Bartram Trail

[brawny]

Last year I completed my free Online trail guide for the North Carolina-Georgia Bartram trail.
This trail is a magnificent, well blazed, yet hardly utilized path of 117 miles, part of which is a back road walk.

This trail tied for 10th place in 10 best Trails, in Backpacker's poll in 2000. The Bartram Trail reminded me of the best of the Appalachian Trail, without the crowds. Truely a wonderful experience.

You can print out the free trail guide, and read some of my trail notes at:
www.trailquest.net/BRbartram.html

Brawny

[Brushy Sage]

Last year I completed my free Online trail guide for the North Carolina-Georgia Bartram trail.
This trail is a magnificent, well blazed, yet hardly utilized path of 117 miles, part of which is a back road walk.

This trail tied for 10th place in 10 best Trails, in Backpacker's poll in 2000. The Bartram Trail reminded me of the best of the Appalachian Trail, without the crowds. Truely a wonderful experience.

You can print out the free trail guide, and read some of my trail notes at:
www.trailquest.net/BRbartram.html

Brawny


I'm going to print this out later (outta here for a class). Thanks so much for posting it; I have been wanting to hike some on this trail.

[Happy]

Thanks Brawney, I look forward to trying this...I spent 20 years going to Sky Valley, GA and can appreciate the reference to this trail...I remember Deliverence being filmed close to it back in 1971-72...and then the Hamms beer commercials with the bear staying in a trailer in this area...thanks for your post!!!

[brawny]

You're both welcome! You will be amazed by the views, and the color if you chose the fall or spring time. Winter is great too, cause there's enough green foilage to contrast winter snows. I think the summer would be fun if a person had enough Deet, and went swimming along the Chatooga river, near the southern terminus.
The trailheads are easy to find. I can't imagine why more people aren't hiking it, probably with the AT so close, and all the Press it gets.

best wishes to all who venture
Brawny

[smokymtnsteve]

I worked on the crew that did some of the original treadway dig for the bartram trail back in 1976. we worked the sections near warwoman and rabun bald including a rebuild of the tower.

[Reverie]

Warwoman Dell is one of my favorite places to weekend hike and camp. If you can lay your hands on a recent FS map you will see that it contains miles and miles of trails, usually well marked, but almost always few hikers. When my family pesters me to truck camp I use the Overflow Creek Camping Area next to Halcomb Creek. I target shoot at a FS managed rifle range off of Darnell Creek Road. The beauty to Warwoman is that most people just don't want to head that way because it doesn't look like much on the map but it really provides a payoff if you are adventurous. The Bartram Trail is icing on the cake. The trail is well marked and provides plenty of water. I have hiked there often and the only down side is during the summer when the bugs are out. Even then, it is generally cooler than the surrounding area by a good 10F.

Reverie

[DeoreDX]

We plan on breaking in a newbie to hiking on this trail the first of March with a short overnighter. I've never been on this trail, but it looks like a pretty nice place to hike. We plan on parking at the intersection of FS155 and the trail and hiking ~9 miles to Warwoman Dell. We'll take a detour along the way at Pinnacle Knob and hopefully stop somewhere around Martin Falls for the evening. We should get there sometime after lunch, spend 3-4 hours hiking and screwing around, and should put us at Martin falls around 5. I think that's a moderate enough pace even a greenfoot with a 50lb pack can handle. From my topos it looks like this will be some pretty easy hiking in that direction, i.e. mostly downhill. Looks some of you are familiar with the area. Please advise me if you think that itinerary is no good (i.e. no parking on FS155, better camping spots, etc). I wish I could have convinced the others to take a few days off of work... I'd love to hike a good chunk of this trail, especially after reading Brawny's trail guide.

[FatMan]

DeoreDX

Just a heads up for you. The roads to Wilson Gap FS155/Bartram Tr. are pretty rough and require 4x4 with plenty of clearance. They are very tough in wet conditions. They also are closed for the winter and I don't know exactly when they open. Check with the forest service office in Clayton before you head up there.

If Wilson Gap is inaccessible I might recommend hiking the Chatooga River Trail from US76 to Sandy Ford. It is about 10 miles of easy to moderate terain and is a great hike and very doable for a newbie. About 4.5 miles in you will find a large campsite on the river. If you want to go another 1.5 miles the trail follows the river for about 2 miles with many great campsites.

