So I am planning to do a through hike starting in early march of 2025. I want to start at the south trailhead in flag mountain then do the entire trail. I have a few questions regarding the trail.

1st- one of the first things that caught my eye was the road hiking sections. The longest section being 26 miles. Do you plan to do that in one day?

2nd, thing i noticed was the water crossings being mentioned a lot but not a huge amount of details about it. Are we talking small streams where we need to find a path through the river rocks or are we talking waist deep carry your crap on your shoulders while trudging through kind of deal?

3rd, I saw that it was connected to the appalachian trail in 2006. This is the biggest reason I want to do this trail because I want to do it before I get to the appalachian trail and then keep hiking. part of my problem is I cant seem to find an address for locating the northern trailhead.

4rth, Does the pinhoti trail connect to the appalachian trail via the benton Mackaye trail and how far from the official start of the appalachian trail is that?

I would love if someone could recomend a map because every single one that I have found is a shitty overview with zero information on how the trails in that area connect.

Any help or resources would be great, Thank you!!!

As above, any options to get scooped up at the end of the PT or close to it, such as Buddy Cove and onto Chattanooga?

I read somewhere that there were no bears in Alabama, except for southwest AL, but wanted to confirm.

I was through hiking the Pinhoti a while back. I made it about 80 miles from the southern terminus, hurt my knee somehow, and needed a pick up. So I waited a few days until someone I knew could come get me. On the day they were coming, I packed up, went down to the closest highway intersection, and walked along it to the next pull away to wait.

I was there about 15 minutes when some random dude in a pickup truck stops and asks me what I'm doing there. Told him I hurt myself hiking and I'm waiting on a ride. He, very rudely, tells me they've had a lot of break-ins lately and basically assumes I'm some highway-squatting criminal. Threatens to call the cops on me.

So the cops show up half an hour later, tell me I'm not doing anything wrong but offer to take me down the road a bit. I figure I might as well since I'm heading that way anyhow. They drop me off at some abandoned gas station. I'm sitting there reading when after about another half hour more cops show up from the other direction. Apparently someone else had called the cops on me again. So I told these cops what I told the other cops; I'm just a hiker waiting for a pick up. They leave me be.

I wasn't disturbed after that. Got home and it took about a month for my knee to heal before I went on to LASH the AT. I'd never had the cops called on me before in my life. I don't want to make blanket judgements about the people of that region, but it didn't leave a good impression in my mind. I guess if you're on the side of the road, try to not look as suspicious as I somehow did lol. Happy hiking.

Hey all, never backpacked on the Pinhoti before, but interested in doing a couple of nights in Georgia.

What are your opinions on the best section to hike in Georgia?

Title. Haven't seen anything, just wanted to make sure.

Trail running in Pelham and (mostly) the panhandle is the extent of my recent trail experience. I have zero experience with solo thru-hiking. Without aid stations, I'm not sure how to reasonably plan daily distances or expectations.

Any advice? I don't know any thru-hikers, so links to community pages, fb groups- anything would be awesome. (Looking at April-May)

Starting NOBO at the end of February. Trying to decide if I need my Kammock Firebelly 30 and my Lamina Z 22 degree bag. I have an ENO Spark top quilt 40-60. Any suggestions? Don't want to freeze but would like to free up some space in my pack.

Hey just wanted to warn y’all to be on the lookout for a gentleman who I believe is either going to hike and/or lives along the trail making racist posts about a black YouTuber. It’s so important that we make it obvious racism is not tolerated in the hiking community and show that we want it accessible to all types of people and they feel free to be honest about their experiences.

I don’t think I can name him here but this is just to remind people that this is out there. Would be awesome to see the community take a stand against this the way I’ve seen hikers mobilize to protect solo female hikers.

I completed my Pinhoti thru-hike just over a week ago and finally got around to writing a little summary.

12/27/23 -> 1/16/24 NOBO 21 days total, 1 zero day. 17.5 miles/day without zero, 16.7 mi/day including zero.

