Section 1
This is the northernmost section of the trail in the Talladega
National Forest. The trail continues north to the Georgia boarder on private
lands. The trail begins at a trailhead with a parking lot on US Highway
278 near Piedmont, and ends at the Terrapin Creek Watershed. This section
is 13.6 miles long, crosses two paved roads, and follows the Chief
Lidiga Rail Trail for a short distance.
The trailhead is nine miles east of Piedmont on US 278.
It is a large gravel parking lot on the south side of the road with an
information board (that did not contain any information when I was there).
The parking lot is visible from the road, it is not marked but there is
a sign on the other side of the road for the trail, so keep your eyes out
for it.
From the trailhead the trail is marked but poorly maintained
with lots of thorns and bushes creeping in on the trail. The trail skirts
the side of a logged area and begins a long steady climb up Augusta Mine
Ridge. This section has been burned very recently, although the trail
is still easy enough to follow. About half a mile or so from the
trailhead the trail parallels a steam, on the other side you can see an
old road bed that would be a possible to campsite. You had better
fill up with water here as there won't be another reliable water source
for the rest of the section unless you want to go down to Terrapin Creek
from the Chief Ladiga Rail Trail bridge, still about 7 miles away.
This section is interesting, there are remnants of an old dam and lake
to the east of the trail, and another dam down in the stream. This gap
is called Lanie Hollow. From here the trail continues to go up, crossing
a number of streams (which didn't appear reliable), before it finally makes
the ridge about two miles or more from the trail head. After walking
along the top of the ridge for a while, and near a large relay tower, you
come to the shallow Lanie Gap.
From
Lanie Gap the trail climbs a couple hundred more feet up to the top of
the ridge. At one point you come to a T, the direction of the trail here
is unmarked. Turn right and continue to climb up. In places this section
was used for a fire break and so is wide and obvious if not well marked.
The trail follows the top of Augusta Mine Ridge to the end which is about
a mile, it is very rocky and flirts with an old road bed much of the way.
You will pass a marker noting an easement given by a Audery Fergerson in
memory of her husband Robert to allow the trail to continue over the ridge.
At one point trail becomes somewhat confusing, appearing to branch off
to the left. I was with a group that got misdirected at this point, if
you start heading east and down turn around and find where the trail continues
along the ridge. At the end of the ridge the trail descends to Maxwell
Gap. This portion of the trail is interesting as well as there are some
large rocks and some opportunities to look out and see the mountain.
If you are aware you will see a section to the east of the trail where
you can sit under an old oak tree and will have a window out to the south.
On a clear day you can see Cheaha barely outlined in the distance from
here, nearly 40 miles away, 80 miles by trail. This is a pretty awesome
sight if you are going the whole way to Cheaha or, like me, have come up
from there. The trail descends through some thick scrubby pines,
the result of reforestation, to Maxwell Gap. Overall this portion
of trail isn't bad, but it doesn't offer the large scenic vistas that you
want since you are hiking the top of a ridge. Going when the leaves are
down will make it more enjoyable. I give this portion a two to three star
rating and it is moderate in difficulty, with a fair amount of up hill,
but it isn't very steep. The top of the ridge is very rocky, the
rest is okay. Trail maintenance for this section is poor and it will be
very difficult to follow the trail in the summer when all the branches
in the way have leaves on them.
From County Road 70 at Maxwell Gap you are going to go
back up over Wilson Ridge and then 
descend
to the Rail Trail. Willson Ridge is fairly rocky and offers probably
the best views of this section. I especially like the section heading
down across a steep incline, you can see out through the thin trees.
At the bottom you will cross County Road 94. This road is washed
out at a bridge about a mile west of here, if you want to drive to this
trailhead you will have to follow 70 through maxwell gap and then turn
south for about a mile to where the Pinhoti Crosses. Look carefully
for the signs. South of 94 the trail joins the rail trail for just
under 1/2 a mile, crossing Terrapin Creek on an old rail bridge.