[brawny]

The first 9.5 miles of the Bartram Trail would make a pleasant overnighter for a newbie with a 50 pound pack, too. Campsites are available near Earl's Ford
at 6.5 miles, and finishing at Sandy Ford. I did from Russel Bridge to Warwoman dell (18.8 miles) as a day hike, so don't know the current status of Sandy Ford Rd.

The steep decent, begining at Wilson Gap (FS 155) from the various knobs
(3,650 feet ) and mountains, to Warwoman Dell (1,884 feet) could be hard on knees if one doesn't use hiking poles and carries that heavy of a pack.

Whichever part you do, I believe you will love it. Hope you have a great time.

Brawny

[MedicineMan]

where can I find a map that shows the entire layout of the trail in relationship to other major trails like the Pinhoti, the AT, the BMT, etc....thanks for any help.

[MOWGLI]

where can I find a map that shows the entire layout of the trail in relationship to other major trails like the Pinhoti, the AT, the BMT, etc....thanks for any help.

John Ray from Central, SC has developed a nice set of maps for the Bartram Trail. Here's a link to a web page where you can pick them up;

http://georgiatrails.com/features/bartram_trail_guides.html

Several of the REI stores in the Atlanta area sell them too.

The NC Bartram Trail Society also sells paper maps. Here's a link to their website;

http://www.ncbartramtrail.org/index.htm

[Hammock Hanger]

I hiked the section from Checoah Bald (up from NOC) to the NC/GA line last year in May. I saw no one on this trail the whole way with the exception of day three when the trail intersected with the AT near Wayah Bald. Very nice trail with lots of nice little camp spots. Somewhere on day two you go my a beautiful waterfall. I must add though that there is a very long hot hike of 14 miles through neighborhoods on blacktop! The only negative of the trip. Sue/HH

[Youngblood]

where can I find a map that shows the entire layout of the trail in relationship to other major trails like the Pinhoti, the AT, the BMT, etc....thanks for any help.

MM, I can't think of a map that shows what you are looking for, but I have hiked some of the major trails in that area and have a pretty good mental picture of how they tie together.

The Bartram Trail connects to the AT at Wayah Bald and Cheoah Bald for a possible loop hike of about 55 miles.

The Benton MacKaye Trail basically connects to the AT at Springer and Three Forks for a possible loop hike of about 10 miles. The BMT trail is basically west of the AT and for now, its northern terminus ends at the Ocoee River in southeastern Tennessee and its southern terminus is on the AT about 0.2 mile north of the summit of Springer Mountain.

The Duncan Ridge Trail connects the Benton MacKaye Trail to the AT at Slaughter Gap for a loop trail of 55 to 65 miles.

The Pinhoti Trail is basically west of the AT. The Alabama section of the Pinhoti Trail connects to the Georgia section of the Pinhoti Trail which connects to the Benton MacKaye Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness. The AL Pinhoti Trail is complete and well documented, the GA Pinhoti Trail has some road walks, is sort of a trail in progress and isn't documented as well.

Back to the Bartram Trail. It is basically east of the AT and its northern terminus is on the AT at Cheoah Bald in North Carolina. It has a road walk that Hammock Hanger alluded to that skirts the town of Franklin, NC. It goes southeast into Georgia where it merges with the Chattooga Trail and then heads north and crosses into South Carolina on the Russell Bridge at Hwy 28. Some folks consided this the end of the Bartram Trail and some folks think that it continues on into SC where it merges with the Foothills Trail when it departs from the Chattooga Trail on its way to Ocoee State Park. Whether it does or not is of little importance since the trail exists there anyways.

The Chattooga Trail is east of the AT, about half of it is on the GA side of the river and is in the designated Wild and Senic Chattooga River corridor along the GA/SC border. It connects the Bartram Trail to the Foothills Trail.

The Foothills Trail is also east of the AT and is in the Carolinas. It starts and ends in South Carolina at Ocoee State Park and Table Rock State Park.

Okay, so how does this all tie together? Well, here goes. Starting at Table Rock State Park in northern South Carolina, the Foothills Trail heads southwest and connects to the Chattooga Trail which heads south and connects to the Bartram Trail which heads northwest and connects to the Appalachian Trail which heads south and connects to the Benton MacKaye Trail which heads northwest and connects to the Georgia Pinhoti Trail which heads southwest and connects to the Alabama Pinhoti Trail which heads south. That is hundreds of miles of interconnecting trails.

Hope this helps,
Youngblood

[bobgessner57]

Hey guys is there some way to leave Clingmans and head out on the Mountains to Sea, work your way down from the Art Loeb Trail vicinity off the Blue Wall and to the Foothills trailhead or some other junction to really stretch out the loop possibilities? I have been mulling such a venture over, think it would make a fantastic spring hike, great mix of scenery and ecological zones, plenty of solitude with a modest dose of the craziness of thru hiker season.

