Pinhoti Trail- Alabama/ Georgia, USA. 355 miles/ 570 kilometres

INTRO:

The magnificent Pinhoti Trail (PT) is situated in the deep south of the United States, crossing viridescent tracts of forest and waterways through the states of Alabama and Georgia.

There are some lengthy road walk sections though and water can be a tad scarce at times.

You'll probably spy the Eastern Wild Turkey, rattlesnakes, woodpeckers, bluebirds, many, many deer and a smattering of day walkers around Cheaha State Park and Mullberry Gap. 

The trail is maintained and cultivated by an enthusiastic battalion of local volunteers and trail angels.

 

I spent 3 glorious weeks in the Fall banging across ridgelines studded with longleaf pines, hickories and red maples, relishing well kept trails and enjoying the lack of fellow humans and the gentle kindness of those I infrequently did happen to bump into.

Start: 14 October 2025 - Finish 3 November; 21 days.  No flips, no skips, no slackpacking.

Birmingham, Alabama is the closest large city and airport to the northern terminus.

Atlanta, Georgia is the closest large city and airport to the southern terminus.

Map sourced from Google maps.

                             

GETTING TO THE TRAILHEAD:

I was scooped up from Birmingham airport by 'Doin It', a bouncy hiker trash team member from the Pinhoti Outdoor Centre.  

The drive took around 90 minutes and we talked shit the whole time and stopped off at Jack's for breakfast sandwiches.  Great ride!

I paid $130 USD plus tip for my driver.

I had pre-arranged the shuttle to the Southern trail terminus at Flagg Mountain weeks beforehand with Nathan at the Pinhoti Outdoor Centre via email. Link to website here.

After finishing up at the Northern terminus 3 weeks later, I wandered a mile or so up to Watson's Gap (very easy to navigate with Google maps or Farout) and jumped in with Dale from Bandit Shuttles.  

Dale is a very cool guy, he works and hustles and keeps flat out busy shuttling hikers from the various trailheads of the Appalachian Trail and Pinhoti and Benton MacKaye.  Legend. 

I pre-paid him $235 USD months beforehand and reconfirmed the pickup during the last week of my hike.

Website here. 

He got me to Sandy Springs, north of Atlanta where I hopped a train to another station within walking distance to my hotel adjacent to Atlanta airport.

There are plenty of other trailheads and access points to pop on and off the PT if you want to do sections or part of the footpath.

Starting the PT just below Flagg Mountain.

NAVIGATION AND RESOURCES:

Map sourced from conservationfund.org

I used the Farout app for mapping and up to date information.

The Pinhoti Trail Alliance facebook page was invaluable in soliciting advice and impromptu shuttles from locals in the area.

The Pinhoti Outdoor Centre near the southern terminus is a fantastic resource, Nathan and Kimm are incredible people.  Website here.

CAMPSITES AND SHELTERS:

There are around 9 shelters on the PT.  Some are accessible via vehicle so your call whether to roll the dice and stay nearby.

Campsite suggestions are shown constantly on Farout and it isn't too tricky to hunt down a flat spot on a ridgeline for a dry camp or somewhere alongside a creek with water access.  

Loads of flat spots with fire rings made of rocks just off the trail. 

WATER:

There are an amazing number of water caches in the Alabama section where the wet stuff is scarcer. Usually a stack of bottled water left in a pile at highway trailheads by thoughtful local trail angel.  

There are a few trail registers in the first few hundred miles too that are good to read to scope out the next section and the water availability.

A couple of Dollar Generals on the trail were useful for liquid refreshment.

Otherwise, backcountry creeks and streams were encountered and I filtered with a Sawyer.

RESUPPLY:

The PT is blessed with some great trail towns and places to grab a bite.

I utilised these localities/ hostels to scoop up sustenance and avoid starvation:

• Dollar General Stewartsville AL: mile 21.3 / kilometer 34.3; limited resupply, fresh produce.

