Pinhoti trail guide?

[10-K]

For the Alabama Pinhoti you can do pretty good without a guide - it's AT caliber all the way to the trailhead south (west) of Cave Spring, GA - then the experience changes completely from the AL Pinhoti wooded single-track trail to a patchworks of trail, forest roads and paved roads that is the GA Pinhoti.

The big thing to know about the AL Pinhoti from Rebecca Mt to well into the next section is that it's dry as a bone. If you possibly can stash some water at Bulls Gap.

I agree with everything Dogwood has said - it's an easy hike if you're into short climbs and lower elevation. There were many miles where my hiking speed was as fast as I could walk.

[blisterbob]

Probably more than I have printed written description of the Pinhoti.
If the site and maps go down, I may be able to help from either memory
or what I have saved and printed for record.

[Matt65]

Here is a Youtube playlist that I have used several times before hiking a new section of the trail. Total time is about 1 hour 56 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...on-8MQKvlzJjAV

[goody5534]

Add Content

[speaker]

I know this thread is a couple months old, but I have been working on putting together a user-editable guide for the Pinhoti Trail (and other trails).

I have been contacted a few maintainers to provide more up-to-date information, and a few current hikers have also provided new info.

Please check it out: http://trailguidewiki.com/wiki/Pinhoti_Trail_Guide

I'm currently working on adding gpx tracks, maps, profiles, etc.

Any contributions are appreciated, and let me know how your hike goes.

[schlanky]

Based on a couple of the informal place names in the descriptions (Heaven, Chipmunk Canyon, etc), it looks to me like you copied the info from the Pinhoti Trail Alliance and pasted it into a different format. If that's what you did and you didn't get permission to do so, that's very much not cool.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[blisterbob]

Based on a couple of the informal place names in the descriptions (Heaven, Chipmunk Canyon, etc), it looks to me like you copied the info from the Pinhoti Trail Alliance and pasted it into a different format. If that's what you did and you didn't get permission to do so, that's very much not cool.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I have an email fwd. from speaker in which he states that he has permission to use info from PTA.

[SouthMark]

I have an email fwd. from speaker in which he states that he has permission to use info from PTA.

Bob, I am not sure but I do not think that Hugh is continuing to maintain the PTA site and he is no longer publishing and selling the book.

[speaker]

Based on a couple of the informal place names in the descriptions (Heaven, Chipmunk Canyon, etc), it looks to me like you copied the info from the Pinhoti Trail Alliance and pasted it into a different format. If that's what you did and you didn't get permission to do so, that's very much not cool.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hi Schlanky, Thanks for taking a look.

Much of the information is from Solo's original guide, altered based on additional information from my 2012 thru hike, and other data sources. Before I posted any of this, I contacted Solo, asking for permission, advice, etc, and received the following emailed response:

Hey speaker!


First, thanks for your interest in the Pinhoti!
Second, what's mine is yours.
Nice trail journal - good to see you out in the world. We only only have one life : )

Solo

Your concern is understandable, and I will clarify this on the guide. I probably could have done a better job with attribution, but it's still very much a work in progress.

The goal is to provide a better system for hikers to maintain the guides themselves. From the initial feedback I have received from hikers and maintainers, it seems to be going well, with a few minor kinks. This system should be workable for other trails as well, and I have contacted several other guide producers for feedback as well. The Pinhoti is definitely the trail program though, as publicly available information (ie, not copyright) is limited for other guides. I have initial skeleton guides up for some other areas, but tried to be clear about the level of trustworthyness for those guides (also a lot of information gathered from my own thru/section hikes).

Anyway, thanks for looking, and thanks for keeping me honest.
-speaker
http://trailguidewiki.com/wiki/Pinhoti_Trail_Guide

[blisterbob]

Bob, I am not sure but I do not think that Hugh is continuing to maintain the PTA site and he is no longer publishing and selling the book.

I think you are right.
I emailed Hugh in the spring and again last month asking him to remove Pinhoti Trailhead Shuttle from his website as shuttle providers and it is still listed.
Others have also been unable to contact him. Some that had his Phone # are getting a disconnect recording.
Many hikers from outside this area get their info there and are not aware of the changes since his last update.

[schlanky]

Thanks for the clarification, speaker and Blister Bob. After all the work that solo put into giving hikers info about the Pinhoti, I just didn't want to see someone using it without permission. If solo is no longer maintaining the site, it's probably good to have the info updated somewhere else.

