Plans change, and you need to be flexible enough to change with them. That is something I learned early on being a military spouse.
I decided to put these two days together into one post and video because it was a torrential downpour both days, and nothing but a long road walk through mostly Dalton.
What Happened?
The day before we were getting ready to head back on trail in Cave Spring, the weather forecast showed torrential rain for the next 48 hours with temps in the 40s. We spent most of the day reaching out to trail angels and shuttle drivers to see if anyone was available to slackpack us these next two days (that way we would have somewhere warm and dry to spend the night). Unfortunately, none were available.
Our New Plan
We looked at the trail map to see what other options we had, because we didn’t want to not hike those days; we wanted to get some miles in.
That’s when we looked and realized the Dalton road walk would be the best option, since there was a large Uber population there and stores aplenty that we could duck into to get a little break from the rain. Since a large portion of the route passes by gas stations and food joints, you didn’t need to bring any gear (except a trekking umbrella lol).
We decided to flip up to Dalton, do the road walk over the next two rainy days, and then hike back to Cave Spring. Once back in Cave Spring, we would get a shuttle to the end of the Dalton road walk and finish the last 40 miles before jumping on the BMT and heading to the AT.
Dalton Road Walk
We said goodbye to Ripley, who decided to go ahead and head back home, and made our 60-mile trip to Dalton via a wonderful trail angel.
The motel we booked was right on the Pinhoti in Dalton, which made logistics for the next two days a total breeze.
The first day we walked from the Greeson Bend Rd to the Dennis Mill Trailhead. The second day we walked from Greeson Bend Rd back to our motel right by I-75.
The only real “attraction” or anything worth taking a video or picture of was the Chief Van State Historic Site, and it was unfortunately locked up and closed. We have seen other hikers in videos go over the gates and walk on the property, but there were guards on site, and since it was closed, we did not attempt to enter.
The total road walk is around 30 miles, and neither day was horrible (other than the rain). The first day there weren’t nearly as many gas stations as the second day, so we did carry a bottle of water with us and just grabbed snacks and more water when we did hit a gas station. The second day, we carried nothing and would grab a water or Dr. Pepper at one of the many gas stations or food joints. We also stopped at the grocery store to do a resupply before heading back to the motel.
Pinhoti Trail Day 35/36 Video
The video is more of a Q&A than anything else, as there wasn’t much to see and it was pouring rain.
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