My atlas shows what may be trails or jeep roads which might do the trick but the atlas is not always right. Also, my Nat Geo Pisgah map does not show any connections but I have found omissions on their maps, too.

Also, do the trails such as Foothills, Benton Mckay and so forth get regular maintenance? I am thinking of late summer overgrowth. I have hiked some of the lightly travelled trails on the USFS inventory in mid to late summer and found them to be poorly marked and so overgrown that I couldn't see the treadway. (I understand the why of that situation, just like to plan for it or choose to cover that ground in a different season.)

Now where is that big lever that stops the world so we can have the time to hike all these trails when we want to?

[MOWGLI]

Hey guys is there some way to leave Clingmans and head out on the Mountains to Sea, work your way down from the Art Loeb Trail vicinity off the Blue Wall and to the Foothills trailhead or some other junction to really stretch out the loop possibilities? I have been mulling such a venture over, think it would make a fantastic spring hike, great mix of scenery and ecological zones, plenty of solitude with a modest dose of the craziness of thru hiker season.



Well, you can't easily get from the Art Loeb or Mountains to Sea Trail to the Foothills Trail. Here is another suggestion.

Start at Table Rock State Park near Greenville, SC. Take the Foothills Trail about 70 miles to the Chattooga River Trail. Take the Chattooga River Trail into Georgia and hop onto the Bartram Trail. Take the Bartram Trail all the way to the AT at Cheoah Bald. From there you can hike down to NOC or continue on to Springer, or you can hike north to the Smokys and the Mountains to Sea Trail.

To answer your question about trail maintenance on the Bartram, Benton MacKaye Trail and the Foothills Trail, yes they all have regular maintenance done. The Foothills Trail is maintained by Duke Power for 44 miles.

Here's a link to a page that has links to most all of the trail clubs in the SE (including the clubs you mentioned);

http://www.americanhiking.org/alliance/coalition.html

You will probably find more undergrowth encroaching on these trails than you would on the AT. That's simply because the AT is much more heavily traveled. Waking these great long distance trails is a totally different experience than the AT. More planning is required, resupply is not quite as widely available, you'll have much more solitude, and shelters are either infrequent or non-existant.

In my capacity as Coordinator of the Southeastern Foot Trails Coalition, I work with all of these clubs. I put out a FREE monthly Electronic Newsletter which you can subscribe to at the following link;

http://www.americanhiking.org/alliance/newsletter.html

If you sign-up for this publication, your name is not sold, and there is NO spam - 110% guaranteed! What you'll receive is info about festivals, conferences, work trips, organized hikes, and just about any activity that relates to hiking in the Southeast.

Happy Hiking,
Jeffrey Hunter

[MedicineMan]

I have enjoyed looking at it and conjuring many mental hikes....now if the excellent info Youngblood posted could be placed onto the map at AHS I could more easily picture where the BT lies. I would love to at least get a tasted of the BT sometime in the future other than the small piece that was contiguous as we hiked the AT up/over Cheoah Bald....

[bobgessner57]

Mowgli- Thanks for the info, just signed up for the news letter. I love to hit the less travelled routes as well as the AT and have been scheming wether to wander around a la Bartram or do a traditional thru hike or other long sections. Could be real perverse and do the Foothills -Chatooga- Bartram- AT- Long Trail to Canada.

[MOWGLI]

I have enjoyed looking at it and conjuring many mental hikes....now if the excellent info Youngblood posted could be placed onto the map at AHS I could more easily picture where the BT lies. I would love to at least get a tasted of the BT sometime in the future other than the small piece that was contiguous as we hiked the AT up/over Cheoah Bald....

Thanks MedicineMan. I was thinking about you as I passed Baylor School today on my way home from the office. I pass Baylor every day. I thought about sending my daughter there next year, but opted for Notre Dame instead.

I see you're thinking about coming to the Big Dig.
http://www.cumberlandtrail.org/bigdig.html

That's only about 25-30 minutes north of Baylor School. I live on Signal Mountain which is where the southern terminus of the Cumberland Trail is found. You're gonna love the Cumberland Trail. It's sweet!

I'll be giving slideshows about my 2000 thru-hike at the Big Dig on the evenings of May 19 & 26. I hope to run into you there at some point.

