A Walk to Maine, Part One: Connecting to the Appalachian Trail
Summary: Alabama & Georgia Pinhoti Trail and the Tennesse Section of the BMT.
Information about the Pinhoti Trail can be found on their website here.
The Pinhoti Trail
A Southeast Region Appalachian Trail Connector
The Pinhoti Trail ~ pin-hoe-tee
The 335 mile Pinhoti National Recreation Trail / Millennium Legacy Trail is a continuous point to point hiking trail that travels through nearly equal measures of high rocky ridges, stream filled gorges and quiet hollows along the final southern reaches of the Appalachian Mountains from east central Alabama to northwest Georgia. In Alabama it is almost entirely in the Talladega National Forest, Alabama's Forever Wild Land Trust. In Georgia it is mostly in the Chattahoochee National Forest and on private land easements with roughly 25 miles of road walk in 2008.
In 2008 the trailhead was ten miles east of Slyagua at Bull Gap. The Pinhoti southern terminus is now in east central Alabama at Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka, which is known for being the last southern Appalachian mountain that rises above 1000 feet. Tannehill State Park located south of Birmingham claims to be the Southern Most Terminus of the Appalachian Mountians. For the record, I have been to the absolute southern point of the Appalachians while kayaking the 631 mile Alabama Scenic River Trail in 2009.
The Pinhoti northern terminus is in north west Georgia near Blue Ridge, about 11 miles south of Tennessee, where it intersects with the Benton MacKaye Trail around mile 70.
Hiking east 70 miles on the BMT will put you at Springer Mountain, the current southern terminus of the famous Appalachian Trail.
I continued north about 125 miles on the BMT to connect with the Appalichian Trail at the Fontanna Shelter in North Carolina.
A Southeast Region Appalachian Trail Connector
The Pinhoti Trail ~ pin-hoe-tee
The 335 mile Pinhoti National Recreation Trail / Millennium Legacy Trail is a continuous point to point hiking trail that travels through nearly equal measures of high rocky ridges, stream filled gorges and quiet hollows along the final southern reaches of the Appalachian Mountains from east central Alabama to northwest Georgia. In Alabama it is almost entirely in the Talladega National Forest, Alabama's Forever Wild Land Trust. In Georgia it is mostly in the Chattahoochee National Forest and on private land easements with roughly 25 miles of road walk in 2008.
In 2008 the trailhead was ten miles east of Slyagua at Bull Gap. The Pinhoti southern terminus is now in east central Alabama at Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka, which is known for being the last southern Appalachian mountain that rises above 1000 feet. Tannehill State Park located south of Birmingham claims to be the Southern Most Terminus of the Appalachian Mountians. For the record, I have been to the absolute southern point of the Appalachians while kayaking the 631 mile Alabama Scenic River Trail in 2009.
The Pinhoti northern terminus is in north west Georgia near Blue Ridge, about 11 miles south of Tennessee, where it intersects with the Benton MacKaye Trail around mile 70.
Hiking east 70 miles on the BMT will put you at Springer Mountain, the current southern terminus of the famous Appalachian Trail.
I continued north about 125 miles on the BMT to connect with the Appalichian Trail at the Fontanna Shelter in North Carolina.
| Marker Legend | |
|---|---|
| example: 090715-W007-*** | |
| 09 | YEAR |
| 07 | MONTH |
| 15 | DATE |
| W | DAY OF WEEK |
| 007 | DAYS INTO TRIP |
| *** | Location |
|
*** Waypoint Names
ASW - Alabama Seasonal Water ARW - Alabama Reliable Water GSW - Georgia Seasonal Water GRW - Georgia Reliable Water Funny looking parital Names are likely to be geocaches along or near the trail Names that look like dates are likely campsites used in 2008 Other Names are road or trail marks Funny looking deviations off the trail are to trail towns for resupply | |
| Travel Up River |
| Travel Down River |
| Toward Final Take-Out |