The newly discovered availability of transit from the Community Action Bus Lines along the Whipple Section - Buckeye Trail/ North Country Trail Connector (BT/ NCTC on-road) unveils the possibility of using transit for two loops between Pts. 18 - 13 (counter clockwise, CCW) & 09 - 13. They're 11.6 and 11.8 total miles respectively. First one has a 5hr 31min window of execution. At at an adverage hiking speed of 2.7MPH, it will take 4.3 hours to complete. And the latter will take 4.4 hours, but it's window is wider considering that the bus on the south end terminates 2.7mi from Pt. 09 and is more of a regular route in the City of Marietta.
Given the Whipple Section's lack of public all-weather parking areas in the winter, street parking and lots in Marietta could serve this purpose when tied in with public transit on Thursdays. By "all weather," I mean a lot that a non-4WD vehicle (like a mini cooper) can park in that is public, plowed and attached to a road that is also plowed. Or, it's an area where the prospective hiker can park that is just far enough for the vehicle to be without the street plow's throw. In this case, the prospective hiker would pack a snow shovel and dig themselves out, but it would be short.
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