I thru-hiked the AT in 2022 and wanted a more solitary challenge that I could knock out in under a month, so I found myself at Flagg Mountain a few days after Christmas. For the most part, I was the only thru-hiker crazy enough to be out in the middle of winter. I ran into one other NOBO and one ECT SOBO, otherwise just day/weekend hikers, mountain bikers, and confused locals. The Pinhoti is such a young trail, that many people (even those living right next to it) don't have the first idea about it. That being said, there is youthful energy surrounding this trail and the local communities - people want to learn more and find ways to support hikers. I think that the Pinhoti is going to become a major hiking destination in the next few years, especially with the ECT and GET gaining popularity.

Would I recommend the Pinhoti? ABSOLUTELY. Would I advise attempting it in January? Not unless you're comfortable suffering a bit. I had some beautiful days, but also snow and ice. Creek crossings when the high is 15 degrees Fahrenheit can be very Type 2. The lack of leaves does allow more sunlight to warm you up, opens up otherwise-obscured views, and makes for some incredible birding.

Winter hike Pros: no bears, no rattlesnakes, no ticks, no mosquitoes, plenty of water, incredible views, few people

Winter hike Cons: very little wildlife, freezing temps at night, frozen tent, snow, risk of water filter freezing

Random stats:

Longest day: Day 19, leaving Dalton, 32.8 miles

Shortest day: Day 21, arriving at the Northern Terminus, 9.6 miles

Favorite day: Day 11, Oakley Mtn. Shelter -> Spring Creek Shelter, 20.9 miles

Toughest day: Day 17, No clue where I was, caught in "hurricane-like conditions" on top of a ridge, 19 miles

Lighterpack link: https://lighterpack.com/r/rh22mu

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Ultimately, the Pinhoti changed be in ways I never expected. It was a brutal journey, but one that I am better for having accomplished.

Feel free to ask me anything about my thru-hike!

Did you get off trail? Did you hike through it?

Has anyone done the pinhoti with their dog? I plan to be out there with my dog next month. He's very afraid of other dogs and I've heard of the road walks with aggressive dogs. I'm not afraid of them but I'm worried they will come after him. Does anyone have any advice/experience with this? (He's a beagle mix)

Sorry for blowing up the sub but it's so lonely on trail right now! The weather's perfect for thruhiking or even if sectioning is your thing. It really isn't cold at all. I haven't met or seen a single hiker yet!

Currently hiking the pinhoti, a little past Weogufka in my tent. Tonight is supposed to be a thunderstom and honestly thunderstorms while camping terrify me, especially considering how high the land is. Can anybody tell me reasons to not very scared?

I plan to do the pinhoti before continuing onto the AT starting next month. Does anyone know the longest you have to go? I got the far-out app for it and it says there's 100 miles without a stop right on the trail but it seems like there are a decent amount of spots where you can road walk to at least a nearby gas station. Just wondering how the pinhoti compares to the AT on remoteness. Thanks

Any fellow winter season hikers going this season? I'm super excited, gonna try taking the Pinhoti to BMT to AT trailhead at Springer

Wondering about general time spent on a thru-hike of the Pinhoti? Whether it be from you or someone you know. I can calculate based on what I have done in the past and what I think I might be able to do but would also like some real perspective!

Normally, would a 50 degree quilt with a sleep liner that adds about 10 degrees warmth be enough to thru-hike the trail starting in mid March or mid April?

Also will have my puffy and hiking pants.

Planning a thru hike of the Pinhoti this winter. Wondering if I should bring my backpacking flyrod? Any advice/opinions appreciated

Looking to start section hiking the Pinhoti as I don’t have time to do a full thru hike since I’m in school. Where can I find resources on trail maps/guides and more particularly individual section maps. I can find section one, and I have the far out Pinhoti guide, but I’m just struggling to find more info as both the Georgia and Alabama sites for the Pinhoti are either down or not helpful. Any information is appreciated and welcome! Thanks in advance!

