The Georgia Pinhoti Trail - Simms Mountain Rail Trail

Georgia Pinhoti: Section 18

Simms Mountain Rail Trail

Distance from trail head: 4.0 miles
Rating: Easy (incline and distance)
Georgia Pinhoti Trail Descriptions

Parking

There are two distinct parking locations on either side of the trail listed in the guide above. The easiest access is on GA HWY 100 at the Floyd/Chattooga county line. You can also park on Huffaker Rd and Friday Rd.

A Bit About the Trail

This section of the Pinhoti is an old Central of Georgia Rail line that was decommissioned back in the 1990's.

The Trail

This is an amazingly beautiful trail to hike any time of year, but hiking it in the fall was a privilege. I began on the GA HWY 100 side of the trail. This is an excellent trail for beginners.

 It can get muddy during the rainy season, but for the most part, the trail is flat and easy to navigate.

The trail does go behind homes, and we heard dogs but never saw any. On other sections of the Pinhoti, I've seen wild dogs, but we didn't encounter any here.

The trail was very idyllic. The day was cold and windy, but it was worth a hike in this piece of woods.

Most of this trail is up a very slight grade over the four mile trip, but it is very gradual and has a low impact on the joints making this an easy (if we can ever call it that) walk. At two miles, you will cross Friday Road. If you want a four mile hike, turn around here.

These were located around the Friday Road crossing. Every time I hike, I pick up trash along the trail. It was nice to have a recycle bin use.

One of my constant trials while hiking is trying to keep my mind off my pain. When you pick a beautiful place to hike, it's easy to forget my pain. I thought about Frost and Thoreau and how easy it is to be philosophic in a place like this.

Out of all the color we saw, this section was rather green and ferny.

It was so cold that, eventually, my feet were numb and the pain was a non issue. It helped me enjoy the scenery a bit more (when I wasn't worried about windburn or losing a toe to frostbite ;-))

I definitely enjoyed the view. The trail ends on Huffaker Rd at four miles, but unless you parked a car there too, you'll have to hike the four miles back. This will make it an eight mile hike, and it's worth every step.

Berry College House of Dreams Part 3: Hurtin' Gator Trail

By now, you may have figured that I either live near Berry College or just like going there or both. Both are true. The campus sports over 40 miles of trails on the entire campus. All of the Mountain Campus trails lead to the House of Dreams in one way or another. The Viking Trail which leads from the Main Campus to the Mountain Campus is mostly in the sun; therefore, I rarely take that trail. The Mountain Campus trails are full of forests, flowers, trees, and wildlife. There are breathtaking vistas of Floyd and Chattooga counties, and many different water sources. Although I have probably hiked this campus over 100 times in the past two years, I haven't seen all of the trails

Distance from trail head: 4.3
Rating: Moderate (incline and distance)
Berry College Trail Map






This trail will bring you close to an 8 1/2  mile hike if you go down the regular HOD trail.

You will definitely want to park at Frost Chapel. The trail head goes north behind the parking lot.

The First Miles

The first mile of this trail follows a dirt road. There's a good bit of red mud in the wetter times of the year, and there's a lot of sun. Take your sunscreen. This area is flat, so the hike is very easy here.








You will pass streams and fields on this part until you hit O'Bryan Gap Road. Make sure to keep left on the trail.

The Climb

Once you make the left at O'Bryan Gap Road, you will begin to ascend Lavender Mountain via the Hurtin' Gator Trail. There is a good bit of sun mid day on this side of the mountain.

The trail is very soft up here, so it's much easier on the joints compared to the uneven gravel of the House of Dreams road trail.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                This is the most difficult part of the trail to navigate. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the incline is very steep here, and it is SUPER MUDDY.








The Hurtin' Gator Trail ends at the two mile point on the gravel trail to the House of Dreams. You will see the stone gates and have an AHA moment if you've taken the gravel road up before. There are benches here to take a rest and relieve the joints.