The original plan for the Appalachian Trail was laid out in 1925 at the first Appalachian Trail Conference. This plan showed a main trail running from Cohutta Mountain in North Georgia to Mount Washington in New Hampshire. This plan also proposed a spur trail from Mt. Washington to Mt. Katahdin in Maine and one from the Georgia Mountains into Northern Alabama. The spur in Maine was completed in 1940, while the spur into Alabama has yet to be blazed. However, the effort to make this Alabama spur trail a reality is underway and is the result of persistent work of many groups, individuals, agencies and organizations.

In 1985 the Alabama Trails Association, headed by Michael Leonard, started an effort to link the Pinhoti Trail in the Talladega National Forest in Alabama to the Appalachian Train in North Georgia. Since 1988, the Alabama Trails Association, the Conservation Fund, and other partners have worked toward the completion of Benton MacKaye's dream by placing more than 6,700 acres in public ownership and adding 200+ miles of trail in Alabama and Georgia. In the late 1980's, Congressional appropriations made possible the expansion of the Talladega National Forest by 6,000 acres. A large permanent trail easement was also donated to the Alabama Trails Association which allowed for the extension of the trail from the National Forest Lands to Indian Mountain on the Georgia border. Since then, the Association and U.S. Forest Service have opened 20 more miles of trail extending the Pinhoti to over 110 miles of hiking trail through Northern Alabama.

The Conservation Fund exercised options to purchase 4 of 5 tracts of land on Indian Mountain, Alabama in 1997 and 1998. The fifth tract under contract would close within the first half of 1999. The purchase and subsequent transfer of these 500+ acres to the State of Alabama's Forever Wild Program ensures the availability of this land to complete the Pinhoti Trail Corridor in Alabama. The Alabama Pinhoti Trail at the Georgia state line close to Cave Spring, GA should be complete by the end of 2002.

The idea of linking the Pinhoti Trail with the southern end of the Appalachian Trail as originally proposed in 1925 is an exciting one. The challenge lies in looking into and evaluating the best and most feasible route for the Pinhoti Trail to reach the Benton MacKaye Trail which links with the Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain, the AT's southernmost point.

At present, the plan is to cross into Georgia near Cave Spring, utilize an existing greenway and cross federally owned land where possible. With a Congressional appropriation of $300,000 and the support and assistance of the U.S. Forest Service we will plan and complete the placement of 42 miles of the trail across the ridges of the Armuchee District in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Due to efforts with Congress and the Forest Service, another $300,000 appropriation in the 2000 budget helped the Forest Service further the efforts in the Cohutta District. It is within this district of the Chattahoochee National Forest that the Pinhoti will meet the Benton MacKaye Trail.

The Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association (GPTA) has been cooperating with the Conservation Fund to complete the necessary trail scouting and environmental assessments inside the Cohutta District. In addition, this progress helped to keep the project on track for completion during the 75th anniversary of the AT. The $10,000 National Trails Endowment Grant the GPTA received from the American Hiking Society in 1998 and two $1,500 grants from the Amoco Foundation have provided the funding necessary to continue efforts for the time being.

In the spring of 2003 an EA (environmental assessment) was submitted for three potential trail routes in the Cohutta Forest, known as Option #1, #2 and #3. GPTA favored Option #3. Approval was granted in time for announcement at the National Trails Day work party June 1st. We began treadway work the morning of June 1st and the work continues on this approved segment (probably on into early 2003).

Even with this great headway, there are areas where there are gaps in the trail. It is in these areas where the trail location, planning and implementation through landowner contracts and ground efforts will continue.