To start off, let me say that I am primarily a "fair weather, weekend hiker". Mt. Everest is something I prefer to watch on PBS. This web page was very useful in planning my hike. I also found purchasing a map useful (follow the links to the Forest Ranger station).
Day 1. I drove up from Tallahassee to meet my hiking partner who lives in Knoxville. We met at the gift shop, a convenient spot. We were planning on a short round trip starting from Adams Gap, but after talking to the Park Ranger we decided to start at the Cheaha Park Trailhead. The Adams Gap Trailhead is rather isolated and apparently occasional acts of vandalism occur. The Cheaha Trailhead at least gets the occasional Park Ranger patrol. [Lee's Note- I've never had any problems here, I'd like feedback from other people if they have or haven't had problems. Always use common sense and leave nothing of value visible inside your car.]
(7-9 miles) We started along Cave Creek Trail south to Odum Trail at around 2pm (we were operating on EST, so this was 1pm local). It is a fairly easy hike, easy to follow, with an easy to moderate climb up Odum Trail to Odum Point. We wandered off the Odum Trail from time to time, but found our way back. Parts are not very well marked, and where there is a campsite, there might be two or three trails leading away. The wrong trails ended within a couple of hundred yards. We initially planned on spending the night at Odum Point but it was still early so we headed down the Silent Trail. (the Pinhoti, Silent, and Odum Trails intersect at Odum Point) The Silent Trail is well marked. This is a rather steep descent for the first mile or two. I imagine going up this trail would be quite strenuous. We hiked until a small river crossing (look around until you find a spot with enough rocks to hop across). I believe this was the Hunter Camp [Turnipseed Camp is right beyond this point at the outhouse and parking lot,a semi developed camping spot, people have had problems with dogs here.] It is an excellent campsite. We didn't know it, but we were only a couple hundred yards from the parking lot and outhouse (I'm all for not digging holes unless absolutely necessary). Fortunately mother nature didn't call until the following morning as we hiked out.
Day 2. (12-14miles) We continued down the Silent Trail until the Skyway Loop Trail. This was all very well marked. The hike was reasonably easy, with a few parts approaching moderate. We followed this to Adams Gap and then up the Pinhoti. We had hoped to make it to Odum Point to camp but stopped maybe a mile or two short as it was getting dark and a thunderstorm was rolling in. From Adams Gap to Odum Point is approximtely 5-6 miles, with the first two miles being a moderate hike, the next mile or so quite strenuous (500 ft ascent in less then ½ mile), and after that a fairly easy hike. Most of it is fairly well marked, but not a lot of campsites. Anyway, we found one of the few flat spots to pitch the tent and had it up maybe 10 minutes before the storm hit. It stormed most of the night . Fortunately my 15 year old Eureka dome held up surprisingly well.
Day 3. (6-8miles) It is very foggy and windy still, but the rain seems to have stopped. We began our trek towards Odum Point along the Pinhoti. This part was fairly easy to hike and follow. A sign at Odum Point indicated that is was 6 miles to the Cheaha Park Trailhead, but that was the shortest 6 miles I have seen. I would guess it being closer to 4 miles. The trail is a fairly easy hike, but not particularly well marked. We ended up on an old forest road at one point, but it intersected with the Pinhoti later on and from there the trail was better marked. We made it back to the cars sometime before noon.
Once back, we went to the gift store where we were able to purchase passes to use the campground shower facilities. It was something like $2 or $3 a person, quite reasonable. [At the right is Michael before the shower :-)]
Overall, this was a great weekend hike. It ended up being maybe 27-30 miles total, and about 45 hours. Only one part was especially strenuous. There are several river/stream crossings, but they can be done without getting the boots wet if one is careful. All the intersections had signs which was nice. Most of the trail is easy enough to follow, and when it isn't, somehow we always found our way back. Water was available (streams mostly). There are established campsites with fire rings every few miles so it shouldn't be necessary to impact on nature too much. We met one couple on the trail the first day, otherwise had the trails to ourselves (this was Thursday-Saturday, March 2-4, 2000) There were people at the campsites near the parking lots.
Michael
Also in response to a question of mine about how well he liked the trail: "I liked it very much. Lots of great scenery, peace and quiet, all the things I look for in a hike."
