Pinhoti, Bald Rock, Cheaha SP loop

[blisterbob]

7:00 AM 10-26-11,54 degrees, severe clear, Cheaha SP conv. store parking lot.

We only met 1 car on The 1/4 mile road walk N. on 281 to the road crossing of the Pinhoti.
As we started on the trail, the rising Sun was trying to burn through the Atlanta pollution
giving it about the same color as the red maple leaves. This 2 miles to the Blue Mtn.
shelter only had 1 good source of water about 1/2 way. the trail was marked well and
only had a couple blow downs that required careful crossing.
I am not an advocate of 'stay on the trail', but  someone has bushwhacked a trail in a place
where the Pinhoti makes a left turn and so the tendency is to keep going straight and this
is about 1/4 mile before the shelter. I still would rather do an occasional back track than to
have more rules.
We stopped at the shelter to have some fruit and  a break. The shelter was clean and
vacant. When I came through here before it was occupied, so I didn't notice the loft...NICE.
1/4 mile past the shelter is the intersection of Bald Rock trail and it is marked with a sign
as well as flags. The 1/2 mile to the boardwalk at Bald Rock is all uphill, well trodden, and
marked with flags and a few old blue triangles. the climb is gradual enough that we only
stopped a couple times for a breather.
We noticed the flags ended about 100' downhill from the boardwalk overlook and there were
several other short paths in this area, making it a little problematic to those doing a clockwise
hike.
We walked the 1500' boardwalk and the road walk up past the CCC tower and down to the
SP restaurant. One advantage to starting a hike as the Sun is just rising is the early morning
quiet and another is to get to the restaurant after your hike while they still have the breakfast
buffet. I did a good job of replenishing the calories I used on the 4 mile, 3 hour loop.
Easy to moderate hike and most folks could/would do it faster.

Next week; Cave Creek, Pinhoti loop

bb&ss

[Firedog]

Nice report Blisterbob. Thanks.

[stevebo]

  Great trail report---thanks!  One question........ .....from the store parking lot, how long a walk is it to the beginning of the boardwalk? 

[blisterbob]

  Great trail report---thanks!  One question........ .....from the store parking lot, how long a walk is it to the beginning of the boardwalk? 

A rough guess would be  3/4 to 1 mile and that in itself has some terrific views.

[fungi]

7:00 AM 10-26-11,54 degrees, severe clear, Cheaha SP conv. store parking lot.

......We walked the 1500' boardwalk and the road walk up past the CCC tower and down to the
SP restaurant. One advantage to starting a hike as the Sun is just rising is the early morning
quiet and another is to get to the restaurant after your hike while they still have the breakfast
buffet.

do they have the buffet everyday during the week and what time do they stop serving?  sounds like a great idea and a lot better than some instant grits or oatmeal.

[squidbilly]

Oh yeah!  I didn't realize they have a breakfast buffet. 

Cheaha State Park

[blisterbob]

Mon. 2/13/12 47 degrees, cloudy 10:30 AM Cave Creek/Pinhoti TH

The 2 blow downs on the way to Blue Mtn. shelter has been on my bucket list since shadowsue and I did this loop in Oct.
Today, I had some trail maintenance help in the person of 'lakelandtrail' to clear the obstacles of concern. I had mixed
emotions about someone clearing these 2 trees across the trail that were difficult to cross. I am happy that someone else
took the initiative to take care of the problem, but I lugged my chain saw out there for nothing.
The Pinhoti to the Bald Rock trail and to Bald Rock is clear.

Lakelandtrail, an honored guest in our home for a few days, to his credit;
2 AT thru hikes
1 PCT thru hike
1 CDT thru hike
Now 1/4 way for a thru hike on the 5400 Mi. ECT
Follow his current adventure on trailjournals.co m ECT 2012