“My wife and I have hiked all over the south end of the AT...”
Now one can hike from the GA terminus to the real terminus of the Appalachian range...Mount Cheaha in Alabama. The Pinhoti trail system in AL now extend east and ties in to the AT. Cheaha is 2407 feet and rises up from nearby Talledega.
I plan on hiking the AT next month, South to North. Thanks for mentioning Mt. Cheaha! Had no idea about its connection to the trail. Will look into starting from there!