Day: 39

 

Yesterday’s Goals:

 

I am going to try hard to finish the Pinhoti Trail

Activities of The Day:

 

After sleeping most of the day yesterday, when the alarm went off, I was surprised as I was still up, stretching, and thinking. I packed everything up and was walking around 7:30.

Sunrise Photo

A few minutes after starting this chilly morning, I was greeted by a lovely, warm sunrise.

Sunrise Photo

The warmth did not last long as I was quickly put on the shady side of the mountain. Once in a while, I’d get some warmth, though.

After walking for about an hour, some mountain bikers caught up to me and said, “There he is.” Well, at least someone is paying attention to me. They went their way, and I went mine and didn’t see anyone for hours.

Georgia put on one heck of a water show today! The show started right before noon. As I approached, another hiker approached from the other side and took photos. It seemed that he was very unaware that I was there. However, when he stood and came towards me, he acted like he knew I was there the whole time. A weird interaction we had.

Rock Waterfall

These logs were awesomely laid And were close to the rock waterfall.

Logs Laying Across Creek

I told myself I would stop around noon and lay out my tent and kit. As I approached a huge tree, the timing could not have been more perfect.

Large Tree

A couple of mountain bikers stopped as I sat there with my gear on the line. One of them wanted a picture taken in front of it. I inquired what was unique about the tree, and he claimed that it is the only tree not harvested way back in history and is now one of the oldest trees around. I should have taken another picture from the other side, but my knee was not up for the task.

I packed everything up at two and started walking again; I saw a strange sight before me.

DON’T COME THIS WAY!

I took this as a sign not to go that way; I went anyway. Nothing but downed trees for miles to come.

Fallen Trees

Fallen Trees

A Cute Little Waterfall

More Trees

I concluded that the send-off from Alabama was rock gardens, and since Georgia didn’t have any, they put these downed trees in to make life fun.

As I went through this jungle of trees, I passed two hikers going south. They stated that they started closer to the northern terminus and that there were a lot of deep water crossings coming up,. Their pants were wet up to their knees, so I took that news with a grain of salt; I’ve been walking through water for a month now.

I passed another excellent log layout before I came to the next water crossing.

Logs Laying On The Ground

As I approached a small river, a trail sign told me where to go.

Trail Sign

I looked around and saw some logs that crossed the river.

Log Crossing

The guy who typically takes the non-gravitational route decided today to challenge the pull. I failed! I lost my balance and fell off the logs into the river between logs. As I climbed out, more logs broke, causing me to fall into the river repeatedly. Finally, I got out of the river; my knee was very, very mad at me. The other one was crying blood. I went down to where I should have crossed from the start and went across.

A few hundred feet after that crossing was another, with a faster, deeper flow. I liked this crossing because it reminded me of a place from my childhood.

Childhood Water Crossing

I crossed with no issues and continued down the trail. For some reason, I started thinking of what the other hikers told me, making me look at the map. WELL! I did not need to cross either of those rivers! I should have turned instead of crossing. My story is that the sign lied to me and is at fault here! You cannot change my mind!

Back on track, I told myself I’d cross it again later down the trail. Then the show started!

Waterfall

Waterfall Where I had to Cross And It Was Deep

Waterfall

Waterfall

Waterfall

Waterfall

A Nature Blocking Waterfall

Small Creek Coming Into The River

Larger Creek Entering The River

At the very end, while I was climbing up a steep mountain, there was a beautiful waterfall. Nature did its absolute best to block it. So good at blocking it that I didn’t even take a single photo of it. The show was fantastic, though; if you ever get a chance, check out this place. The climb is steep, though.

Once on top of that mountain, I was three miles short of my goal for the day. I was exhausted and freezing because the wind was moving on top. I went from being warm to freezing in seconds. It really didn’t help that my shoes and socks were soaking wet!

I quickly set up camp and got into my sleeping bag to warm up. That did very little to help. I then boiled water to put in my water bottle to warm my feet. That didn’t help. Next, I boiled water again and put it between my legs, which helped my core and my feet. I then cooked dinner, which helped out some. The wind was kicking, though. Have you ever heard a jet fly through the air? That’s what the wind sounded like. The plane just happened to be right outside of my tent, though! The loud wind did not go away until three this morning. Let’s recap here: I woke on the day before around one, stayed up all night, and walked 15 miles while climbing over, under, through trees, then the rivers, and now I have this jet right outside of my tent. Sleep did not happen for a long time!

End of Day Photo

 

What’s Ahead:

I have about three miles left on the Pinhoti! Thanks to some accommodating people, a shuttle was arranged about two miles further on Benton MacKay Trail, which I will be taking.

Goals:

Finish the Pinhoti Trail!

Stats:

Mileage of the day: 15
Mileage on Trail: 347/350
Days on Trail: 39
Number of Zero’s: 6 (no miles hiked)
Number of Nero’s:4 (less than five miles hiked)
States: Alabama, Georgia
Trails completed:
The good: Georgia put on one heck of a water show
The Bad: Downed trees
Thank you for following along!