PTA Site Map
Pinhoti Trail Alliance
Connecting Alabama to the Appalachian Trail

Trail Guide - Section 11 (AL 2)

Trail Data
Trail Club ~ Appalachian Trail Club of Alabama
Hike Direction ~ Northbound
Hike Distance ~ 8.8 Miles
Southern Terminus ~ 101.8 ~ Burns Trailhead
Northern Terminus ~ 110.6 ~ North USFS 500 Trailhead
ECT Mile Point ~ 1347.5 ~ 1356.3
Trail Description ~ Difficult ~ Dry Rocky Ridges, Long Climbs

Abbreviations
CS ~ Convenience Store / Nice Mom and Pop stores.
    x
TT ~ Trail Town / Large enough for McDonald's.
    x
SC ~ Small Campsite / At least one tent site.
    105.8
LC ~ Large Campsite / At least three tent sites.
    104.5, 106.1, 110.0
TS ~ Trail Shelter / Three sided, open front.
    x
SW ~ Seasonal Water / Needs rain in the past week.
    104.5
RW ~ Reliable Water / Always available.
    101.8, 110.0, 110.5, 110.6

Trail Marking
The new standard blazes for marking the Pinhoti are light blue vertical rectangles. The
standard distance between blazes is around 0.1 miles. Most of these are painted on trees
at about eye level and are about the size of a dollar bill. Until this new changeover is
complete, you will also see some white blazes, silver metal diamonds and white plastic
diamonds with a turkey track on them and some white painted turkey tracks. All of these
will guide you in the right direction.

Time vs Distance
To help you judge the time needed to travel from point A to point B, consider that the
average hiking pace is 2 mph:

60 minutes = 2 miles
30 minutes = 1 mile
15 minutes = 1/2 mile

Driving Directions
Be aware that most of these trailheads and road crossings are in pretty isolated areas
and also be aware that you’ll find very few signs pointing the way. Your odometer is going
to become your best friend. Although various cars and trucks tend to measure distances a
little differently, these mileages should be fairly close.

101.8 ~ BURNS TRAILHEAD
    Exit I ~ 20 at US 431, east of Oxford.
    Go north 0.3 miles to US 78. Turn right.
    Go 3.9 miles to AL 9. Turn left.
    Go 10.9 miles to CR 55, at the yellow flashing light. Turn right.
    Go 4.2 miles to the trailhead parking area, on the left, which is at Mr. Burns old log
    cabin.
    The Pinhoti Approach Trail begins at the Wilderness Dedication Marker behind
    Pinky's barn. Go 100 yards up to the Pinhoti.
    The north trail is to the left.
    The south trail is to the right.

110.6 ~ NORTH USFS 500 TRAILHEAD
    Follow the Burns Trailhead directions to the log cabin.
    Go past the cabin 4.5 miles to USFS 500. Turn left. There is a black mailbox on the
    right at this turn with the address - 20346.
    Go 2.0 miles to the trailhead parking area.
    This is just a pulloff on the left, before the trail crossing, that's big enough for 2
    or 3 vehicles.
    The north trail is on the right.
    The south trail is on the left.

Trail Guide
101.8 ~ BURNS TRAILHEAD / CR 55 ~ 846' ~ RW ~ (Photo)
    The Pinhoti Connector Trail begins at the back of the Burns Trailhead parking area,
    beside the Dugger Mountain Wilderness Dedication Marker. Enter the woods on the
    right and go 0.1 miles to the trail sign. The north trail is to the left.
    The log cabin and outbuildings here are the former home of Mr. Pink E. Burns. Mr.
    Burns died just a few years ago at the age of 87. He lived his whole life in this
    cabin and was able to survive through the bounty of the forest. He was also a great
    story teller and entertained many a hiker through the years on his front porch. He
    also didn't mind if you brought along Moon Pies and Cokie Colas when you came to sit
    a spell.
    WILDFLOWER ~  Beauty Berry / Fall / Purple
    RW ~ Go west on CR 55 0.1 miles to Jones Branch, running along the right side of
    the road.
    NEXT RW ~ 8.2 miles.

101.9 ~ SOUTH DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BOUNDARY
    This is the southern boundary of the 9220 acre Dugger Mountain Wilderness area,
    which was granted Wilderness designation in 1999. A big thanks to all the folks who
    worked so hard for so many years to make this happen. At the beginning of this
    section, you will be traveling along Red Mountain. Once you reach the 104.6 ~ Laurel
    Passage landmark, the trail crosses over to Dugger Mountain and begins sidehilling
    up to the top of the ridge.