The rail trail isn't too interesting, but it is flat and easy walking.
The northern entrance to the rail trail is well marked, but the southern
entrance isn't so well marked, watch carefully for it. This section
is pretty, 3 stars, moderate, and not too hard to follow, although there
arn't many markers.
The
final leg of this section heads up and over Oakey Mountain and the section
ends at the Terrapin Watershed. Jay Hudson, the web master for the ATA,
thinks this last stretch is the best section of the trail, I'll let you
know what I think in a few weeks. It is pretty, but I'm somewhat
less enthusiastic than he. You start by going up and over some small
hills that have been logged and are scrubby. Then you climb up fairly
steeply beside a stream, turn east and head over a small ridge. This
is the best section of Oakey, in my opinion, it is fairly open and diverse,
with hard woods and long leaf pine, and an occasional view. The trail
winds along the rocky mountainside for a mile or more to a little hollow.
In the hollow is a nice camp site that I used on my thru-hike (you can
see pictures there). The hollow is somewhat protected with a small
stream in it and a fire ring that is just off of forest service property.
From the hollow it is a short distance up to the ridge
of Oakey, which is very rocky and 
unspectacular.
The trail winds fairly steeply down the mountain from here, closed in by
relatively young hard woods. Once most of the way down the mountain
you will cross a number of streams. At the point where they come
together to form one there is an old birch tree [see photo] that caught
my imagination, I've seen many older trees and some more twisted trees,
but none with as much character as this one, reminiscent of the old willow
residing deep in the Old Forest from the first of Tolkien's Lord
of the Ring series. Carved in the tree are the initials PS, the tree
and I will leave it to your imagination whether Peggy Smith escaped alive
or if her bones washed downstream in the last flood. From the tree
the trail heads up and then down to the watershed through an area of forest
in which nearly all the trees have fallen, it is quite impressive although
not very pretty to walk through.
Trail Reports
Section 1
This is the northernmost section of the trail in the Talladega
National Forest. The trail continues north to the Georgia boarder on private
lands. The trail begins at a trailhead with a parking lot on US Highway
278 near Piedmont, and ends at the Terrapin Creek Watershed. This section
is 13.6 miles long, crosses two paved roads, and follows the Chief
Lidiga Rail Trail for a short distance.
The trailhead is nine miles east of Piedmont on US 278.
It is a large gravel parking lot on the south side of the road with an
information board (that did not contain any information when I was there).
The parking lot is visible from the road, it is not marked but there is
a sign on the other side of the road for the trail, so keep your eyes out
for it.
From the trailhead the trail is marked but poorly maintained
with lots of thorns and bushes creeping in on the trail. The trail skirts
the side of a logged area and begins a long steady climb up Augusta Mine
Ridge. This section has been burned very recently, although the trail
is still easy enough to follow. About half a mile or so from the
trailhead the trail parallels a steam, on the other side you can see an
old road bed that would be a possible to campsite. You had better
fill up with water here as there won't be another reliable water source
for the rest of the section unless you want to go down to Terrapin Creek
from the Chief Ladiga Rail Trail bridge, still about 7 miles away.
This section is interesting, there are remnants of an old dam and lake
to the east of the trail, and another dam down in the stream. This gap
is called Lanie Hollow. From here the trail continues to go up, crossing
a number of streams (which didn't appear reliable), before it finally makes
the ridge about two miles or more from the trail head. After walking
along the top of the ridge for a while, and near a large relay tower, you
come to the shallow Lanie Gap.
From
Lanie Gap the trail climbs a couple hundred more feet up to the top of
the ridge. At one point you come to a T, the direction of the trail here
is unmarked. Turn right and continue to climb up. In places this section
was used for a fire break and so is wide and obvious if not well marked.
The trail follows the top of Augusta Mine Ridge to the end which is about
a mile, it is very rocky and flirts with an old road bed much of the way.