• Talladega AL: off mile 60 kilometer 96.5 (ring hostel for shuttle to town); loads of fast food joints, easy resupply, Walmart, Next Step hostel smack bang on the main street.  

• Cheaha State Park AL: mile 87 / kilometer 140; Beer, potato chips, water.

• Cheaha Country Store AL: mile 104 / kilometre 167; pizza, snacks, beer.

• 8 Acorns hostel, Heflin AL: off mile 104 / kilometre 167; full resupply and shuttle to Heflin.  Gas cannisters.

• Cave Spring GA: mile 190 / kilometre 306; hotel, catfish dinner, Dollar General, full resupply.

• Sunoco gas station GA: off mile 195 / kilometer 314; pizza, coffee.  Dollar General nearby.

• Coosa gas stations GA: mile 207 / kilometre 333; basic supplies, water, cheap cafeteria, beer.

• Summerville GA: mile 232 / kilometre 373.5; motel, full resupply, gas cannister at Walmart.

• Dalton GA: mile 284 / kilometre 457; motels, fast food, full resupply.

• Dollar General Chatsworth GA: mile 307 / kilometre 494; basic resupply, great Mexican restaurant next door.

• Toadshade Hall Cabins GA: off mile 308 / kilometre 496; self contained cabins.  Water.

• Mulberry Gap Adventure Basecamp GA: off mile 329 / kilometre 530; basic resupply, beer, cabins and camping, I sent a package here from Birmingham and they were happy to keep it for me.

THE GOOD BITS:

Landscapes:  you're wandering along ridgelines with occasional views, tall timbers and for myself during the Fall; a riot of colour.  Orange and red and yellow and the best leaf peeping ever.

Weather: Fall- I started out in shorts and tshirt in Alabama a bit sweaty and getting plenty of vitamin D and ended rugged up in multiple layers with my hands jammed in my pockets breathing fog in Georgia.  Massive temperature change during my hike but I was prepared for it.  Just.  

I found no ticks on me the entire time. 

Best to avoid this trail in the summer unless you like sweaty profusely and getting very very warm with a pack on your back.

Flora and Fauna: White tailed deer were absolutely everywhere.  The usual squirrels and chipmunks and coyotes howling their heads off.  Red tailed hawks and turkey vultures featured occasionally.  I spotted turkey at Flagg Mountain and right at the end of my walk near Watsons Gap. 

THE NOT SO GOOD BITS:

The not so mighty elephant in the room; the trump fanz.  

A weird time to be in the US of A.

The PT is situated deep in maga country.  People are people and political leanings are only a mindset, right?  Unless it becomes an identity, but anyway.  

For the utter most part I found the communities adjacent to the trail in Alabama and Georgia very kind and supportive but yeah...  I wandered aghast up lovely country lanes past numerous flags and signs proclaiming undying mushy feelings and support for the orange fucktard.  It's a sick mental disease.

Then again, a fair amount of Yanks offered unasked for apologies for their current federal administration and all the shitfuckery it has gleefully created.

Nuff said.  I'm an American by birth so no fear writing these words but woe betide if you are from elsewhere. 

Other not so good stuff:

*I encountered more poison ivy on this trail than any other I have walked in the States.  Easy to avoid and I wore shorts for first 2 weeks but keep an eye out as it's everywhere.  Not for wiping the bot bot.

*Litter; the usual plethora of bud light cans and Arby's wrappers on the portions of trail that permit vehicles and ATV's and low IQ rednecks onto the PT's route.  

Leave no trace is optional for some recreators. 

*Banana spiders string their steel like strong webs across the trail and if you are unlucky to cop one latching onto your eyeballs, well, your day will be given an exciting lift.

*A few aggressive dogs in the rural road walk sections kept things lively.  I carried pepper spray (sourced from Target) but never had a serious issue.

*There are 2 gnarly longish road walks; one after Cave Spring and one through Dalton.  Load up with water and hope you don't need to take a dump.

