in GA. I just can't wait for March & April as it gets so much better. Let Alabama hikers deal with this mess.

[LittleRock]

Can we put the first night's camping area in Nick Saban's back yard?

[Tennessee Viking]

Not going to happen. Too many roads, private land, and development on the Pinhoti trek.

I wouldn't mind Baxter end being moved to Cadillac Mtn/Champlain Mtn - Acadia NP if an appropriate corridor can be established. Or the supposed Katahdin Woods and Waters if created.

[Captain Blue]

I think the trail also misses Kentucky, right? Another Appalachian Mountain state.....

There are no Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky. The foothills of the Appalachian Mountainls aren't even in Kentucky. You've been drinking the media Kool Aid.

[D2maine]

I, too, think the AT should be extended south -- but only 8.8 miles to the Amicalola Visitor Center. I also think the northern terminus should be somewhere other than inside Baxter State Park so AT hikers need trouble the Baxter caretakers no more. A classy, modest terminus monument could be placed at the ATC-owned tentsite near Abol Bridge.

just foolish on both accounts. Baxter is not the enemy - hikers who are self entitled jerks are the issue.

[D2maine]

Not going to happen. Too many roads, private land, and development on the Pinhoti trek.

I wouldn't mind Baxter end being moved to Cadillac Mtn/Champlain Mtn - Acadia NP if an appropriate corridor can be established. Or the supposed Katahdin Woods and Waters if created.

Acadia is not part of the Appalachian chain...