A Foggy Five Thousand Foot Day

This morning I woke up around 5am to the sound of it starting to rain lightly. We waited a little while before packing up, but the rain didn’t last more than a few minutes. Then we were moving around 5:30am.

It was dark for over an hour, but the trail was pretty easy to navigate. There were some small hills but not too much climbing to do. Within an hour we crossed out onto the road for Porter’s Gap. In 2023 I hitched a ride into Talladega with a kind pastor who bought me lunch. This time around we’re moving a lot faster, which means we can bypass resupplying in Talladega altogether. The Next Step hostel in town is incredible though! It would have been cool to go back there if timing had allowed. But we’ll be in Helfin very soon already.

Arriving at Porter’s Gap right around sunrise.

The sun was just starting to come up at we walked across the road to the Porter’s Gap parking area. Then we continued walking along the trail. There was some water at the trailhead which was great. This might be a pretty long water carry for us. Coming out of the gap there was a good bit of climbing to do. But the trail up top was a rock covered narrow mountain of sorts, weaving up towards the taller portions ahead. We passed some weekend campers at one site. Then continued climbing until it leveled out a bit.

Pinhoti trail markers on a tree in the forest.

I can definitely tell that I’ve been walking on flat road for the last 1,000 miles. Because climbing even these small hills is certainly tangible. But I’ve been able to keep my breathing pretty calm and make my way up them all. I can feel the familiar burn through my legs, asking me to stop climbing. It’s been a fun change of pace to begin relearning how to silence that.

It was a foggy and misty day as we continued along the trail. There were moments where it seemed like the sky might open up and it would begin pouring. But it always held off. We grabbed some water from a creek which was a nice surprise. Then we headed toward the “Rock Garden”. A section of trail well known for its mile or two of continuous small rocks which cover the trail. On a wet morning with lots of fallen leaves, it was definitely slower going. Rocks would move randomly under your feet. I had a moment or two where I slipped off of one and had to catch myself. But we made it through just fine.

A foggy morning as we hiked along the trail.

I remember just how much slower it felt during my first thru hike of the Pinhoti. Everything felt slower. I was nursing previous injury then and couldn’t push myself nearly to the extent that I’m at now. It’s been a unique experience getting to see this trail under such new circumstances.

After getting through the rock garden we had some more climbing to do. I hadn’t eaten a ton up to this point, and I could feel my muscles asking for food. I always find that I flow much more fluidly up a climb when I’m fueled. My legs definitely tell me that they want to stop more frequently when I haven’t eaten a lot. We were continuing on though a bit further to get to the next road, Adam’s Gap. Where we planned to stop off for lunch.

Along the way we ran into a guy who was out doing trail maintenance. He recognized us right away and began talking to us about the hike. His name was Tony and he was out with his cute little dog Heidi. After talking briefly we continued along the trail. Then did another few climbs before getting to that next road. I got service and managed to get a video up while walking. But the blog had to wait, because that level of multitasking is beyond even my best abilities.

The fog stayed put for the entire day. Making for few views along the trail.

We got out to the road a little after noon. But not before doing another decent climb to get there. Then sat on the curb to eat. We were a bit hopeful that perhaps a passer by might stop off to chat and maybe have a little trail magic. Every time we see a car on a road near the trail we always joke that it’s trail magic.

After sitting there for a while and eating something we continued along. Heading towards Cheaha State Park. We wanted to get up to the camp store before it closed for the day. The thought of a soda or a chocolate milk was very tempting. Leaving the road we began an on and off climb for the next few hours. But the last hour or so we were climbing pretty continuously. The time went by quickly though as we cruised along, eventually reaching the top.

Entering Cheaha State Park.

Then we continued along and headed toward the state park store. I was crazy hungry and happy to be stopping off there. Inside I got 2 hot pockets, a Yoo-hoo, a Powerade to pack out, and a root beer. There was a microwave inside for the hot pockets. Then we sat outside in a couple of rocking chairs to feast. We didn’t have far to go from there, so it felt like the day was just about over.

The sign for the Cheaha state park store.

Once we wrapped up there we walked back down the road and got onto the trail again. There were only 2 miles to go to get to the Blue Mountain Shelter. We were hoping that it would be empty and we could stay tonight. I’d just personally rather tent if there were a few other people in the shelter. Just to make sure we can call it a night whenever we want.

The sign off of the road where you got back on trail. Only 2 miles to Blue Mountain Shelter.

Getting to the shelter there was another bit of climbing to do. It was really steep in sections, but then would level out just long enough to get your breathing back in check. The rocks and leaves all along the trail were so slippery from the rain earlier. I had to be really careful with my footing and not put too much trust into any one step. Then we got down to the shelter a little while before it got dark.

Making our way to the shelter.

The shelter was empty which was a delight! So we got inside and got situated there. It was still really early which I was happy about. That gave us plenty of time to wind down and relax. I wasn’t quite hungry yet, but was still planning on eating a dehydrated mountain house meal. The fettuccine Alfredo is definitely in my top 5. I was pretty dang excited to eat that, hungry or not.

Arriving at the shelter for the night.

I got a bit of video work done while I laid in the shelter. Then did my stretching before making the meal. I still wasn’t really hungry at all. Then we decided to watch a movie in the shelter. Which is the wildest luxury in the world. We even have service at this shelter. Which means we can lounge “indoors”, eat dinner, and watch a movie. This is as close to the town experience as one could have while on trail.

So we watched a movie and I ate my dinner. Then we just chilled out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we will be getting in to Helfin! We’re only about 25 miles out now. Then we’ll probably be staying in town for the night to resupply and charge everything up.

Nothing like an empty shelter after a 30 mile day!

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