Georgia re-route!

There was rather a lot of Great Eastern Trail roadwalking in Georgia, but there's less now!

The Georgia section has some really great stuff.  There's a lovely border crossing. This is probably the coolest border crossing on the trail, although Tennessee/Kentucky comes close. Nicely done, Georgia.

There's also a great little hostel with sourdough pancakes (among other deliciousness). Wonderful people make wonderful pancakes...

And of course there is Cloudland Canyon, which has got to be one of the top 5 sights along the entire trail. It's amazing.

There's rather a lot of Georgia that looks something like this:

BUT thanks to the incredible volunteer efforts of the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association, a big chunk of roadwalk has been eliminated in the Cave Spring area.

For a map and description, check out the Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association Facebook Group. This is one of the more active Facebook groups for GET trails. Once you're on the Facebook Group site, click on "Files" to access all kinds of Georgia Pinhoti Trail information and Lookout Mountain Section information!

Loop Hikes, Part 2: The Big Southeastern Appalachian Loop

For hikers who enjoy a true challenge, the Big Southeastern Appalachian Loop (please, internet, find a better name) would be by far the most challenging of the "small" loops.

This is a tough loop because it has the most incomplete trails, meaning there are some significant roadwalks.  On the plus side, resupply is overall fairly easy.  With so many miles, it might be hard to find the perfect time of year to hike this loop. 

The map here shows the majority of the loop with the exception of the Benton MacKaye Trail (pictured below) and the Georgia Pinhoti (which I can't find a decent map of -- anyone??)


This loop incorporates the following trails: 

• Georgia Pinhoti Trail
• Benton MacKaye Trail
• Appalachian Trail
  

And the following Great Eastern Trail components:

• Southern West Virginia (Mary Draper Ingalls, TuGuNu)
• Kentucky's Pine Mountain Trail
• Tennessee's Cumberland Trail
• Lookout Mountain Section of the GET

The miles breakdown is something like this:

• From the GET/Georgia Pinhoti Trail divergence near Taliaferro Creek, a counterclockwise hiker would stay on the Georgia Pinhoti, following it roughly 120 miles to its intersection with the Benton MacKaye Trail (pictured on right).  
• The hiker would turn south along the BMT for 70 miles to Springer Mountain.  (You could also head north on the BMT and intersect with the AT at the southern or northern end of the Smokies.  Choose your own adventure!)
• At Springer, the loop would follow the Appalachian Trail north to Pearisburg, Virginia.  This portion of trail is about 630 miles long.
  
  (At Pearisburg, the loop becomes trickier and mileages become fuzzy - the numbers I quote below may easily be off by 10-20% depending upon certain routes chosen, particularly in regards to roadwalk links.)
  
• From Pearisburg, the hiker then navigates the most challenging section of Great Eastern Trail: southern West Virginia's roughly 150 miles.
• Kentucky's Pine Mountain Trail and connecting roadwalks on either end add up to about 170 miles.
• The Cumberland Trail will be roughly 260 miles, depending on roadwalks and trail closures. It may be slightly more or less than that, but 260 is a good estimate.
• Lookout Mountain Section is about 100 miles (if following newer route through Little River Canyon) to meet up with the Georgia Pinhoti/GET divergence at Taliaferro Creek.

That equals a whopping 1,500-mile loop.

Why should I hike this?: No other GET loop will give hikers such a wide variety of trail experiences.  From the popular, perhaps over-loved Appalachian Trail to the wilderness Benton MacKaye Trail to the unfinished choose-your-own-adventure style of the GET in West Virginia, this loop has everything.

Highlights of this loop include:

• Experiencing a wilderness trail (Benton MacKaye)
• Summitting Springer Mountain
• Neels Gap and potential AT thru-hiker culture
• Southern balds and firetowers
• The Smokies
• Hot Springs, NC
• Roan and Grayson Highlands
• Damascus, VA
• Bluestone Turnpike Trail
• Pipestem State Park
• An adventurous route through West Virginia requiring map and compass skills
• The whole Pine Mountain Trail feels like a highlight
• Cumberland Gap National Historic Park
• Waterfalls and wildlife of the Cumberland Trail
• Chattanooga, the GET's largest trail town
• Cloudland Canyon State Park
• Little River Canyon
  Where should I begin?: Because this is the most challenging section of the GET, I'd recommend starting anywhere else: The Georgia Pinhoti would be a great place or Springer Mountain/Pearisburg would be ideal depending upon direction hiked.

What guides are needed?: Hikers will need an AT guide, the BMT guide, a GA Pinhoti guide, and all the GET resources for WV, KY, TN, and GA listed under our Guides Page.

photo album

Click below to visit the photo album.  More photos coming soon:

a great sign

I'm more worried about "people" on this hike than Bigfoot or Bears!