You will pass a marker noting an easement given by a Audery Fergerson in
memory of her husband Robert to allow the trail to continue over the ridge.
At one point trail becomes somewhat confusing, appearing to branch off
to the left. I was with a group that got misdirected at this point, if
you start heading east and down turn around and find where the trail continues
along the ridge. At the end of the ridge the trail descends to Maxwell
Gap. This portion of the trail is interesting as well as there are some
large rocks and some opportunities to look out and see the mountain.
If you are aware you will see a section to the east of the trail where
you can sit under an old oak tree and will have a window out to the south.
On a clear day you can see Cheaha barely outlined in the distance from
here, nearly 40 miles away, 80 miles by trail. This is a pretty awesome
sight if you are going the whole way to Cheaha or, like me, have come up
from there. The trail descends through some thick scrubby pines,
the result of reforestation, to Maxwell Gap. Overall this portion
of trail isn't bad, but it doesn't offer the large scenic vistas that you
want since you are hiking the top of a ridge. Going when the leaves are
down will make it more enjoyable. I give this portion a two to three star
rating and it is moderate in difficulty, with a fair amount of up hill,
but it isn't very steep. The top of the ridge is very rocky, the
rest is okay. Trail maintenance for this section is poor and it will be
very difficult to follow the trail in the summer when all the branches
in the way have leaves on them.
From County Road 70 at Maxwell Gap you are going to go
back up over Wilson Ridge and then 
descend
to the Rail Trail. Willson Ridge is fairly rocky and offers probably
the best views of this section. I especially like the section heading
down across a steep incline, you can see out through the thin trees.
At the bottom you will cross County Road 94. This road is washed
out at a bridge about a mile west of here, if you want to drive to this
trailhead you will have to follow 70 through maxwell gap and then turn
south for about a mile to where the Pinhoti Crosses. Look carefully
for the signs. South of 94 the trail joins the rail trail for just
under 1/2 a mile, crossing Terrapin Creek on an old rail bridge.
The rail trail isn't too interesting, but it is flat and easy walking.
The northern entrance to the rail trail is well marked, but the southern
entrance isn't so well marked, watch carefully for it. This section
is pretty, 3 stars, moderate, and not too hard to follow, although there
arn't many markers.
The
final leg of this section heads up and over Oakey Mountain and the section
ends at the Terrapin Watershed. Jay Hudson, the web master for the ATA,
thinks this last stretch is the best section of the trail, I'll let you
know what I think in a few weeks. It is pretty, but I'm somewhat
less enthusiastic than he. You start by going up and over some small
hills that have been logged and are scrubby. Then you climb up fairly
steeply beside a stream, turn east and head over a small ridge. This
is the best section of Oakey, in my opinion, it is fairly open and diverse,
with hard woods and long leaf pine, and an occasional view. The trail
winds along the rocky mountainside for a mile or more to a little hollow.
In the hollow is a nice camp site that I used on my thru-hike (you can
see pictures there). The hollow is somewhat protected with a small
stream in it and a fire ring that is just off of forest service property.
From the hollow it is a short distance up to the ridge
of Oakey, which is very rocky and 
unspectacular.
The trail winds fairly steeply down the mountain from here, closed in by
relatively young hard woods. Once most of the way down the mountain
you will cross a number of streams. At the point where they come
together to form one there is an old birch tree [see photo] that caught
my imagination, I've seen many older trees and some more twisted trees,
but none with as much character as this one, reminiscent of the old willow
residing deep in the Old Forest from the first of Tolkien's Lord
of the Ring series. Carved in the tree are the initials PS, the tree
and I will leave it to your imagination whether Peggy Smith escaped alive
or if her bones washed downstream in the last flood. From the tree
the trail heads up and then down to the watershed through an area of forest
in which nearly all the trees have fallen, it is quite impressive although
not very pretty to walk through.
Trail Reports[Pinhoti/Reports/Reports/p1.htm]
Write a report for
Section 1