I kinda hated them and then also didn't really mind the pants browning physical activity, oscillating between the 2 extremes often while dodging giant American utes on non existent road verges.

Both roadwalks can be easily skipped over with an Uber or shuttle if you feel unsafe or don't want to die on a rural highway.   

Or you can just join the thru hiker club.  Your call. 

Finished up and ready to hunt beers and burgers in Atlanta.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Random bit of trivia; there was a time change when I crossed the AL-GA border and meant the sun didn't pop until 8am and the days lengthened to around 9pm.

This trail was on my tick list for ages, I'm super pleased I got over and knocked it off.  

The PT is gaining popularity year on year, I can't see it ever being one of the mainstream, must do hiking trails in the USA due to the fair chunk of road walking involved but some people have called for it to be integrated into the Appalachian Trail system as an eastern extension so the word is out that the PT is worthy of your time and effort in this peaceful little chunk of Appalachia.

Go get it!

Sunshine Coast Hinterland Trail- South East Queensland. 56km, 3 days- 2 nights.

Map sourced from Parks Qld link

Overview.

This trail was a surprise.

Views, a well maintained footpad, sublime forests, peaceful, quiet campsites, ubiquitous native wildlife and very few other walkers.  

I had a blast!

The trail is a lollipop loop in the Northern region of Mapleton National Park and sweeps down to a single lane wiggle through Flaxton locality and Kondalillia National Park, ending at Lake Baroon, necessitating a point to point shuttle or return walk back the same way.

It isn't wilderness and there is always the distant hum of civilisation in the background however the scenery is first rate and accessibility is easy.

What we did.

The day before we slipped out of Toowoomba for a 3 day circuit hike in Conondale National park, a late afternoon phone call from Parks Queensland informed us that our trip wasn't going to happen due to a spontaneous decision to conduct a burn off.

The plan quickly switched to walk the nearby Sunshine Coast Hinterland Trail and we rolled up at the Sam Kelly Road carpark near Kenilworth in the Northern region of the hiking trail located in Mapleton National Park.  

A connector trail lead to a gentle meander alongside Gheerulla Creek.  We stopped in for water at Ubajee walkers camp and pushed on to Flaxton walkers camp for the first night.  

Bit of up and down around Baxter Creek Falls however the track is well graded and maintained.

• Sam Kelly Road carpark to Flaxton campsite: 21km.

• Flaxton campsite to Kondalilla Falls then North to Thilba Thalba campsite via Delicia Road: 29km.

• Thilba Thalba campsite to Sam Kelly Road carpark: 6km.

Day 2; we headed to Kondalilla National Park and the falls area.  We retraced our steps back to Flaxton township and hit up the Barn cafe for a huge breakfast and great coffee.  

Heading North towards Baxter Creek Falls again and through Mapleton Falls day use area, we took unsealed Delicia Road as a shortcut and nudged up the Western half of the lollipop loop to Thilba Thalba campsite for the night.  

Day 3; Lovely ridge walking and terrific views ending at the carpark and an unmolested vehicle.

Getting there/ Parking.

There are many vehicle access points along the trail system; 

• Sam Kelly Road in the North

• Mapleton day use area along Mapleton Forest Road

• Mapleton Falls day use area in the middle

• Flaxton Mill Road close to Flaxton walkers camp

• Kondalillia Falls day use area

• Barron Pocket Dam via Narrows Road

The Sunshine Coast Hinterland Trail is around 90 minutes Heading North from Brisbane.
 

Wildlife.

We sighted loads of fur and feathers:

Dingo, 

King parrots,

Striated pardalotes,

Carpet python,

Monitor lizards,

Inland thornbills,

White eared honeyeater,

White throated tree creeper,

Red winged fairy wren,

Olive backed oriole,

Pheasant coucal,

Bush turkeys,

Golden whistler,

White throated gerygone,

Eastern yellow robins,

Kookaburra.

Water and Campsites.

Every campsite has an outhouse with poo tickets, loads of well spaced out sites and platforms to rest on.

Water tanks are provided and the camps are located in a well thought out locations.  

The tall timbers of Flaxton are bewitching in the sunrise and the views and bush of Thilba Thalba make for excellent star gazing. 

Bookings can be made for each campsite via Parks Qld website 

$7.50 per person.

Navigation and Resources.

I downloaded the free topographical map from the Parks Qld website here and utilised the All Trails app and trail map.

Signs are everywhere, hard to go wrong.

Flaxton campsite.

Thoughts.

We were fortunate to encounter only a handful of other walkers over our 3 day wander during a sunny weekday Winter time slot.

I would guess the hiking trails and campsites fill up on public holidays and long weekends being so close to major population areas.

It is a gorgeous area with alluring forests and easily accessible walking tracks, highly recommended.

Photos by Shiny & Safari.

Carnarvon Great Walk- 90km. Queensland, Australia.

 

The Trail:

The Carnarvon 'Great Walk' is a circuit loop hike up in the lush, gorgeous highlands of Carnarvon National Park in central Queensland.  

It's a long way from anywhere and perfect for those who long to lose sight of power lines and fences and other humans.

You get tall gum trees, iconic wildlife, easy walking and big skies.

The trail is operated and maintained by Queensland Parks and Wildlife, bookings for the campsites can be made on the website where all other relevant information concerning the walk is found. Queensland Parks

Travel time is huge from anywhere you are coming from.

9 hours from Brisbane by vehicle. 

7 hours from Toowoomba.

No public transport (you could try a tour bus) and sealed roads all the way to the start of the walk which kicks off in the upper carpark near the visitor center.

Map sourced from Google maps.

Map sourced from www.parks.des.qld.gov.au

What we did:

I hiked the trail with my partner Jen.  We allocated 5 days and took our time muddling along the track.  There was a prescribed burn off for the month of June before we wandered the trail so very little long grass and mostly open horizons and simple navigation.

Day 1- Start to Big Bend Campsite.  12km.

We drove up in the morning from an overnight at Injune and plugged along the heavily trafficked tourist trail that rolls up Carnarvon Gorge with many side trails to various 'highlights' along the valley.  

We encountered many middle age pear caravan dwellers, difficult to avoid signage extolling the virtues of the area and a sense of being underwhelmed by mediocrity.

In all honesty I could have easily skipped the crowds and just nailed it to Big Bend as I have seen most of this kind of thing in Australia before.  

It's pretty, yes.  

There is rock art, lovely natural features and a very well graded pathway interrupted by numerous creek crossings.  But fuck me there was quite the fair number of homo sapiens all compressed into a small space.  Including us... 

Big Bend Campsite is situated on a side trail before Boowinda Canyon.  

Beautiful but windy as all hell the evening we dropped by.

Water, toilet.  Avoid if possible.

Big Bend Campsite.

Boowinda Gorge.

Day 2:  Big Bend Campsite to Gadd's Campsite.  15km.

Through the gorge and up the slope to views and cruisey walking through grasslands and undulating landscapes.

Gadd's has water, shelter, toilet.

Day 3:  Gadd's to West Branch Campsite.  16km.

Another low volume mileage day enjoying the changing flora and camping at the car accessible camping ground.

Water, toilet, tables.

Day 4:  West Branch to Cabbage Tree Campsite.  31km.

The Mahogany Forest was bewitching, full of crowded, competing plant life and bustling birdlife.  We stopped for lunch at Consuelo Campsite and sat in a tree and made coffee and went wow, yes.

Onwards to Cabbage Tree the track stayed flat and a no brainer.  Just back up and keep following the management fire trail when things get confusing.  That night we lay in the tent under an impossibly star laden sky and listened as a powerful owl swooped in and hunted the shit out of resident gliders.