Jeffrey Hunter

[MOWGLI]

Mowgli- Thanks for the info, just signed up for the news letter. I love to hit the less travelled routes as well as the AT and have been scheming wether to wander around a la Bartram or do a traditional thru hike or other long sections. Could be real perverse and do the Foothills -Chatooga- Bartram- AT- Long Trail to Canada.

Thanks Bob. The Southeastern Foot Trails Coalition is also working on what we are currently calling a Western Appalachian Alternative, which is a long distance trail parallel to the AT on the Cumberland Plateau & Pine Mountain. We have a Task Force that will be meeting at the ALDHA Gathering on Saturday October 9.

There are many great trails in the SE other than the AT. On this site, Youngblood has perhaps hiked more of them than anyone that I know. One of my jobs is to help promote these "other" trails in the SE. I'm hoping to plug some folks into these various trail clubs to help build/maintain these "other" trails in the SE. It's a great way to give back after a long hike.

There was a time when I was impressed with people who hiked long distances. Now, I am impressed by people who build & maintain trail. As anyone who has done both can tell you, it's a lot harder than backpacking.

Concerning your proposed route above, you could also go the opposite way. Foothills -> Chattooga -> Bartram -> AT -> Benton MacKaye -> GA Pinhoti -> AL Pinhoti -> Florida National Scenic Trail. That would make you a real contrarian! Youngblood has hiked all of the AL Pinhoti Trail at least twice, and it is one of his favorite trails in the SE. Ain't that right Youngblood?

Jeffrey Hunter

[Youngblood]

Jeff,

Yeah, the AL Pinhoti is one of my favorite trails. I like a lot of the trails in the southeast. The Alabama Pinhoti and the Foothills Trail of the Carolinas are gems in that you will be pleasantly surprised by some of the unique scenery and features along the way. You get to see things that are a little different from the classical southeastern Appalachians fare. But heck, all of those trails have a lot to offer and the classic southeastern Appalachians is pretty special itself. The Benton MacKaye Trail has the Toccoa River and the Big Frog Wilderness experience. The Bartram Trail is similar to the AT but without as many people and it shares some of the designated Wild and Scenic Chattooga River with the Chattooga Trail.

All of these trails are special and many thanks go out to the folks that made and keep them that way. My advise is to take the path that takes you where you want to go and enjoy the experience for what it is.

Youngblood

[bobgessner57]

My advise is to take the path that takes you where you want to go and enjoy the experience for what it is.
Youngblood[/QUOTE]

Touche` Can we get a rainbow blaze T-shirt?

[Nightwalker]

Last year I completed my free Online trail guide for the North Carolina-Georgia Bartram trail.
This trail is a magnificent, well blazed, yet hardly utilized path of 117 miles, part of which is a back road walk.

This trail tied for 10th place in 10 best Trails, in Backpacker's poll in 2000. The Bartram Trail reminded me of the best of the Appalachian Trail, without the crowds. Truely a wonderful experience.

You can print out the free trail guide, and read some of my trail notes at:
www.trailquest.net/BRbartram.html

Brawny

Brawny, the Bartram also goes quite a ways in SC as well. It shares trailbed with the Chatooga and Foothills trail part of the way, and goes on South to about the Oconee Nuclear station on SC 183. It's the most uncrowded (as in I met NOBODY on it) that I've ever been on.

Frank

[Youngblood]

Brawny, the Bartram also goes quite a ways in SC as well. It shares trailbed with the Chatooga and Foothills trail part of the way, and goes on South to about the Oconee Nuclear station on SC 183. It's the most uncrowded (as in I met NOBODY on it) that I've ever been on.

Frank

Frank,

The last signpost I have seen for the Bartram Trail when I have hiked the Foothills Trail was around Oconee SP. I wasn't aware that it went any further into South Carolina. Do you know where I can find information on that section of the Bartram Trail?

Thanks,
Youngblood

[Nightwalker]

Frank,

The last signpost I have seen for the Bartram Trail when I have hiked the Foothills Trail was around Oconee SP. I wasn't aware that it went any further into South Carolina. Do you know where I can find information on that section of the Bartram Trail?

Thanks,
Youngblood

Not exactly sure, but I saw a historical marker about it where the trail crosses over SC 183 near the Oconee nuclear station, so it goes at least that far.

Frank

[Youngblood]

Not exactly sure, but I saw a historical marker about it where the trail crosses over SC 183 near the Oconee nuclear station, so it goes at least that far.

