Hiking the Pinhoti

[Dogwood]

Some great hiking on the PT. Lots of excellent pics. Drybones good shots. Nice shot of the lily Schlanky. Yeah that Lower Shoals Shelter is nice. I stayed at the new shelter in the one pic before it was finished on a rainy night. Glad that the roof was on. lots of good things happening on the PT, especially in AL. Always glad to have you chime in Blister Bob.

[blisterbob]

Schlanky,
My wife and I hiked in to Davis Mtn. shelter on a Sat. PM from 278 early in the Spring,
had a very enjoyable evening at the shelter and the plus side of that clear cut area is
the good long distance views and I especially enjoy them at night around a campfire
even if it's no more than the headlights of autos on 278.
On Sun. we spent the day cutting the weeds with a trimmer, larger trees (mostly deadfalls)
with a chain saw, re-blazing on rocks where no trees were and building small carins where
the trail left the road. Until tree re-growth creates a canopy this half mile or so will need
attention more than once a season to keep the PT easily navigated.
In 2012 I had many reports of hikers getting off the trail in this area, even one of the
more experienced thru hikers that frequently posts on WB, so don't beat yourself up too
badly for your experience.

[schlanky]

Hi BB. I could tell that some blazes had been added since my last hike. That area between the creek going trail north approaching the shelter was definitely much easier to navigate than my last trip there in 2009. Thanks for your work there. I imagine this isn't an easy area to maintain--particularly in that stretch beyond the shelter where I got off the trail. Had you not made the painted cairn at the turn off the road, it's very unlikely that I would have located the trail again and would have had to turn back.

I think anyone who has hiked on the Pinhoti long enough has made the same kind of mistake that I made at some point or another, and 99% of the time, you look back after the fact and realize that the clues were there--you just didn't pay enough attention to them.

[schlanky]

I got out last Saturday and hiked out and back from the 278 Trailhead near Piedmont over to the County Road 70 crossing. After the rough trip on my previous section, this was a welcomed easy section. I walked the 12 miles this trip an hour and a half faster than I walked 10 miles on my previous trip.

I left the trailhead at 6:20 a.m. With temperatures in the low 50s, I could see my breath and it was nippy enough that I wished I'd brought my glove liners. Early morning is my favorite time to hike. With great temperatures that topped out in the mid-70s and clear skies, it had me wishing I was doing an overnighter.

My only wildlife sightings were three turkeys along the top of Augusta Mine Ridge. I spotted two flying off a good bit ahead of me and stopped to watch. When I stopped walking, another took off from a tree directly overhead. It startled the daylights out of me.

This section of trail is in great shape. There is one pretty big blowdown near CR 70 with a tree top across the path. From CR 70, it's a little beyond the first big switchback.

[Matt65]

Excellent trip report. I certainly enjoyed the temps this past weekend, and thought how nice it would be on the trail. Glad to know someone made it out there.

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[schlanky]

I made it back out yesterday to hike the section between CR 70 up to the ridge crossing of Oakey Mountain. Had perfect weather. Hoped for some wildlife views, but had none this trip. The songbirds were out and about though.

There are some blowdowns here and there to duck under, but nothing too difficult. If anyone goes to the Oakey shelter anytime soon, the log book there needs to be replaced. All the pages have been torn out of the existing book, so it's just a handful of loose pages.

There have been some horses on the trail between CR 70 and CR 94. No trail damage--just some poop on the trail.

Although I can't hike the next couple of weekends, I can't wait for my trip up the other side of Oakey. Oakey is probably my favorite section of the Pinhoti, with that stretch going into Georgia being a close 2nd.

[GreenPackin']

It's nice to see a Pinhoti Section here on WhiteBlaze. I'll be solo hiking sections 10 through 13 in the next few weeks (unless someone wants to join me). Haven't decided on an exact date yet. Anything special I need to know about trail conditions?