What are some items you don't "need" but really enjoy when hiking? Pipe tobacco, whiskey, deck of cards, etc?

Hey y'all. I'm hoping to notch a thru of the pinhoti starting mid february of either next year or the year after. I'm curious about how many other hikers typically set off during this season as while I'm comfortable on my own, the road walks on the Pinhoti make me a bit nervous and I'd like to have a partner for them. Just want to know if I can expect to meet people on the trail or if I should be getting a friend to hike with me.

Hey all. I Would welcome a little Pinhoti specific advice for a potential upcoming hike. Goal is to complete the trail, I would be starting around 9/11 and have until around 10/5 to complete. My question is mainly around whether it might still be too hot, and if there has been enough seasonal rainfall to have decent water this year. And how bad are the bugs still? I know its early for the trail, but unfortunately my start and end dates are not flexible.

Second, I was thinking of hiking southbound vs northbound. any specific reason not to do it this way? i was thinking this would be a minor break in the heat, and from the trail pals who have hiked it, the more enjoyable sections in AL would come towards the end. Either way I think i'll be ahead of fall and leaf drop, is the trial going to be a lot less enjoyable with leaves on?

Finally, what has worked for people with regards to parking a vehicle and shuttling back to it? I don't have friends or family in the region and live about 8 hours from the northern terminus.

*I've completed the AT by 2 LASH's and the miles/elevation are within my experience to pull this off in just over 3 weeks. I already have the FarOut map.

Decided to update some info for the Pinhoti Trail:

The current mileage is 351.1 miles.

Alabama is 179.9 miles, Georgia is 171.2 miles.

Alabama has removed several of the road walks at this point, you still have road walks, just nothing extended, one is ~7 miles.

The AL-GA border has been recently re-routed.

Guthook/FarOut is your best resource for up to date trail routing and water information.

I’ve heard amazing things about the views & wildflowers in the GA section, but I want to do as little road walks as possible. I’m considering starting at the southern terminus and averaging 17 miles a day. The “half day” is because I’m being picked up at 12 lol. Any advice/recommendations ?? I also was considering bringing enough food for the 7 days and skipping resupplies. It’ll be heavy, but I’ve done it in the smokies. I’m vegan & I’m worried there won’t be as many options in smaller towns

Friends and I were section hiking this past weekend up near Coleman Lake when my buddy's hammock split right down the middle. We had camped about 5 miles in Thursday night and really didn't want to call it quits or backtrack, so we hiked on a ways until we could hop over to the Chief Ladiga Trail and back to the truck. Closest Walmart/Target was over in Oxford but we didn't really want to stray that far. Tried an army surplus shop with no luck. Happened to notice a place on Google Maps with the odd name "Coddiwomple Hiker Trash and Treasure." We decided to check it out and it was better than we could've ever hoped. Replaced the hammock, grabbed some Mountain House meals, friend got a new Sawyer, other buddy grabbed some coffee out of the hiker box. They had clothes, gear, food, and various other things, plus free water refill. Highly recommend if you're in the area!

Bethany (I think that's her name) said they'd been open since December. She said we may have lucked out not climbing over Dugger Mtn in the rain. We took it as a sign and grabbed a couple drinks downtown before hopping back on trail on the other side of the mountain lol

Any other Thru hikers hitting the trail on Monday?

Any recommendations? Also, do you just camp where it's open, stealth camp, or will I need a backcountry permit?

Thinking of knocking out Dennis Mill to the Northern Terminus (or vice versa) sometime in the next month or so. Have only hiked the southern portion of the trail so far, so not too familiar with the northern part. Can anyone suggest a good parking option for the northern terminus to leave our 2nd car? I have guthooks and scoured the web but couldn't really find any great options. I realize it's not at a trailhead and we will have to keep going some, but just was curious where folks parked on the northern end.