Current water conditions...

[Phreak]

Can anyone advise on the current or typical water conditions between Pine Glen Campground and Porters Gap?  Planning a long trail run next Saturday but not familiar with access to water on this stretch.

Thanks!
Brian

[squidbilly]

http://www.alatrails.com/...dex.php/topic,2589.0.html]Here you go[/url]

[Phreak]

Thanks Squid but I'm unable to view the link... gives me an error msg.  Will try the link from my desktop later.  Might be an issue with my wife's laptop.

[squidbilly]

Sorry about that. I can't seem to make it work either. I was trying to direct you to a post I made last week.  See the child boards at the top of General discussion page. Click on Pinhoti Trail, thread on Section 9.

[Phreak]

Ok, figured out the issue... the link starts with http://http://....  I removed one of the http:// and it works fine.  Thanks again - looks like I'll be out there for a long run this Saturday.

[squidbilly]

Sometimes you just can't tell. Last Sunday we went for a hike in the Dugger Mtn Wilderness near Jones Branch. The branch was dry with a few stagnant looking pools here and there. Farther upstream we found two small tributaries that were actually flowing, but you would never know by the looks of Jones Branch. The water flowed in and soaked into the dry creekbed!

[squidbilly]

Water!

[Phreak]

Ok, last question... can anyone advise on how well this stretch of trail is marked?  Daytime is not an issue but wondering if it's marked well enough for night running.

Thanks!

[dogwood]

Phreak, we hiked a large portion of this section last November - in fact, it was the same day as the 36hr, 100-mi challenge.  Are you participating in that?  If so, last year they marked the trail in quite a few sections with small flags.  Most of the trail is marked fairly well, but might be hard to see in some areas at night(especially the rocky areas near the top).

[Phreak]

Hey Dogwood,
Yes, I'm training for the Pinhoti 100 Mile trail run and was planning a long training run for this Saturday.  But not sure if it would be beneficial if I have trouble following the trail at night. 

[squidbilly]

We have hiked almost all of the Northern Pinhoti from Jackson Chapel Trailhead to Cheaha Trailhead, except for the section that crosses I-20. For the most part, the trail is obvious and easy to follow. In early fall all the summer growth is still around. Combine that with less hiking in the summer and you have some areas that are overgrown right now. There are places where you could lose the trail at night, especially if you are running. It's usually pretty easy to backtrack and find where you misstepped.  One place we lost the trail a couple of weeks ago was just South of Pine Glen along Shoal Creek of all places! A dirt road crosses the trail just before you reach a big field. Don't follow the old roadbed into the field, the trail goes left somewhere there and ascends the hill to the East of the field. We walked into the field, so we just climbed the hill to rejoin the trail. Another sketchy area might be crossing Dugger Mountain: along the ridge before it drops into Jones Valley gets pretty grown up.