Trip Report: Three Sections of the Pinhoti Trail

Thomas and I completed the first three sections of the Pinhoti Trail  yesterday morning.  We arrived at the trailhead on Flagg Mountain at about 7PM Sunday evening and hiked two miles to the Weogufka Creek shelter -- very, very nice.  We did have to climb the hill behind the shelter several hundred yards to get enough cell reception to check in with significant others, but that wasn't too bad.  The creek at the bottom of the hill was running very well.

Monday we woke up early to tackle the whole road walk.  It was very cold -- below freezing -- and there was frost on my sleeping bag where I had been breathing on it all night.  I was very comfy with my new Jarbidge River underquilt, and hated to get out.  After a chilly pack-up, we left the campsite about 8AM and started toward the Trammell trailhead, 17.6 miles away, most of which was on paved, public roads.  The trail seemed to dip up and down more than might have been necessary.  "PUDs", or Pointless Ups and Downs, is a serious charge to throw against someone's hard work, but here it seemed to apply.  Eventually the trail hit a dirt road and we followed it down the mountain, across a huge clearing, and into the woods again.  I really enjoyed this part, especially where the road went through the woods at the bottom of the mountain.  Soon, though, the trail left the road again and cut across to County Road 56.  We were on roads the rest of the day.

Our favorite part by far was "downtown" Weogufka.  Caperton's Old South Store was closed, and Thomas was disappointed.  We were greeted by a nice lady as we passed Weogufka Second Baptist, and by various dogs along the way.  The traffic was not too bad, except for one or two people whom I hope were racing to the hospital, because they passed us very close and very, very fast.

We made it to the Dollar General by 1PM, and I was starting to form a blister on the ball of my foot.  We stopped for water and shoe inserts.  Everyone was nice, even though we must have looked pretty scary, with our hair all wild and our stuff scattered across the sidewalk.  We took about a 30 minute break while I cut my new inserts to size and got them arranged.  After dumping our trash we started on the second section.

Crossing 280 wasn't too bad, though it could have been better.  We passed Bethlehem UMC and talked about stopping to see if we could pull the Methodist card and charge our phones, but we were making good time and didn't want to stop.  Someone in a pickup truck stopped to ask us if we were hiking the trail, and we talked to him for a minute.  A little ways on we stopped to eat some jerky in front of a large field with a pond and several old structures.  Thomas loved the old Chevy pickup parked over against the trees.  We noticed our friend from earlier out knocking a golf ball around in his yard.  He spoke again as we passed him.

By the time we got to Joy Lake, we were exhausted and had had enough, but we still had three more miles.  Those were the three longest miles I've ever walked.  We finally reached the National Forest and could breathe easier; now we had a place to camp if we needed.  But our water stash was still ahead, and we wanted to get as close to it as possible.  By the seventeenth mile, however, we'd more than had enough, and we ended up camping within TNF but about half a mile from the Trammell trailhead.  We picked the spot specifically because we had decent cell service.  We didn't even eat dinner, but talked to our people and went to sleep.  This was my second night out, officially making this the longest trip I've ever undertaken.

Tuesday took us up and over the various peaks of Rebecca Mountain.  We were curious why the trail zig-zags across relatively flat ground through the first mile or so.  I was sorely tempted get a compass bearing and cut straight across.  Then, up and down and up and down and up and down again, pointlessly.  We did climb over four peaks, but there were sections built along the side of the mountain that just seemed to yo-yo for no discernable purpose.  Another annoyance, though no one can possibly help it, was the way leaves get caught and pile up in the trailbed.  Walking through heavy leaves is tiring (think walking through sand) and since the trail is rocky, I nearly turned my ankle several times when I stepped on a loose rock I couldn't see.  This slowed us down a lot.  There were some beautiful views, though.  Our favorite part of that section is around the 2 mile mark, where we're following the FS road and there's a small stream in the hollow below.  Very picturesque.  We ended up "white blazing" (I guess? Since the trail blazes are blue?) along Ridge Road for a mile or so instead of slogging through the long pile of leaves that is the trail.  After nine miles of up and down and up and down, I'd had enough so we camped just off of Ridge Road, uphill from White Gap.  We could see the forest fires down in the valley to the north, and the next morning we could hear the fly down cackles of the turkeys in the valley to the south.

I had a Backpackers Pantry meal, Chicken Vindaloo, that we'd never tried, so we ate that for supper.  It was really spicy and really good.  I used Thomas' last quart of water to make sweet tea for the next day.  We talked to loved ones again, and went to sleep.  The wind was blowing strongly from the south, so I didn't put up my tarp -- figuring we wouldn't have any dew that night.

I was wrong.  Sadly, horribly wrong.

The dew was heavier than I've seen in a while.  And it wet our sleeping bags -- including my down bag -- enough that I had to end the hike.

We were already running short on water, and with a cold front and rain on the way we decided to call for a pick up at Bull Gap.  I was worried enough already because we'd gone about half as fast as I'd planned on Tuesday, and that put us in danger of having to dry camp a third night in a row.  With section 4 being very demanding for us, I knew that 1mph pace was about to drop.  The wet insulation we could have overcome, but the weather forecast was for a cold front and rain.  It was a hard decision, but we chose to end the hike.  We still had to hike 3 miles to the trailhead and our water, though, so we got going.

We hiked the three miles over the four peaks in about three hours.  Each of the four peaks would have made great places to camp, especially since we hammock, though aside from the small stream the day before this whole section was dry as a bone.  Each of the four peaks had great views both north and south.  It really is a beautiful place to hike and camp.

The last mile or so of trail was especially beautiful and easy to walk as it wound down the mountain to Bull Gap.  We got to the bottom, grabbed our stash of water, and waited for our ride.

Today we've made a list of things to leave home next time.  We'll do section 4, which is 18 miles (the first 14 of which are dry) sometime later in the spring or perhaps late summer.  I've also made notes to my trail guide for next time.  Pack weight was a problem.  I carried too much food, and I let a couple things slip into the pack that should have stayed home.

The bits we hated were the pointless climbs and the leaves on the trail.  The leaves can't be fixed, and I suppose the PUDs can't be, either.  If ever we re-hike Section 3 we'll use Ridge Road instead of the trailbed for its entire distance.


The bits we loved were the scenic views, "downtown" Weogufka, and watching the shooting stars, satellites, and crossing airplanes at night.

Today it's cold and rainy, and I'm kind of glad we didn't have to deal with that.  It's one thing when everything's dry and you can work to keep it that way.  But when you head into cold, rainy weather with wet gear it gets dicey.

In all we did 31.1 miles over 8 peaks in 24 hours of hiking -- a little over 1.25 miles per hour -- though the road walk was definitely faster.  Not bad.

We are ready for the next one.  Soon!