Thanks for the input---especially about the snakes. Gotta love the reptiles. They put the "wild" in wilderness. I call them the Grizzlies of the Southeast---because they are one of the few things that can kill me.
Regarding the Cohut---I've done the Dally--Jacks--Penitentiary Loop several times. There are 18 Jacks crossings from Dally down to P.T.---but I like doing it clockwise because P.T. going up IS NOT a beast---at least I didn't find it bad even with my ginormous pack. The other advantage going down the Jacks is getting all those crossings over in the beginning in case you're caught in a rainstorm and the river gets too high to cross safely---one of my backpacking fears---High Water Crossings.
Do you plan on getting to the P.T./Jacks area and finding a campsite below Jacks River Falls somewhere by the Rice Camp crossing? The reason I ask is because there's an awesome secret campsite just down river from the P.T. jct---just hike past the giant campsite and on the left is a higher ledge CS and then beyond you cross a little side creek and up on the right (before you cross the Jacks to the Rough Ridge side) is this "secret" CS. Check it out.
Trip 197 (242)-XL.jpg
This is one of the campsites in the big Camping area where Penal Trail jcts the Jacks.
Trip 197 (245)-XL.jpg
When I first got to the Penal/Jacks CS this is what the Jacks looked liked---it's the first crossing leaving camp and heading up to Dally Gap. It would be Crossing 18 if you're coming down from Dally Gap.
Trip 197 (270)-XL.jpg
Here's the weird part---as I was camping on the Penal side of the Jacks (the correct side if you need to bail out on Pentitentiary)---a big rainstorm hit that night and in the morning this is what happened to the Jacks---the same crossing as my above pic. Watch out, boys.
Trip 197 (240)-XL.jpg
Anyway, here's the P.T. trailpost on the Jacks.