Bulls Gap to Porters Gap 4/17-4/18

[dogwood]

My brother-in-law and i completed this section Saturday afternoon.  We started Friday afternoon a little after 1pm, hiked 8 miles from Bulls Gap to a campsite a mile or so past Sherman Cliffs.  The trail was a nice hike, with a not-too-steep grade, then fairly level trail.  The scenery was beautiful, and the trail was well-made, in most areas.  Pretty dry, though!  The campsite was at the end of an overgrown Forest Service road(detailed in the trail guide).  The site had a concrete foundation, and must have had a shed or tower on it, at one time.  The trail from the campsite to below the fire tower was nice, also.  It was well-made, with a nice grade and level walking surface.  We weren't able to find the side trail to the tower, and didn't necessarily want to do the uphill climb to it.  Past the power line crossing in that area, there had been a controlled burn for a few acres.  Wormy's pulpit was nice, except for all the graphiti there.  Too bad that folks think the lovely rocks needed painting.  At the road crossing past the microwave tower, we heard a truck and stopped to talk to a couple of ladies asking us about trail conditions(if that was any of you guys, on the forum, thanks for the chat and asking if we needed anything!).  The switchbacks down the mountain were nice, going south to north, but i'd hate to climb them in the opposite direction!  We planned to camp at Scott Lake on Saturday night, but heard rumors of thunderstorms, so we decided to hike on out.  The cascades at the lake were beautiful, and we took an extended lunch there.  There were several blowdowns between the lake and hwy 77, so we had to walk around/step-through, at times.  Sore feet and shoulders aside, this was on of my most favorite sections of the Pinhoti!  The scenery was beautiful, and the trail well-made, well-maintained, and fairly moderate in difficulty.  The only drawback was the lack of water for the first 14 miles. 

[Firedog]

Sounds like a great time. I wish I could've tagged along. I spent Friday on the Mulberry with some friends from Miss. It was a great time also.

[dogwood]

I've heard that the Mullberry Fork is a good trip.  As far as hiking, you'd probably love the section we took.  It's a great hike!

[Firedog]

I bought my wife new gear but have yet got her on an overnighter. You know hot rollers and all. We have done a few day hikes and she enjoyed it fairly well. She is still apprehensive about a tent in the woods. I keep telling her we are not in the smokies and there are no bears. That doesn't seem to console her very much. I need another female to convince her it's fun I guess. We car camped a few times when we first got married with some friends but that was about 18 years ago and she froze and was miserable so it didn't leave a good impression. I'll keep working on her. Me and my son are going to the Nantahala this weekend for paddling an overnighter. The mountains should be blooming and should be a great time. Carl W.

[DeShazo]

Dogwood, if I would have read this post prior to this past weekend I would have carried more water with me. Oh well, live and learn, especially the live part. Sounds like you had as good of a time as I had.

[dogwood]

We both enjoyed the Bulls to Porter's Gap section.  The scenery was varied, and the terrain wasn't too difficult to manage.  The camping spots were good - the only drawback was lack of water sources.  I've been trying to section hike the Pinhoti since the later 80's, and have managed everything from Bull's Gap to Rabbittown road(Cty 55).  From there, i've done Hwy 278 to Hawkin's Hollow. They just keep adding more and more trail before i can finish...

[luke724]

This is my first post on this site. My girlfriend and I are planning on trying to to do this section Sat. and Sun this weekend. I am trying to lower the weight in my pack before then. I suppose I will be carrying more water than anticipated. My main concern was the difficulty of the section, and making eighteen miles in two days. We are planning on doing the pinhoti in sections on the weekends. I noticed somewhere that there is a group hike on the same weekend, maybe we will see you guys out there. Do we need to check in with the forestry commission before we start the hike?

[Mountain Dog]

I appreciate the trip report.  It is always good to find out about trail conditions.  I believe with the exception of a couple of beautifyul overlooks on Cheaha, winter hiking on Rebecca and Bull is as good as it gets on the Pinhoti.

[dogwood]

I'd love to hike this section again!  It was pretty tough for a two day hike, but well worth it.  I usually either sign in at the register at the trailhead(don't remember there being one, on this section), or contact the forest service and just let them know i'm out there.  The number is on the back on the maps.  If you don't have one, you can probably check on the internet.  Overall, it's probably a WISE idea to let them know that you're out there.  Also, be sure to wear hunter's orange during this season.

[luke724]

It appears that one could drop some water off of the dirt road intersection near sherman cliffs before the hike. 

[johnm1014]

The two times I have hiked this section I started at Bull Gap and went 11.8 miles to Kenny's Camp where I stashed water and other supplies a few days before.  Refer to the PTA web site section 4 snailtrail map.  Kenny's Camp is easily accessible from FS road 600-1 at the last point the trail crosses it before heading down to Scott Lake, about a five minute walk in from where you would park.

[JC785]

Thanks for the info, this might be a upcoming trip as well. The next time I'm hoping to get out is new years.

[luke724]

With all of the rain that we have had this week, do you guys think the creek crossing will be swift and deep? I am not really all that concerned, but the people going with me aren't very tall. lol

[DavidR]

With all of the rain that we have had this week, do you guys think the creek crossing will be swift and deep? I am not really all that concerned, but the people going with me aren't very tall. lol

I just got back from hiking Bulls Gap to shortly before Rock Gardens. If you're talking about the creek crossing at Scott Cascades (its the only crossing I saw), it was a little tricky to get across. Keep in mind that I hiked it in a severe rain storm. I actually went up the South side of the cascades and walked across the cascades back to the trail. The creek below the cascades didn't look doable without getting above knee deep. Hope this helps. I'll be posting my report asap.  

[luke724]

The rain cancelled our trip Sat., but we decided to do a out and back Sun. It must have rained a couple of inches on the mountain Sat., there were sounds of rushing water during our entire hike. The fog was very thick in some places and not so bad in others. I only encountered two large blowdowns within the 6 miles we hiked. We didn't get to enjoy the view, but we startled some wild turkey around the three mile mark. The trail is very nice and like David said, don't try to drive a car down the dirt road. We saw a couple of people in small trucks driving the FS600 road and later heard gunshots (I am glad we were draped in orange). Overall we enjoyed the trail and we will be going back to complete this section when weather permits. From the pics you guys have posted, I can't wait to see the views. Did I mention it was Foggggy.... the pine tree section was like walking through sleepy hollow.