Water, shelter, table.  No toilet and poop paper everywhere.  

Please bury your kaka and bag up your used bog roll and take it with you.  

Some people are fuckin disgusting.  No excuses. 

Day 5:  Cabbage Tree to end of the trail.  16km.

Views, up and down and up again.  

There's a dam with great wildlife viewing opportunities, some stupendous sheer cliffside outlooks and the obligatory downhill plunge to the end.

Navigation:

Orange triangle markers are hammered onto trees every 50 metres.  

There is a deliberate footpad that is hard to miss and signage when needed.

We used the topographical map provided by Parks Queensland and the All Trails offline digital map.

 

West Branch Campsite.

Flora and Fauna:

Fauna; Loads of feral pigs and horse and cows left their tracks and scat for us to clearly see and in the case of the pigs; immense amount of churned earth where they had chased a feed.  

That was the not so good but not the end of the world.

Other than those species it was a fantastic assortment of some the greatest hits of Australian wildlife.

Emu's, dingoes, roos, raptors, scuttling goannas, darting woodland birds and chunky insects.

Flora;  mighty gums, endemic Carnarvon fan palms, cycads.   There's an amazing variety of plant life in the various temperate zones of the park.  

Rainforest habitat in the gorges and temperate open forest on the plateau host diverse genus specialising in the particular locations.  

Shit, we live on a spectacular continent.  I certainly re-appreciated it during this walk.

The invasive plant species usually prevalent in South East Queensland public lands were noticeably absent in Carnarvon.  No lantana, very little cobblers peg, no spikey stuff; just healthy forests, thriving grasslands and prolific birdlife including pardalote, pheasant coucal and black cockatoo.

Water and Camping:

Water is available from pumps at each campsite.

Camping is $7.50 per person, payable upon booking on the Parks website.

We only encountered one other person walking clockwise as we were.  A few other hikers bumped into us heading the opposite way but the trail was in no way crowded.

When we reserved the campsites, they were reportedly booked up solid online but we only had company from that one solo hiker every evening.

Thoughts:

Once you get away from the main tourist track in the gorge area and head up out of Boowinda I felt a genuine sense of solitude and wildness.  

The walking is simple and low effort and affords a slower pace that lends itself to peeking up every tall tree and soaking up the distant drumbeat of resident emus and dingoes howling away.

Absolutely worth the effort and recommended for those that revel in pristine Australian environs.

Photos by Shiny & Safari.

Highfields Falls Bushland- Toowoomba, South East Queensland. 3km - 5km circuit walks.

This weekend was a bit of a reboot.  

An awakening.

Getting back to who I am, connecting with the things on this good green earth that feed my soul and nix the dark, twisty shit inside me.

I've enjoyed (possibly a tad too much) the constant partying, casual hookups, getting really, really fucked up and the swanky hotel rooms of late as I explore my new home in this corner of Queensland.  

But on Saturday morning I decided enough was enough; it was time to switch gears.  

So I kiboshed a number of invites I had to various weekend sessions with new friends and played house and hit the kettlebells hard and ran and walked local paths and made solid plans to get out and hike and camp overnight once a week from now on.  

Back to basics.  

The Circuit:

Highfields is a swish area 12 kilometres north of the city of Toowoomba.

Remnant bushland surrounded by semi rural housing has been conserved into a tiny pocket of steep well maintained paths suitable for a family ramble and walking the woofer.  

Or decompressing and finding your arrow again.

I have wandered the various short trails in Highfields Falls Bushland a few times but rarely spot the so-called abundant wildlife that is purported to be easily spotted trail side.  Plenty of twangy bird calls though and a worthy stop if you happen to be buzzing up the New England Highway to Crows Nest.

Getting There:

I started my circuit walk from the Kleve Road carpark, marked above as YOU ARE HERE on the trail sign.

Just punch in 'Highfields Falls Bushland directions' and you will be taken past the police station to the pull off parking area.