Pine Mountain Trail safe!

Fantastic news from Kentucky!  Senator Jones has withdrawn the bill that would have destroyed the Pine Mountain Trail, which hosts the GET.

Read all about it here.

From the article: With the loss of jobs in eastern Kentucky in recent years, "(w)e have to find ways to create economic activity, help local businesses and one way is to grow adventure tourism,"  he added.

I can't think of a single hiker who wouldn't agree. Now the question is: how do we help communities and congressmen understand that hiking is viable adventure tourism?

This trail is awesome.  Go hike it.  And when you spend money in town, make sure people know you're a hiker.

Help the Pine Mountain Trail TODAY!

Here are steps YOU can take to help save the Pine Mountain Trail:

1.  Sign the Petition!
2.  Contact Governor Bevin
3.  Contact Committee Chair Senator Alice Kerr
4.  Contact Senator Jones
5.  Contact the Lexington Herald Leader
6.  Contact WKYT and ask them to cover this story
7. Join the Pine Mountain Trail Conference!

Pine Mountain Trail in trouble

Legislation has been introduced to allow ATVs access to Kentucky's only State Scenic Trail -- The Pine Mountain Trail.

From the link: "SB 102 has catastrophic consequences for the Pine Mountain Trail and its use as a hiking trail. There is zero compatibility between hiking and ATV usage. They cannot coexist. The viability of the Pine Mountain State Scenic Trail as an attraction to bring hikers and tourists into our area has no future if ATV's are allowed continuing use of the Trail. "

The Pine Mountain Trail is glorious - an incredible trail that I recommend to absolutely any backpacker. If this legislation allows ATVs access to this fragile environment, all the work done BY hikers FOR hikers will be destroyed.

Do you care?  Even a little?  PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION. It will take you 1 minute.

If you care even more, send the senator a kind note. 

 

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.

Slideshow

Hi friends!  I've finally put together a slideshow about the places we saw on the hike.  Enjoy! 

-Jo

PA --> KY --> PA

Today it is Bart's turn to bid farewell. He found these socks in Kentucky, left by a group from Pennsylvania who had an unfortunate evening on the Pine Mountain Trail.

Unable to find the owner in PA, Bart will be properly disposing of them in Mapleton's garbage can.

They made it home.

PMT

Thanks Pine Mountain Trail for the membership. I will carry my card proudly the remainder of my trip. Now identify everything in the picture and win a free calendar and an autographed Mac and Cheese box by me and Someday!

In like a lion, out like a lion!

Hensley Settlement, Kentucky - there's been near-constant snow since then.  Good times.

It is so nice to sleep inside so we can avoid this.  As fun as this looks . . . 
We are waiting out this latest snow storm in Mullens while we plan Mingo County and jump Jo's car, and we will be heading back to the Matewan area on Wednesday.  

Elkhorn City, KY

I love this part of the world!

In all the busy relaxation of the last week (yes - busy relaxation), I haven't had the time to write about the delightful time we had in Elkhorn City a week ago.


Elkhorn City, KY has a special place in my heart. I went to a workshop there in 2011 with my friend Peggy.  The town has so much good stuff going for it - Breaks Interstate Park, water adventure opportunities, the Pine Mountain Trail, and a theater (not a cinema - a theater!).  Elkhorn City is the first place we've come to where I felt close to Mullens, WV (our mental and emotional halfway point, and Bart's home).  So when we came to the overlook of town, I did a little dance which thankfully no one witnessed.  I was ahead of Bart for once, so not even he saw it.

The rain held off up until the last two miles, when it began sprinkling juuust enough to threaten to actually get us wet.  We made it to the picnic shelter at the trailhead before it started to really rain.  Great timing!

Soon James came to rescue us and whisked us away to Castle James, where we were utterly spoiled and had a grand time telling stories, looking at maps, and NOT being in the rain (again, seriously fantastic timing).  James, thank you so much for your hospitality and letting us pick your brain!  We both really hope to return to the area to explore it further and hopefully we'll see you soon!

Jo, Wooly Nelson, and James at the PMT trailhead in Elkhorn City

Love KY views!

Thanks Pine Mountain Outfitters!

Sporting our generous gifts from Pine Mountain Outfitters in Whitesburg KY! One more reason to love KY and the Pine Mountain Trail! This store has anything you need to get hiking.

Kentucky experiences part 1

It is easier to update from a real computer.  A keyboard feels so strange!

We have had an amazing experience in Kentucky.  Every state so far has exceeded our expectations, provided new friends for us, and given us stories that keep us up at night laughing.

We can see forever from the overlooks on the Pine Mountain Trail!

We want to give a huge shout-out to the Pine Mountain Trail guru Shad and his family for putting us up and putting up with us for a couple of nights while we waited for the weather to improve. The views we were treated to from the Pine Mountain Trail were well worth waiting for, and we really enjoyed hanging out and learning more about the area: we got to check out AppalShop, watch (& taste!) the maple syruping process, and visit the fantastic Pine Mountain Outfitters.  Thanks for having exactly what we needed when we needed it!

Thank you for everything, Letcher County!

Bart and Shad

On the night before we headed out, Shad got a phone call about a group of college kids who were lost and stuck on top of the mountain.  You can read about the incident here.  The following day when Bart and I headed out, we saw the aftermath of the rescue: 37 wet, icy towels on the trail, remnants of fires, discarded clothes, and trampled snow.  The dozens of footprints made our hike actually much easier in the snow.  Thanks to the search and rescue crew who got them all out!  Nice to know that there are folks like you to help out when needed.

We spent the night at Adena Shelter after walking and occasionally crawling through snow.  We were exhausted, but having a shelter to call home for a night made the day feel a lot easier.

Today marked two months since we embarked on this quest. We have hiked 662.3 miles and well into our 4th state.

We appreciate everyone's interest and enthusiasm as it really helps us get motivated those cold and wet mornings.

Many more miles and states to travel so stay in touch and hope to meet along the journey.
HillBillyBart & Someday!!!

Ice face

Pine Mountain Trail rocks!

 

Pine Mountain Trail offered some spectacular rock formations along our way!
HillBillyBart

Skyview

A cave with a sun roof provided us shelter last night!
HillBillyBart

Amazing views

 

Jo enjoying one of the many views along the Pine Mountain Trail.

Snow trek

It was a beautiful winter excursion tramping through Kentuckys Pine Mountain Trail!!
HillBillyBart

High Rock

The view at High Rock on the Pine Mountain Trail in KY! Unbelievable!

Tuesday & Wednesday

Tues: woke up in the rain, packed up in the rain, hiked 18 miles in the freezing rain but refuge at Black Bear shelter in Kingdom Come State Park.
Wed: woke up in the snow, packed in the snow, hiked 14 miles in the freezing snow but now have refuge at Shads home.
All is good-HillyBillyBart