Pinhoti Trip Reports

[Mountain Dog]

I've hiked all sections of the Ala Pinhoti.  I made trip reports related to what I saw by increments of time I hiked, not mileage.  They are posted on other forums, http://www.alatrails.com/...4834837f7cfd5cb00249c0708 , but I will post them here if there is any interest.  The information is basically about water and difficulty, not about the beauty of the trail.

[Woody]

I would love to see that information! I am planning on thru hiking the Pinhoti later this year hopefully and that would be a great help. I looked around a little over there but did not see your stuff right off. Please excuse my lazyness. Thanks!

[Mountain Dog]

The reports are not there now.  That board was hacked a couple of times and Lee did a great job of republishing entries after each hack. Some of my postings survived and others seem to have disappeared.  You are the only one showing interest and the total is lengthy so I do not want to tie up this forum with them.. I'll  send you something on the side.  Mt section trip reports are old but except for a few sections, they remain valid because the mountains have not changed.  You need to factor the following into your plans.
1..The trail from Rabbit Town (Burns TH) road to the Pinhoti/Jones Branch Rd intersection was covered in trees last year.  Jones Branch RD is good rout around.  The rd starts just west of Pink e Burns homestead and basically parallels the creek till it crosses the Pinhoti.  The rd is obvious and has a pile of dirt in the middle to discourage vehicles from using the trail.  The crossing is easy to see and if you miss it, the road will peter out after a few hundred yards.  There is a large log over the road just after it crosses the Pinhoti.  After passing the log you will come to a creek about 100 yards down the hill.  After passing the creek, you will see a good place to camp just to your right, a place cut out of the hill.  If you see thse markers, you've missed the Pinhoti.  But, the water and camping area would be a good target foa a night of camping.
2.  The trail on the east side and near the north end of hwy 281 (the paved section) is closed due to mothers day storm damage.  Check the other forum for recommended rerouting.
3.  The ATA section was a mess due to logging a while back.  It has since been reflagged so it should not be a problem.

[Woody]

Cool! Thanks for the info!!!

[Woody]

"The email below is from the FS in reference to the 103.3 ~ AL 281 Crossing. This area is about 3 miles south of US 78 - Heflin, Section 8.
>>>>>>>>>>

Hello everyone!
Some of you know that this weekend’s storm did some damage in Heflin. Yesterday we discovered expansive blow downs along Highway 281. The Pinhoti along highway 281 is NOT accessible. The portion of the Pinhoti that we know has the most damage is where the Pinhoti crosses the scenic drive (AL 281), between the two gas pipelines. We are posting this section of trail closed until further notice. Hikers can use highway 281 as an alternate route for this portion of trail."


I pulled the above from the other forum but it does not make sense to me. Section 8? AL 281? What? Where is AL 281?

[Joshua Szulecki]

Alabama 281 is the Talladega Scenic Drive.
http://maps.google.com/ma...p&z=13&iwloc=addr

[Woody]

Thanks, that helps! I just need to get some maps Does anyone have an idea how long the out of commission strech is?

[Woody]

Okay I think I have a grip on it now. It is the Northern end of section 4 from what I was able to determine from the Pinhoti Trail Guide web page. Thanks!

[Mountain Dog]

I received the following on 5 Aug. after I sent an inquiry to Leslie


A timber company is cutting out sections of the storm damaged trees.  They
started about 2 weeks ago and are still working.  This will not clean up
the trail entirely but it is a good start.  After the timber removal is
complete, we will reassess the condition of the area and decide the next
step.
Thank you for your concern for the trail.  Please email me for up dates or
question any time.
Lesley

Lesley M. Hodge
Natural Resource Specialist
USDA- Talladega National Forest- Shoal Creek RD
45 Highway 281
Heflin, AL 36264
256/463-2273
256/463-5385 fax
Email: lhodge@fs.fed.us