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| The scouts of Exp. 617-R at the Cheaha Trailhead Arch |
This past weekend, Exp. 617-R took to the mountains (or at least what passes for mountains in Alabama) to hike part of the Pinhoti Trail system. The 335 trail is a national recreation trail that stretches from east central Alabama into northwest Georgia and serves as a connector trail to the much longer, and better known, Appalachian Trail. Part of the Pinhoti stretches across Cheaha Mountain in the Talladega National Forest. We were originally set to hike a loop trail of the Pinhoti in the same area but heavy rains in May damaged part of the trail, which closed a section we were to hike. Instead, we began our hike at the Cheaha trailhead, just below the state park, and made a loop down the Pihoti and back up the Cave Creek Trail. We arrived in the early evening on Friday and hiked about three-quarters of a mile to the first campsite on the ridge. The site had a nice view off the mountain overlooking Oxford and Anniston. We were able to watch the sunset as we set up camp and prepared dinner.
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| Sunset from our campsite |
On Saturday morning, after breakfast, we packed up and made our way down the trail along the ridge of the mountain. The highest point we crossed was Hernandez Peak, which at 2344 ft is the second highest point in the state. At McDill Point, we came upon the wreckage of an airplane that had crashed into the mountain in 1972. We also found a geocache in the vicinity of the crash site.
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| The remains of a Mooney M20C aircraft |
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| Examining the geocache |
As we continued our hike down the ridgeline, it became apparent that we were unlikely to encounter a significant water source for several miles. Following our lunch break, we took a connector trail over to the Cave Creek Trail and followed it down to the creek. Utilizing both of our pump filters and the gravity filter, we refreshed our dwindling water supply and quenched our thirst at the same time.
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| Making a pit stop at Cave Creek |
Since we were closer to the trailhead than we intended to be at that point, we continued past our starting point and back up to the Pinhoti Trail along the ridge. The scouts made the decision (by voice vote) to camp in the same spot we had occupied on Friday night. After pitching our tents and waiting out a passing thunderstorm, we enjoyed a dinner of chicken and pasta with Alfredo sauce.
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| Setting up camp |
Following breakfast, we gathered at the overlook for a devotional given by our chaplain's aide, Joseph. The group also engaged in an assessment of the weekend to see where our strengths lay, what we had learned from the experience, and what we still needed to do in preparation for Philmont. The scouts all saw the weekend as a positive experience and a good test of our ability to work together as a team.
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| Joseph inspires us with his devotional message |
We broke camp and hiked back down to the trailhead to meet Ms. Burkhalter, who was kind enough to drive part of the crew up to Cheaha and back. Our total mileage for the hike was just over twelve and a half miles, with eleven of them hiked on Saturday. With our training at an end, the big test awaits. Next stop - Philmont Scout Ranch!
Click here for more photos from the weekend.