Maine IAT/SIA Chapter board members, Walter Anderson (chief geologist) and Dick Anderson (president) recently returned to snowy Maine from balmy southern Alabama, where they had been met at the Birmingham airport by John “Mother Nature’s Son” Calhoun, 2008 IAT/SIA thru-hiker – Crow Head to Katahdin.
On March 5, John gave Dick and Walter a guided tour of the southern end of the Appalachians. The Pinhoti Trail is the long-distance trail connecting these mountains in Alabama and Georgia. Eastern Continental Trail (ECT) hikers use the Pinhoti, and a road walk in southern Alabama, to connect the Florida Trial to the Benton McKaye Trail and from there to the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain.
John guided Walter and Dick to the summit of Flagg Mountain (see picture with CCC firetower in background) so they could see what the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain looked like geologically. Very few people have had the good fortune to stand at both ends of the Appalachians in North America; Dick joins a select group that includes Nimblewill Nomad, Mother Nature’s Son, Jo Jo Smiley, Camo, Denis Webster, Chuck Wilson, Captain America, and a few others (that I will be happy to hear from).
On Friday and Saturday John, Walter, and Dick attended the annual meeting of the Alabama Hiking Trail Society (AHTS) in Spanish Fort, Alabama, near the city of Mobile.
It was the first opportunity to show the outstanding, new PowerPoint presentation that outlines the history and development of the IAT/SIA. The AHTS members were excited to see and hear about the northern Appalachians. To learn more about AHTS, visit www.hikealabama.org.
The visit gave Walter and Dick lots of opportunities to learn about the southern end of our famous mountains. They also sampled some of the specialty foods of southern Alabama, especially at Slick and Slim’s restaurant where Walter had barbecued pork and Dick had deep fried catfish filet. Be sure to see the picture of Dick, Walter, and John with Slick and Slim, in front of the restaurant. Dick and Walter also had a chance to sample some deep fried alligator tail!
In Mobile, the team was hosted by Emily and Marion Campbell, key trail builders and maintainers in southern Alabama.
This was a really exciting trip. Walter and Dick had a wonderful time, learned a lot about the southern most Appalachians, and met some of the key people who are developing and maintain hiking trails in Alabama (including Rick Guise, one of the founders of the AHTS) . These same folks are also working to improve an important section of the Eastern Continental Trail (ECT) in Alabama that links the Florida Trail to the Appalachian Trail. A selection of Walter Anderson’s pictures follow this story.
Pinhoti Blaze
Porter's Gap
Flagg Mountain Tower
Alabama Hiking Trail Society Meeting
Slim & Slick's Place
Eating Alligator
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