You may want to add that there is a new trail shelter at Hawkins Hollow---it's close to the tent platform, but closer to the bridge in that same area if I remember correctly. Blister Bob can probably give better specifics than my recollection.

[al_stargazer]

Hi Speaker, Thanks for taking on the task of rewriting and offering a Pinhoti Trail guide. I was reading the first couple of sections and wanted to add some corrections if possible. The trail at 603A has been taken off the road and is completely a woods trail now. As you come up 603A, the road will split. The FS gate is on the left. If you go right, a parking area has been established just up the road. (Completed 9/2012). The Pinhoti Trail goes into the woods from here. The trail continues across Rebecca Mountain until it comes out on Hwy 148 (Bull Gap). Hikers cross the road here and continue onto Horn Mountain. I checked back on PTA and Solo still has it listed as a road walk. This is a great trail to explore. It begins in the lowland and gradually takes you up to the ridgeline where there are some wonderful fall/winter views. Two campsites have been established. Just wanted to share the changes with you. Thanks, Barbara

[al_stargazer]

Schlanky, There is a new shelter. It is very nice!! We ate lunch there back in May when we hiked this last section. It was miserable rainy day and we totally enjoyed getting out of the weather to eat lunch and rest for a while. I have a picture I'm gonna attached. My flash was on, so the white orbs you see are rain drops. :-)Attachment 25028

[speaker]

Hey al_stargazer and schlanky, Thanks for the new info.

What I hope is the really cool thing about how I have it set up is the fact that anyone can edit the guide (like wikipedia). That way, future hikers can provide more updates, just like you are here, but for years into the future. That way, if in five years I stop maintaining things, the guide can still be updated for the next hiker.

On that note, if you are willing to give it a shot, you can actually make the changes you are recommending, especially for the shelter. The roadwalk reroute might be a bit more complicated, and I have already been contacting local maintainers for accurate info on that. I currently have a gpx track for the Rebecca Mt section, so it's a work in progress.

Also, a recent thru hiker who used this guide mentioned the new shelter as well, but I haven't been able to get accurate info on that yet, so TBD.

Any and all hikers are welcome to contribute, and hopefully it will build a better guide overall (that's the goal at least). I'm currently working on other trails as well, but the Pinhoti guide is definitely the most complete, partially from updates from my hike, and largely from Solo's original data.

[Drybones]

FYI...there's a nice new shelter just north of Salem Church Road, even had a couple of chairs and lounge chair pads to sleep on if needed, nice water source at the shelter and a clear pond that looks like it would be a good swimming hole in warm weather.

[speaker]

Hi everyone, I was just able to change the guide for the Flagg Mountain section to reflect new trail (http://trailguidewiki.com/wiki/Pinhoti-S01). Thanks to all of the maintainers for getting rid of even more roadwalk, and thanks to those of you that have provided more input and fresh trail info.

@Drybones, do you have any more info on that shelter? I am vaguely remembering something like that, but I thought it was private property. That might have been on the BMT though. Any info is appreciated, and again, if you are willing, you can edit the guide yourself. If not, keep the updates coming, and I will change the guide as soon as possible.

Thanks again
-speaker

[schlanky]

Speaker--I think me, al-stargazer and Drybones are all talking about the same shelter. It's located right around your mile marker 166.56 in Section 13. Heading trail north after crossing Salem Church Road, you pass the pond just a little ways before reaching the shelter.

[speaker]

OK, I added that as 'Hawkin's Hollow Shelter (http://trailguidewiki.com/wiki/Hawki...Hollow_Shelter)

There is a lot of info that I don't know, capacity, gps coordinates, privy, etc, so if someone knows more about it than me, please edit that shelter page.

Also, @al_stargazer, would you mind if I use your image of the shelter for the page? It looks like your original attachment didn't quite work out.

Thanks everyone

[Mountain Dog]

Solo is a live and well, just not involved in hiking at this time. I heard from him about a year ago. He does not have a computer and only looks at his site occasionally when he gets to the library. He and his girl friend are building a house. They take all of their available time to work on it. He hopes to get back on the trail at a later time but as of now, he's out of the picture. I surely do miss his input. He was at the forefront of making the Pinhoti the wonderful trail it has become.

[al_stargazer]

I don't mind at all. Not sure what happened to the picture!! When I first uploaded it, I could see it. When I came back later, it wouldn't pull up. I will try again. :-) P5040692.jpg