Rallying around the F
Working to bring Coosa’s Flagg Mountain t By Jim Plott
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n April 1935, the Montgomery Advertiser proclaimed it would be one of Alabama’s most visited state parks once completed. Citing its proximity to Montgomery and Birmingham, the newspaper said, “The park will be a spot known far and wide throughout the South … for with its beauty and quietude it will be an ideal location for one to spend vacations.” But barely three years after opening, Weogufka State Park in Coosa County – unlike many other state parks built by the Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps – fell back into obscurity, although it remained in use by its owners, the Alabama Forestry Commission, until 1989. Now a new spotlight is being shone on the 1,152-foot-high Flagg Mountain, where the park was situated. The Alabama Hiking Trail Society, along with the recently formed volunteer group, Friends of Flagg, have, with the blessings of the Forestry Commission, reopened the 240-acre-site in the Weogufka State Forest. The surviving CCC-constructed rustic cabins have been refurbished and are available for overnight lodging while work is expected to be started soon on returning the 70-foot-high rock observation tower, which crowns the mountain, to its historic glory. Adding to Flagg Mountain’s appeal is that it is the start of the Pinhoti Trail, a 330-mile route that connects to the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. Several shorter trails strung out like necklaces also adorn the mountain and the site is also part of the Alabama Birding Trails. Flagg caretaker and veteran hiker, Meredith “Sunny” Eberhart, who also goes by the trail name “Nimblewill Nomad,” says while a lot of work remains, the progress is already beginning to pay dividends. The site draws in visitors almost daily, including many who have started or ended their Appalachian Trail trek there. “Getting the mountain open to the public last summer for the first time in nearly two decades was a milestone,” says Eberhart, 80. “Folks have been coming to the mountain in increasing numbers. They’re interested in both the work done on the historic CCC structures and hiking.” And while he might not admit it, visitors are also eager to hear Eberhart’s personal tales of his hiking the Appalachian and every major scenic U.S. trail. It was Eberhart’s reputation that drew hiker Nathan Wright and his family of nearby Sylacauga to Flagg Mountain. “When I found out he was here, I decided to visit and see what was going on,” Wright says. “Despite living so close, I knew nothing about this place. Now we come up here one or two times a month to either camp or hike or help out. Sometimes we just sit and talk.” The Forestry Commission also likes what it is seeing. “With the beauty of the forest and the significance of the Pinhoti Trail starting here, restoring and maintaining the historical integrity of the fire tower at Flagg Mountain is very important to the Alabama Forestry Commission,” State Forester Rick Oates 12 MARCH 2019
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