She came to me, said she knew me
Said she’d known me a long time
And she spoke of being in love
With every mountain she had climbed
And she talked of trails she’d walked up
Far above the timberline
From that night on I knew I’d write songs
With Carolina in the pines
According to the Pinhoti Trail Association, the Georgia portion of this trail “…stretches from the Alabama line… to deep in the Cohutta district between Ellijay, Blue Ridge and Chatsworth.” The Pinhoti is in fact the longest foot trail in Georgia. A multi-use trail, the Pinhoti is open to mountain bikes, horses, and hikers. We saw a few of each on our 10 mile round trip hike from Snake Creek Gap to Pilcher’s Pond this past Saturday.
The day started cool and crisp with not a cloud in the sky. “Hiker’s weather,” I call it. By noon, however, we were stripping off layers as the sun heated the landscape. This was my second hike along the Pinhoti and I must say, there is something I really like about this ridge and valley section of Georgia. The climbs are gentle and the rewards are great, hiking high along the ridgelines with views to either side. The breezes ascend from the valleys below and bring a peaceful, calming quality to the trail as it wanders the narrow ridges.
Our destination was Pilcher’s Pond, named after Samuel Pilcher who in 1861 left the area to join the Georgia Volunteer Infantry. He returned four years later and set about farming the same land that only months before had been the beginning of the last act in the great Civil War. I’m certain that Sam Pilcher walked along these same ridge tops, perhaps in the dead of winter, shotgun in hand, hoping to provide food for his family, or maybe for a springtime picnic with a sweetheart by his side. As he grew older, I’d like to think that Sam sought the healing winds of these ridges, sat atop the lichen covered rocks and gazed across the miles of valley below. Sam Pilcher died in 1897. According to the story, he and several of his family members are buried near the pond in unmarked graves.
The pond itself, which has suffered lately due to the drought, was looking quite nice after recent rains. All in all, a very nice spot for our trail lunch and some conversation. Then it was back on the trail for our return to Snake Creek Gap. If you’re looking for a North Georgia hike that’s not too far away, I highly recommend the Pinhoti. And in case you were wondering, Pinhoti is Creek Indian for “turkey home.”
North on interstate 75 about 49 miles to exit 320. Go left on Georgia 136 and then about 8 miles to the Pinhoti parking lot at Snake Creek Gap.
For further information – http://georgiapinhoti.org/
Information provided in this post can be found in – “Touring The Back Roads Of North And South Georgia” by Victoria and Frank Logue
The big hike was called off due to rain, so Saturday night I made my way over to Everett’s Music Barn in Suwannee, GA. Mountain Heart took the stage about 9:00 pm. Mountain Heart is a group of guys who obviously grew up listening to just as much Lynard Skynard as they did Bill Monroe. Personally, I can’t really call it Bluegrass; maybe a kind of “power grass” if you will. In fact, Mountain Heart has opened on a few dates recently for the aforementioned Mr. Skynard. Yes, it’s true. They are possibly the loudest “bluegrass” band I’ve ever heard. Excellent musicians all, several of thier tunes turned into extended jams. The little barn was packed to overflowing.
From time to time I post new links over to the right in the sidebar. I’d like to fill you in on three new links at this time.
Under the blogroll section you’ll find “Mount Rainier Climbing.” This blog is headed up by Mike Gauthier. Mike is the climbing program manager at Mt. Rainier National Park. Full of useful information for those headed to Rainier, the blog keeps us all informed on weather and route conditions on the mountain. This is one site I’ll be checking regularly, especially as the date of my trip approaches.
In the music section over on the sidebar I’ve added a link to a great guitarist – Muriel Anderson. She was the first woman to win the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship. Her playing moves in and out of many different styles. If you’re interested here is a link to a great Muriel Anderson video. She is awesome!
Lastly, under the outdoors section I’ve posted a link to my good friend Kevin Crowe’s website. It’s called “Bucket List Adventure.” Kevin has created an interesting concept where he will help you prepare for your big adventure. Kevin can help with anything from booking a trip, training, logistics – you name it. He’ll even go with you and film the whole thing!
Thanks for checking out the new links!
(The links provided in this blog are for informational purposes only.)