104.5 ~ JONES BRANCH ROAD ~ 1240' ~ LC, SW ~ (Photo)
    The trail goes straight across Jones Branch Road.
    You can turn left here on the road and loop about 3 miles back to the Burns
    Trailhead. The Appalachian Trail Club of Alabama and the Anniston Outdoor
    Association lead annual Spring Wildflower Hikes on this loop. These hikes are held
    on consecutive weekends and the ATCA  goes clockwise and the AOA goes counter
    clockwise.
    LC, SW ~ You can go right 0.1 miles on the road to a good spring. There are no fire
    rings here but you will find several flat spots before and after the spring. (Yes, the
    Volkswagen fender on the right, 50' down the road, is from a bug but it is not a
    native species of the Wilderness : )

104.6 ~ * LAUREL PASSAGE ~ (Photo)
    This is where you make the transition from Red Mountain to Dugger Mountain. Look
    for a good winter view on the left of a rock tower up ahead on the ridge.
    WILDFLOWER ~ Mountain Laurel / Late Spring / White

105.8 ~ CAMPSITE ~ SC ~ (Photo)

106.1 ~ DUGGER (TURKEY) GAP ~ 1500' ~ LC
    The trail crosses the old Gap Road here. Continue past the fire ring for about 50'
    and then the trail makes a sharp left turn and goes around the west side of Rocky
    Top 6.

106.2 ~ * ROCKY TOP 6

106.7 ~ * SISTER RIDGE VIEW / PIEDMONT VIEW
    There are many good winter and summer views of her on the left about a mile away.
    You can see the last peak before she drops off into Piedmont. That is AL 9 that
    runs across the top of her head. OUCH !!
    HAZARD - Starting in late spring, the trail passes through several big 100 to 200
    yard patches of Poison Oak over the next 1/2 mile.

107.2 ~ * ROCKY TOP 7

108.2 ~ DUGGER MOUNTAIN FIRE TOWER (missing) ~ 2140'
    The old Dugger Mountain Fire Tower has been purchased by a private citizen and
    was flown out of here by helicopter. Wilderness guidelines do not allow any man
    made structures within the Wilderness boundaries. The tower site is off the trail
    to the left about 0.1 miles. There is no trail to it and no good landmarks to show you
    where to start bushwhacking. If you will keep an eye on the blazes on the right side
    of the trail, you will come to 2 blazes about 20' apart. There are a lot of rocks
    through here and for the first 10' the trail goes straight. In the last 10' the trail
    zigs to the left, then zags to the right and then zigs back to the left again. You can
    turn left here and bushwhack your way up to the highest point, where the 3 survey
    markers are embedded in the rock. Now, go on just a little farther to the tower
    site clearing with the 4 concrete corner blocks. For all of your trouble, there are
    no views at ground level and no "I Dug Dugger" T-shirts either. There is a road at
    the tower site that goes down and intersects with USFS 500, 1.1 miles north of
    the 110.6 ~ USFS 500 Crossing.
    WILDFLOWER ~ False Soloman Seal
    WILDFLOWER ~ Jack in the Pulpit
    WILDFLOWER ~ Indian Pink

110.0 ~ * NORTH DUGGER FLATS ~ 1100' ~ LC, RW ~ (Photo)
    There are 5 creek crossings in the next 0.5 miles. You'll also find a few flat spots
    close to the trail that are suitable for camping. As of 2006, there is only 1 fire ring
    in this area at about mile 110.2. The Forest Service has also done a recent
    endangered plant species survey and there are several areas marked with candy
    stripe (red and white) survey tape where some were found. Please try to stay as
    close to the trail as possible to avoid damaging anything. Thanks.
    FORDING HAZARD ~ These crossings are about 6' wide, 6" deep and rocky. They
    are a little tricky to cross on a good day and after a heavy rain, even more so. The
    water won't be over knee high so you don't have to worry too much about being
    swept downstream, but the chances of falling in the rocks are high. Use extreme
    caution.
    WILDFLOWER ~  Mountain Laurel / Late Spring / White

110.5 ~ NORTH DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS BOUNDARY ~ 850' ~ RW

110.6 ~ NORTH USFS 500 TRAILHEAD ~ 860' ~ RW ~ (Photo)
    The trail comes out at the road about 50' above the trailhead parking area.
    Every now and then you will come across an area that has been burned. Most times,
    these fires are started by the Forest Service and are called Prescribed Burns.
    The main reason for this is to keep the leaf layer on the ground, which is called
    Duff, thin enough so that if there is an accidental fire in that area, it won't burn
    hot enough to kill all the trees. At the same time, these controlled burns also keep
    the Kudzu like growth of Sweetgum and Red Maple under control. When there is a
    fire caused by nature or man in an area where the Duff is thick enough to kill the
    trees, which is what happened here, this is called a Hot Fire. Sometimes an
    interesting thing happens after a Hot Fire, an annual plant called Fire Weed
    sprouts up, which looks a lot like corn in height and leaf shape, and the area will
    start to resemble a large cornfield. I had the opportunity to see this happen here
    on the north side of USFS 500 in 2002.
    RW ~ This is the water source for the North Dugger Mountain Shelter.
    NEXT RW ~ 2.4 miles.

PTA Site Map
Millennium
Legacy Trail
Section 11 ~ Trail Condition

Northern Terminus

0.0 ~ Trailhead
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ x
Brush 200? ~ Blowdowns 200? ~ Blazes 200?
0.0 ~ Trailhead

Southern Terminus