Pinhoti Trail to BMT to Springer – March 2015

[Brian Carr]

Hey everyone. I would appreciate y'all taking a look at my gear list here: http://lighterpack.com/r/cbenmu

The trip:
Starting in the first week of March 2015, my girlfriend and I will be hiking the Pinhoti trail to BMT to Springer and up the AT til April 10th and see how far we can get, probably Franklin, NC (111 mi N of Springer) or Fontana Dam (166 mi), about 500 mi over 35ish days. We are skipping some of the road walking at the beginning of the Pinhoti, and are totally open to skipping some of the 60 or so miles of road walking in Georgia. It's just not our thing and don't get me started if I hear a banjo. So it will be about 360miles to Springer if we hike all the road walks in GA. Then we feel comfortable being able to hike to Fontana, and probably stay out of the Smokies in early April because it's the Smokies in early April and anything can happen.

The hikers:
We are both experienced hikers, having both thru hiked the AT in 2011. Now, we'd have to average about 18 miles per day to get to Fontana Dam in a month, roughly, which is totally doable given we'd have a week or so to play with on top of that. But realistically we're shooting for around 16-24 miles/day because we like to hike.

Some details:
We are sharing the cooking system. Eating consists of cold breakfast, snacks lunches, hot dinner. All of it with a lot of fat ie butter and coconut oil because that is a diet that feels best for us. Personal diet preferences aside, I'm pretty sure the 9 calories/gram of fat vs 4 calories/gram of carb/protein may end up negating the extra weight for 1lb countainers for butter/coconut oil at each resupply.

She is bringing her Fly Creek UL2 which we will share most of the time (especially on cold nights), however, sometimes I just like to sleep solo which is the reason for the Gatewood

She is also bringing Aqua Mira for water treatment.

After checking out the list, I'm sure the obvious question is whether that is enough insulation to hike with if it gets cold. I do not have any experience hiking in Alabama, so I do not know if it is common for extreme changes. Looking at historical weather, there might be a couple days in March it gets below 30.
Georgia in late March/early April is a crapshoot. I fully expect the possibility of some miserably cold day(s), however, I'm a fast hiker and if I can keep moving, I'll stay warm. Once I get to camp, I like to eat, and go to bed super early. It's one of my favorite reasons for backpacking.

Anyways, I appreciate everyones' time and consideration and feedback.

Cheers,

Brian aka Gumby, GA-ME 2011

[Owen McMurrey]

March is usually pretty mild here in Alabama. While there can be a wide range of weather conditions for the month(we've had a blizzard and several feet of snow in March, but that was a couple of decades ago), the changes aren't sudden, and are usually forecast well ahead of time. Just check right before you start, in case it's warmer or colder than usual.
Do expect rain while you're here, and to be in fog part of the time on the Pinhoti. The "mountains" you'll be following aren't very high(1-2.4k'), but they can have you hiking in a cloud when it's overcast, even if it doesn't rain.

Your gear looks ok to me, except for that Ibex merino hoody as your active layer.
Unless temps are below average this year, it's going to get fairly warm during the daytime. 60s most likely, maybe even 70F. The overnight and morning humidity(and possibly all day) will be 80-100%, and 50-60% during the daytime at the lowest-meaning you will sweat your a$$ off in a merino shirt, and it will never dry.
That's my experience with both 150 and 200wt, anyway.
That time of year, I'm usually in just a synthetic T, and add a light nylon button up shirt over it when it's cool.
Might want to bring an extra pair of socks, since they won't dry very quickly, either.

Good luck; it sounds like a nice trip!

[Tipi Walter]

Neato. I pulled a backpacking trip down the BMT (north to south) and went thru the Cohutta wilderness to the northern terminus of the Pinhoti in Georgia. You'll be coming form the other direction—south I guess—and will see these landmarks on the Pinhoti—

You'll cross forest road 64 at Buddy Cove Gap and descend on this logging road where I found a place to camp, and water is just down the hill to the right in this pic.

Once all the way down this old logging road you'll reach a big creek crossing over the South Fork of Jacks River. There are great camping spots in this area on the other side of the ford.

Once past the ford you reach this important end of the Pinhoti with the BMT going north and south.

[Tipi Walter]

Here's a close up shot of the northern Pinhoti terminus.

Enjoy your trip.

[David Ure]

Those are some pretty rough conditions. Good thing you had the Katium with you!

Speaking of gear lists, when can we expect yours, Tipi?

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