[Drybones]

I went to Adams Gap Friday with intent of taking the Skyway Trail off the Pinhoto to Hubbard Creek, camping there Friday night and continuing on Sturday to the Silent Trail and taking it to Turnipseed Campground where 25-30 folks would be doing a night hike. Had to change plans, Skyway and Silent were closed until 9/30/13, I believe there was a slide.

[Ewker]

looks like the National Forest is shutting down also. I just got this email

Hello Friends,


I want to inform you of a couple of things in regards to the government shutdown. As of today, we will be closing our offices for the National Forests in Alabama. We have been instructed to inform our volunteers that as of today, we are not authorized to allow volunteer activity on the National Forest. Now I realize that seems odd…you may ask, why would we turn down free help? Here’s why it is important….as you know, anytime anyone volunteers on the National Forest, we require a volunteer form be completed. This protects our volunteers in case of injury. Currently, we cannot cover anyone for any type of operation on the National Forest. So please, if you have any work days or other activities planned on the national forest, please postpone them until we get back up and running.


We have also been instructed to close all developed campgrounds and recreation areas. Within 48 hours we will be asking people to leave the campgrounds and we will shut the gates. The Pinhoti Trail and other areas of the forest that do not require a fee will be left open to the public. There will be no trash pickup, bathroom cleaning, or any other activity while we are shut down. If there is an emergency, as always, please call 911 or your local Sheriff’s Office.

[bhgant]

So I guess my plans to take the family down the Chinnabee will have to change. Was looking forward to it as the trail was supposed to open yesterday. Any recommendations for an easy overnighter as I will bringing my 8 and 11 year old. I was planning on us hiking to the Cheaha Falls shelter and spending the night there or down by the falls area. Thank you for any suggestions you might have.

[Ewker]

The Pinhoti trail is still open, just the campgrounds are closed. You should be able to stay at the shelter

[flemdawg1]

Pinhoti is still open, as is Cheaha SP, just can't go to the FS campgrounds.

[Drybones]

Pinhoti is still open, as is Cheaha SP, just can't go to the FS campgrounds.

How do you close a self service campground like Turnipseed or Pine Glen, there's no one there ever anyway...that's what's good about them.

[Drybones]

So I guess my plans to take the family down the Chinnabee will have to change. Was looking forward to it as the trail was supposed to open yesterday. Any recommendations for an easy overnighter as I will bringing my 8 and 11 year old. I was planning on us hiking to the Cheaha Falls shelter and spending the night there or down by the falls area. Thank you for any suggestions you might have.

I see no reason you couldn't still go to the Falls, there's nothing to close.

[bhgant]

Just came across this - http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5437809.pdf

Apparently the trails around Chinnabee Lake Campground are closed till the end of November now. Letter was signed September 25th.

[atmilkman]

Just came across this - http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5437809.pdf

Apparently the trails around Chinnabee Lake Campground are closed till the end of November now. Letter was signed September 25th.

According to that it sounds like you can still do the loop of the Pinhoti, Chinnabee, and Skyway or vise-versa.

[JBEN]

IMG_1133.jpg
My addition to this thread...
Beautiful McDill point in early October.

[blisterbob]

NICE ONE JBen,
Probably the most photographed scene on the Pinhoti.

[Olustee bus]

I was hiking there one day and a friend with me came up to this. He shook his head and as he was walking away, he said "Pack it in, pack it out". It was very funny at the time.

Less and less of the plane Crash debris remains as years go back. I think most of it has become a souvenir for those passing by. Take the Cheaha TH towards McDill Point. Just before McDill there will be a connector trail to the Right out to the crash site.











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[Matt65]

Less and less of the plane Crash debris remains as years go back. I think most of it has become a souvenir for those passing by. Take the Cheaha TH towards McDill Point. Just before McDill there will be a connector trail to the Right out to the crash site.











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I took another trip out to McDill Point today. The amount of trail maintenance post-ice storm was impressive. Thanks to all the maintainers. One sections reminded of a summer job I used to have loading pine mulch.

The pics above were taken Nov. 12, 2011. I did notice that the airplane wreckage continues to migrate away from the crash site. I found a total of 3 places with parts of the plane. Images from the hike below.

























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