Chris,
As I understand it, the Main Trail is something like 100 miles long without all the loop trails. East of I-45 there's a loop off of the main trail called the 4 Notch Loop. In my opinion this loop is the most primitive part of the whole trail. FYI, there is also a yahoo group called the "lonestarhikers" that you might be interested in joining. You should be able to get your questions answered quicker that way.
Are you preparing for a thru-hike of the AT?
