Day 4, Rebecca Mountain to Dry Creek

In the weeks before starting this hike, I decided to try a pair I had never worn before, Brooks Cascadia. My CDT hiking partner, Top O', wore that model, and I knew they had been popular with thru-hikers for many years. I wore my new shoes on a few training hikes, and by today, had walked nearly 100 miles in them.

Although I initially thought they were working well, I now sensed they weren't quite wide enough. When a shoe doesn't fit me properly, it's almost always in the width.

Without a way to buy another pair soon, I decided to take drastic action. Much like I did about halfway into my PCT thru-hike, I performed a little pocket knife surgery on my shoes. By cutting out some webbing from the inside, the fit improved instantly.

The shoe repair didn't take long, and Tengo Hambre and I were walking on the trail shortly before 8 a.m. That's when we made a startling discovery. Another tent was pitched near our campsite. We didn’t see or hear anyone arrive last night, and they remained in their tent when we left.

Despite the breezy, chilly weather, I was soon warm enough to remove the wind shirt I was wearing when we started.

We continued this morning along the same long ridge we started following yesterday. From our campsite in an unnamed gap, the first two-tenths of a mile started with a 145-foot climb. Spiderwort was growing everywhere I looked on the slope.

The trail made a few more ups and downs. The ridge was still breezy, but the sun was high enough now in the clear sky that the temperature was pleasant.

For most of the day, Tengo and I found the trail was well-marked. Usually, this was done with a standard two-inch by six-inch blaze painted on a tree. Unlike the AT, where the main trail blazes are white, the Pinhoti uses a shade of light blue that's sometimes referred to as Walmart "Pool Party Blue."

The end of the ridge provided an easy descent to Bulls Gap. We arrived there at 9 a.m.

The trail crossed Alabama Highway 148 at the gap. A sign there identified the next trail section as an Alabama Birding Trail. There are 280 trails in the state with that designation.

I didn't notice any birds at the time, but Tengo and I met a turkey hunter. He asked us if we had seen any turkeys on the trail. We hadn't.

The hunter was dressed in full camouflage, which must have been hot to wear. He told us state regulations say spring turkey hunting can only occur from sunrise to 1 p.m.

An estimated 365,000 wild turkeys live in Alabama. Although the state issues about 70,750 licenses for hunting turkeys, fewer than 40,000 birds are killed each year. Hunters are allowed to kill up to ten a season.

We were climbing another ridge, this time going up toward Sherman Cliffs and Horn Mountain. A lot of storm damage appeared a couple of miles beyond Bulls Gap. Several trees were uprooted or snapped in two.

It wasn't a recent storm that toppled the trees, and for the most part, the trail had been cleared. We didn't run into many obstacles.

As usual, my stops to take photos caused me to fall behind Tengo. I caught up to him when he stopped to take a break. We agreed the spot was a good place to eat lunch and ended up staying there an extra long time. We didn't start walking again until 1 p.m., but that wasn't a problem for our schedule. We had already hiked more miles than originally planned.

Before continuing over the top of the first of several high points on the ridge, I called the Next Step Hostel in Talladega. I had previously arranged for us to stay there and had already sent a resupply box to pick up when we arrived.

We were now about a day ahead of the schedule I worked out, and I called to confirm with the owner we could arrive early.

There were occasional clear spots for a view along the ridge, with two of them at cuts for power lines. From these viewpoints, it was easy to see the ridge cut across an otherwise flat section of Alabama.

These spots revealed the land below us was mostly used for timber harvesting. I didn't see any farms.

The temperature continued to rise in the afternoon, and on the ridge, we didn't get much shade from the sun. An eastern fence lizard soaking in the sun on a log didn't seem to mind the heat, but I was starting to sweat.

The ridge was also dry. I knew this would be the case when I refilled my water bottles down at Bulls Gap. Nevertheless, I was now beginning to wonder if I was carrying enough.

The trail took us to a rock outcropping called Sherman Cliffs. The view here was similar to what I saw from the power line cut. The terrain below was still flat with trees and little sign of human activity.

We found a bench near another rock outcropping farther up the trail. It was set back so far from the ledge, however, that there wasn't much of a view from there. We didn't bother to stop.

People not wanting to walk up here on the Pinhoti Trail can drive a two-track dirt road called the Skyway Motorway. It runs parallel to the trail. We didn't see anyone doing that today.

The Skyway Motorway was planned to be a much longer stretch of highway providing a scenic route along the crest of the mountain ridge. It was to be an Alabama version of the Blue Ridge Parkway, with parks, roadside viewpoints, and 10 to 12 fire towers along the way.

The section next to the trail was constructed by workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps, mostly by hand. One-third of the planned route was reportedly completed by 1936.

Another section, now called State Route 281 or Talladega Scenic Drive, is now paved. There don't appear to be any efforts underway to complete the original vision of the route, and as far as I'm concerned, that is just as well. Cars on a paved road next to the trail would spoil the solitude and expansive scenery we hikers can enjoy.

It wasn't until nearly 5 p.m. before we began the descent from the ridgetop. By this time, I was nearly out of water.

Unexpectedly, I found water trickling across the trail. It flowed from a small spring, which wasn't marked in the FarOut app. Tengo didn't stop here, but I did. I was thirsty.

I collected just a third of a liter, however, and I drank it all before continuing down the trail. The slow seep from the spring took more time than I wanted to spend to collect more than that. Besides, I knew I would reach a creek soon, and that was where we intended to stop for the night.

It took nearly another hour to reach Dry Creek, which at least for today, was misnamed. There was plenty of water flowing in it. Tengo had already stopped at the first opportunity to collect water there, though we hadn't yet reached the campsite marked in the app.

After filtering our water, we continued a short distance farther to the campsite.

While we were setting up our tents, a hiker showed up. He didn’t stop for long. I failed to get his name, perhaps because I was trying to process what he told us. He had already completed the Florida Trail and the 200-mile connector linking that trail to the Pinhoti. I have known other people to do this, so that wasn't particularly notable.

What surprised me was when he said he started hiking this morning from the Pinhoti Outdoor Center. That's where Tengo and I started yesterday morning, 31.5 miles ago. Clearly, he was in a different hiking mode than we were.

It may be worth noting he was at least 30 years younger than us, though that is likely an obvious point.

One other noteworthy subject came up during our brief conversation with him. A storm was predicted to arrive tomorrow. That ought to be well-timed for our plan to arrive at the hostel in Talladega in the morning.

Or so we thought.