Turkey Home - a weekend on the Pinhoti Trail.

“The mountains are calling and I must go”. I’ve been feeling that for a while now. Not the call to the rugged mountains of Las Cruces, or the arid mountains of Big Bend, but the mountains and the forests of the East Coast.  I miss the Appalachian Mountains and their green tunnels and the coats of many colors that their trees wear.  Alas, the next section of the AT that I want to hike is a 8.5 hour drive away, so I settled on somewhere closer to home - The Pinhoti Trail. 

With a few weeks of research, I had a backpack full of all I would need for 2-3 days on trail, and three options for where I would hike.  I finished work at 3pm on Thursday and, with Good Friday off, a three day weekend lay ahead.  I left home around 3:15pm on Thursday, and hit the road. With stops, what should have been an under four hour drive turned into a five hour drive, and I arrived at the Pinhoti Outdoor Center after dark. After seeing photos online of groups of hikers sitting around a fire, playing guitar and talking, arriving to a quiet, dark hostel was unexpected and a little unsettling. Nevertheless, I parked my car and went to check out the hostel, having received a text from the owner earlier in the evening with the key code.

The Pinhoti Outdoor Center

As I walked towards the door, I could see two people standing by their vehicle in the dark. I said hello and we started to chat. They were mother and son, Christina and Jac (pronounced like Jac Cousteau), and they were waiting on Kimm (one of the hostel owners) to arrive, to shuttle them to their starting point. They were heading out to get in a couple of miles in the dark, before setting up camp for the night and continuing on tomorrow.  We went inside and checked the place out, then chatted outside while we waited for Kimm.  When she arrived, we had been discussing my phobia of being attacked in a tent, and she told me that staying at the hostel nightly was an option, and just day hiking. Although it would cost extra in shuttle fees, it put my mind at ease and, when they left, I settled down in my car for the night and started to adjust my plans, and my pack contents.

After an uneventful night, I woke up refreshed and got ready for Kimm to arrive to shuttle me to my starting point. I had decided to hike a 12 mile section of the trail, from Trammel Trailhead at mile 31.6 to Bulls Gap at mile 43.4, so when she arrived we both drove to Bulls Gap parking area, left my car there, and Kimm drove me back to Trammel Trailhead and dropped me off.

I started out around 8:50am, through a relatively gentle rolling forest, with the sun shining through the trees and the birds singing around me. I soon settled into the solitude, and with every step my mind cleared a little more and my body let go of the stress of everyday life.  After a couple of miles, I reached FS road 675 and had to check my app to see which way to go, as the trail signs were unclear. The trail on the red clay dirt road led me north, and I stopped along the way and made coffee, determined to give myself more breaks on this hike than I usually tend to allow.  Coffee drunk, and pack back on, I headed up the trail, and before long found myself back in the woods, with the birds.  Wildflowers bloomed along the sides of the trail, in pinks, whites and purples - Spiderwort was everywhere, and for a good stretch the forest floor appeared to be blanketed with huckleberry flowers. I stopped to take pictures a lot, and just to breathe deeply and stretch, enjoying every second of the adventure.

My only minor concern was that none of the spots noted on my app as being water sources had, so far, shown signs of water. However, as I approached the cell tower around mile 37, I saw a water cache had been left on the side of the trail. Two gallon jugs, each half full (or empty).  I refilled one of my half liter bottles and continued down the narrow concrete road, used as access for the cell tower. Before long, the blue blazes on the trees indicated a turn, and the trail headed once more back into the forest and away from the reminders of the world outside the trees.

Around 1pm, I was thinking about Christina and Jac, and how far they had made it the night prior. From where they had begun last night, and I had begun today, we should cross paths at some point during the day as we were hiking towards each other.  Just minutes after the thought, I looked up and saw Jac coming towards me, with his mom not far behind. We greeted each other and quickly decided it was a good time for a snack break, so we made ourselves comfortable on some fallen tree trunks, and snacked and ate for a good while. They were great company, and I really enjoyed the conversation while we ate. We bade each other safe travels, and headed away from each other, hoping to re-connect either the following day on trail, or else at the POC at some point. Sadly, our paths did not cross again, but I still may reach out via the POC to connect with Christina - she took a lovely photo of the three of us before we parted ways, and I’d love a copy.

The hours passed, I felt content; although the elevation wasn’t as easy as earlier in the day and Rebecca Mountain had been quite the challenge, my body still felt good and my feet were in great shape.  I had started the morning at 952 feet elevation, and after 9 miles and a couple of miles of never-ending

switchbacks, the trail had led me to a beautiful lookout point at 1470 feet. I dropped my pack, removed my shoes and socks, and sat to enjoy the view and another snack. I was wishing I had brought my tent, this would be a beautiful view to wake up to…

I got back on trail and with only 3 miles to go, started to feel the tiredness in my legs, but still no blisters and no knee pain.  There were rolling hills those last few miles, but Bulls Gap at 1189 feet was not too far to descend from the ridge line I’d been on most of the afternoon.  With the trees not yet wearing their spring leaves, I had amazing views for most of ridge line. Even on the way up Rebecca Mountain, there were views in one direction or another and, once I reached the ridge, there were expansive views to both sides of the hills and valleys below.