Frank


Thanks Frank. I have never been able to turn up information about the South Carolina Bartram (hiking) Trail. My best assessment had been that at one time they were going to build the Bartram Trail in SC, but for some reason it didn't happen. I have seen some blazes in SC and even saw it on some older versions of the Chattooga Trail maps, but it all pointed to it sort of petering out somewhere along the Foothills Trail before it got to Oconee SP. That is what I saw on my hikes, the signs and blazes where old, few and far between until I didn't see them any more. Does it continue through Oconee SP or does it go around it? I thought I had hiked all of the Bartram Trail and I would be interested in hiking the rest of it if I could figure out where it is.

Youngblood

[Nightwalker]

Thanks Frank. I have never been able to turn up information about the South Carolina Bartram (hiking) Trail. My best assessment had been that at one time they were going to build the Bartram Trail in SC, but for some reason it didn't happen. I have seen some blazes in SC and even saw it on some older versions of the Chattooga Trail maps, but it all pointed to it sort of petering out somewhere along the Foothills Trail before it got to Oconee SP. That is what I saw on my hikes, the signs and blazes where old, few and far between until I didn't see them any more. Does it continue through Oconee SP or does it go around it? I thought I had hiked all of the Bartram Trail and I would be interested in hiking the rest of it if I could figure out where it is.

Youngblood

My best advice would be to find the historical marker a couple of miles toward Pickens from the nuc station and look at what it does there. Sorry I can't help you more.

It is, however, really nice between where it splits from the Foothills Trail 2.5 miles from Cheohee (I think) road and SC 107, and where it goes across into GA at the hwy 28 bridge (only 3.7 miles). There are a couple of nice falls in that section of a river named--I think--the Chauga.

[Youngblood]

My best advice would be to find the historical marker a couple of miles toward Pickens from the nuc station and look at what it does there. Sorry I can't help you more.

Frank,

In looking at my maps, Oconee SP is to the west of Lake Keowee and the nuclear station is on the east side of Lake Keowee, with the only nearby crossing being SC183. Are you sure the historical marker wasn't just a marker showing the path that William Bartram took and not an indication that the Bartram (hiking) Trail is there? Just wondering. On some web sites about "Bartram" they show the path that William Bartram took and sometimes refer to it as the "Bartram Trail", which is WAS, but alas, it is not the Bartram (hiking) Trail that we now hike on.

Thanks again, this is interesting. I did a web search for "Chauga" and found info on the Chauga River and Chauga Narrows with pictures ( http://www.alleneasler.com/narrows.html ), it is a beautiful place. Next time I get the urge to do a little exploring I may head in that direction. I wonder if I can camp nearby in my hammock? I have always been appreciative of all the hard work that the SC folks put into their trail system. They do a great job of putting information out about their trails and have always made my feel welcome on my visits. It was great to meet you and some of the other folks at the SoRuck earlier this year.

Youngblood

[FatMan]

It is only a historical marker of the journey of Bartram. There is no trail at that crossing. I checked it out as I had the same question when I drove by.

[Nightwalker]

You can print out the free trail guide, and read some of my trail notes at:
www.trailquest.net/BRbartram.html (http://www.trailquest.net/BRbartram.html)

BrawnyI'm leaving for the Bartram tomorrow. Got tired of waiting for the weather, and I'm just gonna get wet if I need to. :-)

I printed out your guide, and Rainy's journal, and will happily use them.

Where's the first place to camp in GA? I'll be getting out in the afternoon, and starting at Cheohee Road in SC. It'll be six miles to where your guide starts at the 28 bridge, and I'll probably start looking to bed down near there.

I've got my mapping gear together, and will be making tracks as I go.

I won't have time on this outing to do it all, but am looking forward to my first "real" hike in way too long!

:D

[FatMan]

Just a heads up. Floodstage on the Chattooga at the US76 gage is about 5 feet. Within the past 12 hours the reading was over 11 feet.

Many places on SC side are near the river and might impassable at these levels. This is not a river you want to step into with a pack at these levels either. And once you cross Russell Bridge and begin on the Georgia side you will soon find yourself in a flood plain between the river and the West Fork. Could be impassable as well. If you can get over the West Fork bridge it should be OK the rest of the way to Sandy Ford. (where the Bartram leaves the river) I might suggest you wait til Sunday to head out. The water should receed by then.

Anyway, to answer your question about a campsite. There are many places along this stretch of trail for camping. Water is usually nearby. A well used campsite is about 1.5 miles from Russell Bridge. It is on a small stream which is crossed by a wooden bridge. The campsite is directly before you cross the bridge. You won't miss it.

Have a great hike. The Bartram is one of my favorites.