Coosa! The name alone strikes fear in the hearts of many north Georgia hikers. The Coosa Backcountry Trail is almost 13 miles of rugged trails and BIG climbs. In fact, the rangers at Vogel State Park recommend it as an overnight backpacking trip, not a day hike. The trail gains so much elevation and is so tough that hikers must get a permit from the park office. This is just the kind of challenge that the intrepid hikers of the Atlanta Outdoor Club love. Several members of the club have been thinking about the idea of a hiker’s race for some time, so former club president Tom C., along with Hilke N. took up the task of organizing the event.
Yours truly, along with five other brave hikers set out from the park office at 9:45 am. Each hiker was required to carry 10% of his body weight in a backpack. Right away, Jason K. set a blistering pace, seeking to put distance between himself and the pack. Loren T., Kevin C. and John B. fell in close behind. That left myself and fellow pentagenarian Scott S. (the two Scotts) bringing up the rear. The Coosa is a loop trail and we were hiking clockwise, which meant we would dive in to the big climb right off the bat – that’s around 1820 feet of elevation in about 3 miles. Slowly, I pulled away from Scott and found myself gaining on John. I passed John and continued to put more distance between us. I was feeling pretty good. When I got to our first checkpoint at Wolfpen Gap, I was told that I was in second place and 17 minutes behind the leader Kevin. As it happened, Jason and Loren took a wrong turn and found themselves lost! “Wow, I’m in second!” I thought. I put my head down and proceeded up the next climb, an 880 foot climb to near the top of Coosa Bald. Suddenly, I see one of our lost hikers coming toward me! It was Loren. “I got lost,” he says. So much so that Loren decided he was better off doing the trail counter-clockwise. I’m not sure how that happened. I continued on up the hill.
The Coosa is marked with a yellow blaze. But all I was seeing were blue blazes? Damn, I had missed a turn! I started backtracking and soon came to the most well marked turn on the whole trail. Yellow blazes and yellow ribbons cried out from the trees, “turn here dummy!” As often happens when hiking uphill, one tends to focus carefully on his footwork, so with my head down I walked right past the turn. I had only lost ten minutes or so, but I had also lost my position to Scott and Jason. I was now back in fourth.
The next few miles were mostly downhill – my nemesis. Yes I know most hikers love the downhills, but my knees despise the pounding that comes with hiking downhill. In fact, I usually lose time on the down slope. To make matters worse, the ground that was frozen that morning had now become mud from the warm afternoon sun. I slipped and slid my way on down the trail. For the remainder of the hike, I saw no one. I did manage to stay on course, but my gas tank was inching toward empty. The Coosa is actually a pretty nice trail. I took some time to look around and hiked through some very nice stretches.
I made the last checkpoint and was informed that Kevin had finished in first place. I still had two and a half miles to go. After a good long climb the trail levelled off. Soon the trail crossed a road and I had one more mile to go. Hopefully, more AOCers will join in next time. The competition was all good natured and believe me, anyone who took on this challenge is a winner. Thanks goes out to the volunteers who swept the trail and worked the check points. What a great way to spend a gorgeous day on one of north Georgia’s most famous trails. I’m stiff, sore and icing the knees as I write this report. I survived. I’ll post the official results as soon as they are available.
(some of the facts and figures in this post were found in “The Hiking Trails Of North Georgia” by Tim Homan)
Our Appalachian Trail in Georgia series keeps on rolling. Saturday’s hike was a monster. It was not an easy car shuttle so we had to make it an out and back hike. Add in the side trail to a nice lunch spot with a view, and I think we hiked about 14 miles. This section is a roller coaster. It’s actually more challenging coming back than going out. The climb from Hogpen Gap back up to Cowrock Mountain kicked off our return trip and then the final climb back up Levelland Mountain near the end sealed the deal. Our group performed well on the trail and all enjoyed the extreme workout. This section through the Raven Cliffs Wilderness offers plenty of views the best of which is probably from Cowrock Mountain. We had sunshine all day and we arrived back at Neels Gap just as the sun was setting. Even though we are section hiking, I’m gaining a real appreciation for those who thru hike and are out there day after day with a big pack. I don’t know if my 50 year old knees would be up to the challenge… who knows, maybe someday.
