Today, we started the “harder” section. It honestly felt the same as all the others, lmao. Yes, the climb was longer and more significant, but not as bad as everyone hyped it up to be.
The beginning of the climb was steep with no switchbacks, but that soon changed to a gradual climb with switchbacks for the next five miles to the top.
Shortly before we reached the top, we stumbled upon an old plane crash from November 2, 1998.
The plane was a Cessna 182Q, N735JZ. MIA99FA027, registered to R. A. Hollingsworth Family, LLLP. Two died, and one survived. According to the report, “The airplane impacted dense forest of 10- to 40-feet oak and hickory trees on the crest of Duggar Mountain at about 2,000 feet msl, in a wings level, upright attitude. The coordinates of the wreckage were centered at about N 33.52.78 by W 85.35.88.9 degrees, or about 4 miles southeast of Piedmont, Alabama.” (Dugger Mt.).
The survivor, who walked from the crash site the next morning into Piedmont, suffered serious injuries. They were flying from Storm Lake, Iowa, and returning home to West Regional Airport, (Carrollton), Georgia, from a hunting trip when they encountered poor visibility due to mist and a setting sun, causing them to fly into the mountain. The deceased were the survivor’s Dad and brother. His dad was the pilot, and his brother sat in the passenger seat. He was sitting in the rear when the plane crashed.
After respectfully exploring the crash site (and making sure not to disturb any of the wreckage), we made our way to the top of Dugger Mountain, where we decided to stop and have lunch.
The mountain’s actual summit is higher up on a short side trail. Suspenders and Ripley were not interested at all in exploring the summit, but I was, and so I did. Once I reached the top, I found the survey marker to officially mark this mountain off as “bagging” it.
I also discovered the remnants of an old fire tower. Most notable are a couple of the old footholds and their toilet!
Once I finished exploring, it was time to start our way down Dugger Mountain. The descent was pretty steep and took us a while to navigate. All in all, it took us 7 hours (which includes a 1.5-hour lunch break at the top and a 1/2-hour break exploring the wreckage).
PINHOTI TRAIL DAY 28 TRAIL STATS
| MILES: 8.9 miles | WEATHER/TEMP: 54, Cloudy & Misty/Foggy |
| STARTING POINT: Burns Trailhead | INJURIES: None |
| ENDING POINT: FS 500 | PAIN LEVEL: None |
| ELEVATION GAIN: 1510.2 ft | WILDLIFE: None |
| ELEVATION LOSS: 1505.2 ft | MOOD: Happy / Excited |
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