section 11 / snailtrail

northbound.

​dugger wilderness / piedmont.
​

hike info.
TRAILHEADS
S ~ 0.0 ~ BURNS TRAILHEAD
N ~ 8.8 ~ NORTH FS 500 TRAILHEAD
GUTHOOK
S ~ 142.1 ~ BURNS TRAILHEAD
N ~ 150.8 ~ NORTH FS 500 TRAILHEAD
ELEVATION ~ L 846’ ~ H 2140’
WOODS TRAIL ~ 0.0 ~ 8.8
ROAD WALK ~ 0.0
LANDMARK ~ DUGGER WILDERNESS
LOCAL TOWN ~ PIEDMONT

hike services.
CS ~ CONVEINENCE STORE ~
TT ~ TRAIL TOWN ~
PO ~ POST OFFICE ~
SC ~ SMALL CAMP ~ 3.2
LC ~ LARGE CAMP ~ 2.7, 4.3, 8.2
TS ~ TRAIL SHELTER ~
SW ~ SEASONAL WATER ~ 2.7
RW ~ RELIABLE WATER ~ 8.2, 8.8

driving directions.
USE ODOMETER OR TRIP METER (NO REALLY!)
NORTHERN TERMINUS / FINISH HIKE
PARK FINISH HIKE VEHICLE FIRST
8.8 ~ NORTH FS 500 TRAILHEAD
Exit I-20 at US 431, east of Oxford, AL.
Go north 0.3 miles to US 78. Turn right.
Go 3.9 miles to AL 9. Turn left.
Go 10.9 miles to CR 55, at the yellow flashing light. Turn right.
Go 8.8 miles to a dirt road, FS 500. Turn left.
There is a black mailbox on the right at this turn with the address-
20346.
Go 2.0 miles to the North FS 500 Trailhead parking area- this is
just a small pull off on the left, past the bridge.

SOUTHERN TERMINUS / START HIKE
PARK START HIKE VEHICLE
0.0 ~ BURNS TRAILHEAD
From the North FS 500 Trailhead, turn around and go back

trail guide.
SOUTHERN TERMINUS ~ START HIKE
BEGIN NORTH TALLADEGA HIGHLANDS
BEGIN DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
0.0 ~ BURNS TRAILHEAD ~ RW ~ 846'
From the back of the trailhead parking area by the Wilderness
Dedication plaque, go right on the approach trail for 100 yards to
the Pinhoti intersection. The north trail goes to the left.
RW ~ From the trailhead parking area, go down the driveway to

