The Waters And Ravines of the Pinhoti (ECT Days 76)

• Hiked Today: 23.5 miles
  • Pinhoti Trail (108.9 – 124.8 & 126.4 – 133.5)
  • Flooded Highrock Lake Alt. (0.5 mi.)
• Total Hiked: 1,644.1 miles
• Total Paddled: 99.5 miles

Elevation: 863 – 1,289 feet

Abandoned Rd Spot to Cell Service Hilltop Fail Spot 

To start things off today, I’m going to ramble here a bit about the terrain I’m hiking through…

Imagine a mountain in your head. Now broaden that image to include a series of mountains, or a range of mountains in a linear pattern… a whole string of individual peaks but they’re connected and conglomerated into one unit.

Got that? Ok, in your image, do you picture this linear mountain range as being smooth, kind of like a triangular prism in geometry? No. Rather, there are ridges and varying slopes. It’s irregular, but at the same time, there seems to be underlying patterns based on how the geomorphologic (I may have made up this word) forces have shaped things.

I won’t go into the whole geology of the Appalachian Mountains in this post but it’s been on my mind and I hope to do a deep dive into it at some point. Maybe I’ll get an audiobook that goes into it. For my intent today though, let’s just say these mountains came to be and exist, but over time they’re being regularly pounded by rain, wind, fire etc… all those natural forces in nature. All those have shaped what I’m seeing here and one of the primary impacts is that of erosion.

Water falls as rain or hits the trees and then falls, then it flows on the surface either as a sheet or into a stream. Some of course soaks into the ground too. But that groundwater and surface water it’s all moving with gravity downhill. And with it, the sediment whether sand, silt, clay, or cobble… all that’s getting transported away too, and that’s how these ravines are carved out. Erosion sometimes gives off a negative connotation, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s natural and it’s only when humans start meddling that things get messed up. 

Just for funsies, I looked up the definition of a ravine since I’ve been using it a lot. Here’s what ole Merriam-Webster says a ravine is:

“a small narrow steep-sided valley that is larger than a gully and smaller than a canyon and that is usually worn by running water.”

So, maybe I’m using the term right, but also a valley might be just as appropriate or even more accurate 🤷.

The Morning Hike

It was another day winding along through the pretty Pinhoti hilly forests. The trail was usually covered with pine needles or crinkly leaves and the trend of numerous creeks continued as well. I also came across some fun rock features and flooded water bodies today.

I had second breakfast right in the grass as this lengthy and loud train was going by.

Some trees down over the trail, but generally the Pinhoti is extremely well maintained. Some show evidence of being fresh from the recent storm. I’ve been kicking off and flinging small branches as best I can.

Occasional viewage looking out

I’ve been realizing I’m a big moss fan. I don’t really know anything about it, but it’s bright and soft and strikingly natural-feeling.

This is heading down to the super scenic Lower Shoals Shelter and picnic table. It was a great spot and I joined a hiker with the trail name Onward (I think) for lunch there. It was great chatting with him. For lunch, I had the same avocado wrap, And I realized I have to cut myself off… Unfortunately, I sometimes get a mild reaction to the avo 🤷. Just scratchy throat, but not pleasant.

The Post-Lunch Hike 

Leaving the shelter.

In the afternoon, there were several spots that gave the appearance of being flooded. Some were actual dammed up lakes, but even those had trees underwater to a level that didn’t seem typical. Again, I imagine this is from the storm a few nights ago.

I’ll have to work on my stone skipping skills and video’ing skills!

Nearing the end of the day I met Tyler, Just Steve, and another hiker I had not met yet at a shelter. I hoped to go on a little further wanting to see if I could set up where there was some cell service. It was nice talking to them though and commiserating some about the tough sections of trail we’d hiked through today.