I find hiking to be a type of meditation for me, my mind clears and my only thoughts are my next steps and my immediate surroundings. This hike was no different. For nine hours I walked, and my only thoughts were of sounds of the forest, the new spring growth on the forest floor around me, and the steps ahead of me. With only a mile or so to go, I reached an outcropping of rocks, and sat down again to take in the view. There was a small fire ring snuggled between some of the boulders, and a few small flat areas covered in a blanket of pine straw, and once again I wondered if I shouldn’t have gone ahead and brought my tent - it would have been a beautiful spot to spend the night.

I eventually packed up and moved on, and too long after, came around a turn and saw a road down the hill in front of me. I descended towards the road, and saw the parking lot on the other side, and my car waiting for me.  There was a gentleman cleaning off after his 42 mile bike ride, and we chatted awhile, before I continued on past the parking lot to an overlook 1/10th of a mile further on.  I sat and enjoyed the view, and the satisfaction of having completed a 12 mile day with two hours of sunlight to spare and no blisters.

Back at the car, I chatted once more with the bike rider, who told me of another great spot for sunsets, and then we wished each other a good evening and, with exhaustion now setting in, I drove back to the POC for the night. When I arrived, there were four new people - Ben, Rob, Joseph and Li’l Bo Peep aka Molly - at the hostel for the night. After some pleasant conversations and comparing notes on our day on trail, they all left for dinner “in town” and, with the hostel to myself, I opened a cold Coke and took a shower, then

sat on the picnic bench outside and made my dinner, before retiring to my bed in my car, to watch the sunset through the open back window and catch up with my dad, my mum and my boys.

I heard voices after a while, and popped my head out of the back window to say hello. It was Nathan, Kimm’s husband and the other owner of the POC Hostel.  He came over to chat, and gave me some suggestions for Saturday’s hike. His 50th birthday party was on Saturday also, so shuttles would be difficult, but he said he had a friend (“Last Minute”) coming into town for the party who also wanted to get in around ten miles, and offered to connect us, so we could work it out with our cars. Later that evening, with some informational texts, and a digital introduction, a plan was made and I prepared for bed, put on a movie, then slept off and on for the next ten hours.

Day 2 - 

After waking up several times in the night with knee pain, I honestly thought the idea of a ten mile day was probably not such a good one, and even at 5am I was thinking I may just have to cancel and find a shorter out and back hike to do. However, after a couple of Ibuprofen, some stretching and a few more hours sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed and with no pain. Outside the hostel, I was greeting with a cheery good morning from Joseph, who wanted to see my car camping setup.  I gave him the tour, and then Molly joined, also wanting to see. Ben and Rob came out and said goodbye, they were getting back on the road to Michigan.

Last Minute joined me and we solidified our plan for the day. I immediately got a great vibe from him, he seemed very laid back and peaceful, and he was comfortable to be around. We prepared our gear, then headed off in both cars to the nearby Stewartville Cafe and grabbed breakfast biscuits to go. Following the pins Nathan had sent us for car drop off and start points, we went and first dropped his car off at our finishing point, then headed to the starting point and left my car there. I told him how slow I hike -  the trail name “Tortoise” is highly appropriate - and told him I was happy to hike alone if he wanted to take off ahead and either wait at the car or go clean up and come back later for me. However, he tactfully told me he’d be happy to hike on if I prefer to hike solo, or would be fine with hiking together. We agreed to hike together, on the understanding that since he had a timeline in mind - he had to get back to the hostel and clean up ready for Nathan’s birthday party - at any point he needed to speed up and leave me, we would figure out an alternate plan.

We hit the trail and after a short time came across “Kimm’s Camp”, a lovely campsite with a picnic table next to a creek, and a postbox with a trail log in it.  We signed the trail log, and went on our way. After what seemed like an endless uphill, we stopped for a break. I told Last Minute that if that was Terrapin Hill, it wasn’t as bad as I expected. It turned out that was NOT Terrapin Hill. Terrapin Hill was still ahead of us, and was much worse! 

We got into a rhythm, where we would walk together and chat on the downhill or flat sections of trail, and on the uphills he would go ahead, most times finding a nice place to sit at the top where he would wait for me, and then we would sit and chat and snack for a short while, before moving on.  The weather was perfect, the sky blue and cloudless, and the suns rays found their way through the branches of the trees to land on us below.  The smell of warm pine straw on the forest floor (and trail) permeated the air, and the breeze was gentle enough that it didn’t affect us in the woods, but refreshed us on the treeless hilltops.

We crossed multiple creeks, hopping across strategically placed rocks and logs, and even crossed one via a downed tree trunk, where Last Minute filmed my crossing for posterity. At one point, we lost the trail where a culvert had seemingly washed out and we couldn’t cross the creek, so we followed the orange ties on the trees for a while, assuming they were markers for an alternate route. We soon realized that they were not, and we were heading due north away from the trail. Checking our map, we weighed our options, and decided to continue on our current path, which would lead us to a forest road, then follow the road to a point where it almost intersected again with the trail, and pick up the trail there.