24 hours difference

A difference a day can make in our hiking world. Top was Ali picking us up and below getting dropped off. HillBillyBart

A beautiful day

I have to say that I wasn't sure how Georgia's section of the GET would go, but I am now sad to be leaving. We had such a fun time yesterday with the Friends of Cloudland Canyon. THANK YOU for all you have done! (And thank you for supper too!) We didn't expect such an outpouring of excitement and support - it really boosts our resolve and makes us love the adventure even more.

Today we got a tour of the Great Eastern Trail route through Cloudland Canyon State Park. It was the perfect day! I am totally impressed by the trail system there and the natural beauty. This park is a gem of the GET. Major kudos to those involved with this project. Soon there will be a very long connected trail to Lula Lake Land Trust Trail. Y'all are doing fantastic work!

Thanks again to Sourdough for ...everything!, and to Fennel for hiking with us today! It was a perfect last full day in Georgia!

(Bart took lots of great pictures but he is fast asleep. Tomorrow maybe?)

Sourdough's Hostel

We are about to feast on sourdough pancakes and every other breakfast food imaginable. . . Wow! Thank you Sourdough for an amazing stay at your hostel!

A night in

Life is really good! Lots of stories. For now, about to eat with Sourdough, local trail volunteers, and the famous Marty D.

A zero day in the storm

The storm today was not nearly as bad in our section of Georgia as it was elsewhere, but it was a good day off. I read a few books and got a good start on A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin.

Thanks for all the concern and tips from everyone! We are more than ready to hike tomorrow. . .

Bad weather

We are under a severe thunderstorm warning, a flood warning, a tornado watch, and a wind advisory. I think we're gonna just hang out here behind the old abandoned store today. . .

Tomorrow we should make it to Cloudland Canyon.

Hwy 157

This morning it was hard to get up off the most comfy tent site ever (we had a mattress!). We hit the road and made about 3 miles per hour for awhile, until the road went straight up for 3 miles with almost no shoulder but plenty of traffic. yikes!

Overall, I am impressed with how safe and scenic the Georgia roadwalks have been. Highway 157 is beautiful and will be our home for quite some time.

A state ranger chatted with us this evening and warned us of some bad weather. He recommended that we hole up behind an abandoned store. We have a roof and are snug, waiting for the storm. If it is too bad we may have to stay here tomorrow. But we feel pretty safe. Bart has been perfecting his Russian accent all day so clearly the sanity is long gone, but at least we are safe.

Not enough cell reception to call out tonight. We did about 16 miles.

Waterfall

But always look for the bright spots along the way!
HillBillyBartLunch spot!

Roadwalks

Road walks are not always fun!

Georgia magic

What an unexpected day!

We awoke with the dream of another 20-mile day. A few miles into the day, my ankle voiced its extreme displeasure with that plan. We hiked 10 miles to Lyerly and 4 miles down the road my ankle was sending me a message that cannot be repeated in a public forum. I sat down in the grass, in pain and stressed about where we could spent the night. (roadwalks are tricky)

Then like magic Ramar showed up, who invited us to stay in his yard. He brought me an epsom salt bath and kept us company. Then Angie came home and she cooked us huge hamburgers! It was an absolutely magical evening with them and their stories. We have so much new brain candy floating around in our heads. Thank you for being our trail angels!

Thanks to extra rest and care, my ankle is much better and I am cautiously optimistic that we can make it to Chattanooga on Friday. We did 14.5 miles today.

Thank you Ramar and Angie (and Dixie Dog)!

G.E.Thinker

GET-Great Eastern Thinker
HillBillyBart

Roadwalk view

HillBillyBart- just admiring the mountain of coal!

Urban excursion

Jo has been tired of the woodsy outdoor vista scenic hike so far so I took her some place different. I call it "The Ultimate Urban Excursion !" you will see 4-5-6 no 8 lane high speed traffic, trains, sewer plants, paper mills, all ethnic groups of worldly foods and finally the coal powered electrical plant. So book today the sprawl and mall maybe gone tomorrow!
HillBillyBart

20 miles

Today was our first 20-miler and I am going to bed. :)

Georgia

Yesterday at about 1:00 we left Alabama and arrived at our second state! We loved our time in Alabama and it was bittersweet leaving such a beautiful and hospitable state, but it feels great to be on state #2!

This morning we were in Cave Spring by 9:30 and enjoyed a day of rest and recuperation. We have about 100 miles to Chattanooga!

Thank you Alabama Pinhoti Trail volunteers and trail angels!

Shadows

It's confirmed- Jo is jealous of Katniss! I caught her pinching the head off her animated figure in the tent last night.