I looked forward to this hike because it included two significant locations in world of hiking. The first portion of the hike covered the Southern end of the 2100 mile Appalachian Trail. The Benton MacKaye portion of the trail included the first couple miles of this 290 mile long trail named after one of the founders of the Appalachian Trail.
Before I could make the hike, I had to get there and once again it was an adventure. My book listed two possible routes to the trailhead both of which included long sections of forest roads. The route I choose had a 5 mile section on FR-77. This road was just barely within the limitations of my low clearance two wheel drive vehicle. It was a narrow loose gravel road up a fairly steep incline with multiple switchbacks. Most of the drive was done at about 10MPH and I was always concerned another car would come around the corner from above resulting in accident. It took forever to finish the drive and my car was covered in thick dust but I did make it.
The trip was well worth it. A great hike with many different landscape features and 2 really nice expansive views of the surrounding mountains. I really got of sense of just how high up I was as there was a pretty steep drop off the sides of the trail during the first section of the hike. The Southern Terminus was a great spot to start/end the Appalachian Trail and two long hikers had set up a hammock to enjoy their accomplishment.
The Benton MacKaye portion of the hike didn't disappoint either. Although far less travelled there were plenty of nice features including huge fern fields, a great viewpoint and portion of the hike where it felt like I was walking in a tunnel due to the low tree cover.
Not looking forward to the drive back down the way I came up, I decided to venture out the other way. A good decision in the end. Although this route was quite a bit longer, the road wasn't quite as nerve racking although still more challenging then most drives. The only excitement on the drive back was the large deer spotted along the roadside.
This would be a great hike to recommend to someone ready for a 2 1/2 hour hike and looking for a good adventure on two significant trails.
First up are a couple of marker for the Southern Terminus of the Appalacian Trail
Then there's the view from the Terminus:
Marker for the start of the Benton MacKaye trail:
Finally a nice fern covered portion of the trail:
