Hiked Cheaha for first time

[tcbonline]

Hi All,

I did an overnighter in the Cheaha Wilderness area for the first time this past weekend and thought I would give a short trip report. First, the weather was pretty tough. It was a lot colder than expected and the wind on Sunday night was just brutal! I camped along the Pinhoti  and the wind reeked havoc with my tent all night long. I survived though... my tent barely. The other thing that was quite eye opening was the Pinhoti itself through this area. Wow talk about rough. I felt like I was walking on dry creek beds all day, rocks everywhere! I just kept thinking to myself, this is a trail? All I see are rocks! Heh. Anyway, I put in way more miles than I had planned because of some missed connector trails. I ended up hiking all over the place. I went from Nubbin Creek, up near the Cheaha Trailhead, back down to Adams Gap, then to High Falls (don't ask ... then back up Odom Trail to Nubbin Creek Again. Needless to say when I got home I could barely walk. I've never been more exhausted in my life. It was a classic case of biting off more than I could chew (not necessarily what I had planned) and just not knowing the area very well, but I made it and learned a good deal from the experience. Below is link to a few pics from my trip. Quality isn't that good since I took them on my camera phone, but you get the idea. Now let me go ice these withered stumps I call legs...

http://www.flickr.com/pho...4/sets/72157604354957620/

[cwhiker]

Thanks for sharing I enjoyed the photos it makes me want to go I haven't done any hiking in that area.

[Lostsheep]

For a camera phone, I'd say your pictures turned out pretty good. Thanks for sharing.

[MoBill122]

I think I remember touching every one of those rocks a couple of weeks ago !   LOL

Go from the other direction next time, then they all look different from the first time.

[Mountain Dog]

Don't give up on the Pinhoti.  The Pinhoti trail base changes significantly in different sections.  The Pinhoti on Cheah mountain, Blue Mountain shelter south to Adams is very rocky.  The northern section of the old section 8 area has a section that is very rocky.  Otherwise, the trail base is pretty good south of Cheaha.  The sections north of Cheaha are like a different trail when compared to the Cheaha mountain.  The trail base is not rocky by mountain standards.

[tcbonline]

Thanks for the encouragement, Mountain Dog. I definitely want to check out different sections of the Pinhoti. Heading for Cheaha for my first time out might not have been the wisest thing for me to do. I felt a bit short-changed actually because I struggled over rocks all day, and I couldn't even enjoy the overlooks when I got there because it was so foggy! One day I'll be back on a bluebird clear day and enjoy the views.