CR 55. Go right on CR 55 for 100 yards to Jones Branch, running

along the right side of the road.
NEXT RW ~ 8.2 miles
WILDBERRY ~ Beauty Berry ~ Purple ~ September
PLANT ~ Ground Pine (just before the CR 55 crossing)
TRAIL DESCRIPTION ~ At the beginning of this section, you
will be traveling along Red Mountain. Once you reach the
2.8 ~ Laurel Passage landmark, the trail crosses over to Dugger
Mountain and begins side-hilling up to the top of the ridge.
HISTORY ~ The log cabin and outbuildings here are the former
home of Mr. Pink E. Burns. Mr. Burns died in 1999 at the age of 81.
He lived his whole life in this cabin and was able to survive
through the bounty of the forest. He was also a great story teller
and entertained many a hiker through the years on his front
porch. He also didn't mind if you brought along Moon Pies and
Cokie Colas when you came to sit a spell.
HISTORY 2007 ~ A new set of crosstie steps has been constructed
on the north side of the CR 55 Crossing by the Alabama Trails
Association.
HISTORY ~ Here is a quote from The Anniston Star, Thursday,
March 12, 2009 - "Pinky Burns' cabin, a Rabbittown landmark
since the late 1800's, burned to the ground Tuesday night
(Mar. 10) and the three suspected to be responsible for setting
fire to it are being held at the Calhoun County jail, according to
the Sheriff's Office. The log cabin's two chimneys are all that
remain of the building, which belonged to Pinky Burns, a locally
famous trapper, hunter and storyteller who lived there until his
death in 1999 at the age of 81."
BEGIN DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
0.1 ~ SOUTH DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
BOUNDARY
This is the southern boundary of the 9220-acre Dugger Mountain
Wilderness.
HISTORY ~ The Wilderness designation was granted in 1999. A
big thanks to all the folks who worked so hard for so many years
to make this happen.
SUMMIT ~ Red Mountain ~ 1510' ~ #98 on the list of 100 highest
named summits in Alabama. The summit is on your left about
halfway between here and Jones Branch Road.
2.7 ~ JONES BRANCH ROAD CROSSING ~ LC, SW ~ 1240'
The trail goes straight across Jones Branch Road.
LC, SW ~ You can go right 0.1 miles on the road to a good spring.
There are no fire rings here but you will find several flat spots
before and after the spring. (Yes, the Volkswagen Fender on the
right, 50' down the road, is from a bug but it's not a native species
of the Wilderness :)
HISTORY ~ You can turn left here on the road and loop about 3
miles back to the Burns Trailhead. The Appalachian Trail Club of
Alabama and the Anniston Outdoor Association lead annual
Spring Wildflower Hikes on this loop. These hikes are held on
consecutive weekends and the ATCA goes clockwise and the
AOA goes counter clockwise.
2.8 ~ LAUREL PASSAGE
This is where you make the transition from Red Mountain to
Dugger Mountain. Look for a good winter view on the left of a
rock tower up ahead on the ridge.
FLOWERING SHRUB ~ Mountain Laurel ~ White ~ May
3.2 ~ CAMPSITE ~ SC
The trail turns to the left just before the campsite.
4.3 ~ DUGGER (TURKEY) GAP ~ LC ~ 1500'
The trail crosses the old Gap Road here. The trail makes a sharp
left turn just past the fire ring and goes around the west side of
Rocky Top 6.
4.4 ~ ROCKY TOP 6
Keep an eye out for our Sister Ridge on the left.
4.9 ~ SISTER RIDGE VIEW ~ PIEDMONT VIEW
There are many good winter and summer views of the
Choccolocco Mountains on the left about a mile away. You can
see the last peak before she drops off into Piedmont. That is AL 9
that runs across the top of her head. OUCH !!
HAZARD - Starting in late spring, the trail passes through several
big 100 to 200-yard patches of Poison Oak over the next 1/2 mile.
5.4 ~ ROCKY TOP 7
6.4 ~ DUGGER MOUNTAIN FIRE TOWER (missing) ~ 2140'

Dugger is the second highest mountain in Alabama,
The old Dugger Mountain Fire Tower has been purchased by a
private citizen and was flown out of here by helicopter.
Wilderness guidelines do not allow any manmade structures
within the Wilderness boundaries. The tower site is off the trail to
the left about 0.1 miles. There is no trail to it and no good
landmarks to show you where to start bushwhacking. If you will
keep an eye on the blazes on the right side of the trail, you will
come to 2 blazes about 20' apart. There are a lot of rocks through
here and for the first 10' the trail goes straight. In the last 10' the
trail zigs to the left, then zags to the right and then zigs back to
the left again. You can turn left here and bushwhack your way up
to the highest point, where the 3 survey markers are embedded in
the rock. Now, go on just a little farther to the tower site clearing
with the 4 concrete corner blocks. For all of your trouble, there are
no views at ground level and no "I Dug Dugger" T-shirts either.
There is a road at the tower site that goes down and intersects
with FS 500, 1.1 miles north of the 8.8 ~ FS 500 Crossing.
OFF TRAIL WARNING ~ PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO HOW
YOU GET BACK ON THE TRAIL!
WILDFLOWER ~ Indian Pipe ~ Pink ~ September / False Solomon
Seal ~ White ~ September
WILDBERRY ~ Jack in the Pulpit ~ Red
WILDFLOWER ~ Indian Pink ~ Pink (it's red!) ~ May
8.2 ~ NORTH DUGGER FLATS ~ RW ~ 1100'
There are 5 creek crossings in the next 0.5 miles. The Forest

Service has also done a recent (2006) endangered plant species

survey and there are several areas marked with candy stripe

(red and white) survey tape where some were found. Please try

to stay as close to the trail as possible to avoid damaging

anything. Thanks.
FORDING HAZARD ~ These crossings are about 6' wide, 6" deep
and rocky. They are a little tricky to cross on a good day and after
a heavy rain, even more so. The water won't be over knee high so
you don't have to worry too much about being swept
downstream, but the chances of falling in the rocks are high.
Use extreme caution.
WILDFLOWER ~ Chickweed ~ White ~ April
END DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
8.7 ~ NORTH DUGGER MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS
BOUNDARY ~ RW ~ 850'
You are leaving the wilderness.
8.8 ~ NORTH FS 500 TRAILHEAD ~ RW ~ 860'
When you reach FS 500, turn right and go about 50’ to the
trailhead parking area, on the right.

NORTHERN TERMINUS / FINISH HIKE

^  climb up.