[at-l] Pinhoti Trail Information (Was IAT Information?)

["Tim Rich" <app-trail@excite.com>]

Greetings,

The Pinhoti Trail is not related to the IAT, other than also being on the
Appalachian chain.  In Alabama, the Pinhoti, meaning "Turkey Home", is
currently about 104 miles long and is two miles shy of the Georgia state
line.  The Alabama Trails Association www.alabamatrails.com 
is overseeing the Alabama construction of the trail, and has a map of its
proposed route and hookup to the BMT in N. GA.  Another very good site
regarding the Pinhoti is M. Lee Van Horn's site, 
http://public.surfree.com/fountain/pinhotiI.htm  
that has very good information on the Pinhoti and also some trail
information about my old stomping ground, Oak Mountain State Park just
outside Birmingham. The Pinhoti has been designated one of 52 Millennium
Legacy Trails across the nation.

When complete, the Pinhoti will run from south of Mt. Cheaha to the Benton
MacKaye Trail.  Construction continues on the Georgia portion of the trail.
The following information is about a year old from the Georgia Pinhoti
effort:

>Substantial progress has been made on the Pinhoti Trail in Georgia.
>However, several long gaps remain to be built.  South of Rome >through Cave
Spring the route is expected to be along county roads >for the forseeable
future.  An easement is currently being >negotiated to get the trail across
the east side of Indian Mountain >from the state line to Jackson Chapel
Road.

>In Rome, the existing greenways system is being expanded.  A large >state
grant will help this along nicely.  Northwest of Rome (beyond >Berry
College) the Simms Mountain Trail is being expanded from four >miles to
fifteen miles.  This is a rails-to-trails conversion and is >already
designated as part of the Pinhoti.  From Georgia Highway 100 >(the beginning
of Forest Service land) the trail is complete to U.S. >Highway 27 and is 90%
complete beyond that to Narrows Road.  

>Additionally, the Strawberry Mountain section is said to be
>complete.  There may be some work left to do on the west side of >Johns
Mountain, but the Forest Service will soon complete this if >they haven't
already.  From Johns Mountain overlook to the base of >Keown Falls was
existing trail.  New trail is complete from Keown >Falls, past Pilcher's
Pond, over Horn Mountain, through Snake Creek >Gap (Georgia Highway 136),
and onto Mill Creek Mountain.  There are >still four to five miles of
volunteer work left to do along Mill >Creek Mountain and into Swamp Creek.
This will be tackled this >fall.  Only one-half mile of trail remains to be
worked out of an >eight mile section from Middle Mountain to Dug Gap.  This
should be >completed by volunteers in September.

>The local Regional Development Commission is planning the route >across the
valley south of Dalton.  As a temporary route, they plan >to use county
roads and some closed dirt roads on timber company and >Wildlife Management
Area lands to get from Forest Service land west >of I-75 to Forest Service
land east of U.S. Highway 411.  This is >scheduled for marking in 1999.

>In the Cohutta Ranger District (east of 411), a route has been >proposed on
paper, and walked by at least one individual.  Flagging >of the trail route
is expected to take place in the coming winter >while evaluation of the
route by the Forest Service is tentatively >scheduled for spring and summer.
Construction (some by Forest >Service personnel or contractors, some by
volunteers) would come in >late 1999 at the earliest.  The target date for a
completely marked >trail is the end of the year 2000.

Probably more than you wanted to know.

Take Care,

Tim Rich
Kennesaw, GA

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, 
for you have been my refuge, 
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
--Psalm 61:2-4

On Fri, 12 Nov 1999 12:00:50 -0800 (PST), Nina Baxley wrote:

> 
> 
> --- Tom Fort <tjfort@netdoor.com> wrote:
> > I looked at this.  It only talked about the the
> > trail from Katahdin
> > north.  
> > 
> > I thought this trail was going to also expand south
> > to cheeha state park
> > in alabama?
> 
> It only talks about the trail from Katahdin north
> because the IAT only runs from Katahdin (actually not
> Katahdin, no, not exactly) north.
> 
> Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I may well be,
> since I'm writing this based on memory, and I ain't
> made a real effort to file these facts away in my
> noggin ...
> 
> The Appalachian Range in North American runs from
> Alabama to Cap Gaspe in Canada. The IAT is NOT part of
> the AT; it just confuses people because of the
> different name. It's not an extension of the AT; it's
> an entirely different trail. The AT, of course, runs
> from Katahdin to Springer. I don't know about other
> trails being formed or connected, but the Benton
> MacKaye Trail will take you from Springer (or
> somewhere around there) to the Ga. Pinhoti Trail,
> which is currently being constructed. It's still a lot
> of road walking, and bushwhacking, and maybe half (?)
> of the trail is actually trail. The Ga. Pinhoti Trail
> will take you to the vicinity of the Alabama Pinhoti
> Trail. I believe it's on this trail (or near this
> trail?) that the Appalachian Range ends.
> 
> The IAT is the official name for that trail that runs
> from Maine to Canada. The AT is the official name for
> the trail that runs from Katahdin to Springer
> (Springer to Katahdin for you northbounders). The IAT
> doesn't run to Alabama.
> 




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