trail report-----porters gap towards adams gap

[stevebo]

I took an overnight solo hike this past weekend.  I parked at Porters gap trailhead, and headed towards Adams gap.   I havnt added up my milage yet, but I made it  almost to the beginning of the rock garden, and then backtracked past 2nd rocky top and spent the night.  (there is a really nice campsite about a mile south of 2nd rocky top, with a pretty good stream running next to it.)   I had a nice stealth hammock site near there--thought I would leave the campsite for any tents that might show up. I have heard this is a very dry part of the trail,  and Im sure it usually is, but there was water all over the place this weekend!   ----lots of little springs.  I did notice that even between friday when I hiked in, and Saturday when I hiked back out, alot of the little springs had already dried up.  (I would imagine that this would be a really challenging trail in the summer, with the heat, and no water--combined wi;th lots of climbs etc.)   I  wasn't expecting much from this section of the trail, and basically just wanted to do it to add to my Pinhoti section hike milage , but I was completely blown away by its rugged beauty-------panoramic mountain views, rocky bluffs, deep coves etc----------wow, wow wow!---------I loved it!   (its definitely hammock country---flat tent sites are at a premium!)   There were so many interesting things to see------an old 1930s car wreck,   an old fire burn area which provided awesome views (to me it almost looked like something from the western US--not alabama!)   I saw deer, and there were turkeys roosting in the tree tops near my camp.  (and most strange of all, there was a black and white pony, apparently living in the woods, near 2nd rocky top)  The trail was in excellent shape and very well marked.   That night, as I was snuggled up nice and warm in my hammock, I looked up and could see both the moon and Orian overhead, I couldnt help but think, "how lucky can a guy get, all this beauty, and only 2 hours from home!"  The Pinhoti never ceases to amaze me---so much to see---------------it really is an amazing trail!  

[squidbilly]

Did you notice that the car still has door handles and chrome trim on the rear fenders? I can't believe somebody hasn't stripped those parts yet.

[stevebo]

  Yeah,  I did notice that--------(Im a  mechanic by trade----the first thing that popped into my mind was  "spare parts"--------the second thing was "e-bay" ! )    Any idea what kind of car that was, and how it  ended up in its current position and location?   
   

[squidbilly]

No, I don't.  Wish I had taken pix.

[Acree]

Awesome trail description, Stevebo.  I'm about to hike that piece for the first time myself and was just searching the web for descriptions of said piece.  I'll take a few pics of that car and post them here and see if anyone can identify the make/model.

[DavidR]

I'm about to hike that piece for the first time myself and was just searching the web for descriptions of said piece.

Description of said piece here