We made it to the road, and turned left, watching the map to see where we needed to head back into the woods to find the trail. We found the closest point, and started bushwhacking through the undergrowth and brambles. I made a mental note to check myself carefully later for ticks. As we made our way through the trees, all of a sudden there was a burst of activity to our left, and we looked across only to see a wild turkey flapping out of the brush and into the air, away from these humans who had invaded it’s territory. I’m not sure who was more startled, me or the turkey. Soon we found the trail and continued on our way.

For a while the trail runs through a canyon, parallel to a creek; this section is so peaceful and beautiful, I

would have loved to have stopped and stayed awhile, soaking my achy feet in the cold stream. Alas, we had several miles left and not so much time. Terrapin Hill had just about taken all my energy, and the PUDS (pointless ups and downs) never seemed to end, even after descending the steep southern side of Terrapin.  My IT band issues had by now returned with a fiery vengeance, and I had resorted to hiking the downhills sideways like a crab to avoid the pain.  

We passed a clearing filled with lush green grass, with the sun blazing down on it, like an oasis. It looked like a perfect spot for an afternoon nap, although sadly it was probably home to chiggers and ticks. We stopped instead at the top of a dirt road, and rested for a few minutes. As the endless ascents and descents continued, my knees begged for flat areas and, when they came, I made up lost time and enjoyed the absence of knee pain. We came to the bottom of a steep dirt road at one point, and I told him “if that’s the way we have to go, I’m staying right here. I’m done”. Thankfully, he noticed a left turn and went ahead to scout for blue blazes. After looking at the map, I followed, and soon found myself at the top of a grassy hill with a stunning view of the tree line to the south, nicknamed on the trail app as “Sunny’s View”. I’m not sure who Sunny is, but they definitely have a great view from here.

We descended back into the depths of the forest, once again following the path along the pine needle covered trail. We had passed a few other hikers throughout the day, two of them being a couple I’d met briefly Friday morning at the hostel, who were starting out at Flagg Mountain and making their way north.  During this final push, I was going so slow that another hiker going the same direction had caught up to me, and I allowed him to pass. His strides three times longer than mine, and his pace many times faster, he mumbled a hello and was soon out of sight.

By this time, my whole body ached. My knees were full on throbbing, my shoulders were aching from pulling myself uphill with my hiking poles, and my whole body was just exhausted.  Thankfully, before too long, I crested a hill and looked down to see the road, and Last Minute standing at the car. I have never been so happy to see a road! I removed my pack and put it in the trunk, then collapsed into the passenger seat and breathed a sigh of relief, as we headed back to my car.

Returning to the hostel, Last Minute went to get ready for the party, and I hurriedly removed my shoes and socks, and collapsed onto my bed to make a couple of calls home. While I was on the phone, another hiker came over to chat, and shortly after I went to join her at the picnic tables. Her name was Fireball. Not, as you would expect, from a story involving alcohol, but because she had made a mistake early on in her Pinhoti journey, which had resulted in her gas canister exploding into a ball of fire!

While we chatted, the couple from Friday morning who I had passed on the trail today, came walking up the road to the hostel, and collapsed onto the bench outside. We exchanged stories of trail beauty and exhaustion, and I cooked my dinner while Fireball went to clean up. Eventually, I was able to take a shower and wash my hair, then retired to my car to lie down and watch the sunset, while I reflected on the past two days.

In all, over two days I had hiked 22 miles, with a total of almost 3700 ft in elevation gain. I was aching, and exhausted, but also satisfied and content, and quite proud of myself. I had met some lovely people, and had been given a taste of the Pinhoti Trail community I had read about online, a community of like-minded people who love this trail, and have a passion for nature and the outdoors. For me, I couldn’t help but compare the trail to my first love - the Appalachian Trail - but the comparison was not a negative. I found the Pinhoti to be every bit as beautiful as the AT, but with less elevation, fewer mountains, and less total miles, it felt like the AT’s much gentler, easier cousin. 

I went to sleep achy but happy, and slept like a log for ten hours straight. I woke up to another beautiful sunshine filled day, and blue skies, and took my time to move. I made coffee and ate breakfast, stretched and listened to the birds. I eventually went inside and left a note in the hostel guest book, and said goodbye to this peaceful sanctuary that I had called home for three days. When I was about to get ready to leave, Last Minute came to say goodbye. We chatted about the party last night, and wished each other safe travels with a hug. Then I headed out onto the highway for a four hour drive home, with perfect weather and my window down.

I felt peaceful as I drove, and it was a long time before I even turned on the radio, just lost in the scenery and allowing the memories made over the last few days to sink in, as I replayed my favorite trail moments in my mind to make sure I never forget them.  What a wonderful place to have recharged my soul. Thank you Pinhoti Trail, I will be back.