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Astro on Bartram Trail 2021

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    • Astro on Bartram Trail 2021

      Plan to start Bartram Trail on Tuesday at southern terminus as tune up hike for completing my remaining sections of the AT (Pinkham Notch to Grafton Notch, Monson to Mt Katahdin).

      Driving to North Carolina tomorrow will be my first "zero" after walking with a pack 3 to 12 miles everyday for over 6 weeks.

      Trail is 108 miles, but by the time I walk back to Franklin will be closer to 150.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • LIhikers wrote:

      Good for you to do so much walking. This year I've done very little so I'm a little concerned about this coming summer's hiking.
      Most not the same as climbing over rocks, up mountains, and stumbling over roots. But hey at least legs should be "somewhat ready". I guess I will find out tomorrow. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • 11.8 to West Fork Overflow Creek yesterday, and planning another 12 today. Will allow me to make it into Franklin Saturday morning. Spending Fathers Day with my Dad Sunday, then start second half Monday.
      Sunday a tropical storm is supposed to hit Franklin.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 1
      14 miles Russell Bridge to Campsite with no Water
      I know that isn't the greatest location description for where I spent the night, but that is what the guide book called it. The southern terminus is at Russell Bridge over the Chattooga River on GA Hwy 28.
      The first few miles were level elevation since running along the river.

      So things were going smooth till around mile 9 where the bridge over Dicks Creek was not there. There was just blue tape across where the bridge was supposed to be. So I started walking around looking for a detour. Found a trail coming out of the campsite, but never found another yellow blaze. So figured out I would have ford across. But where the bridge had been was too deep to climb down and up. So walked around until I found a better place to cross. It was then I realized I had not hooked my Vivobarefeet to my pack. So I had to cross barefoot and the worse part was there were no rocks just sand and mud, so had a hard time getting my feet clean again. After crossing and walking down the trail a little I saw where the bridge had washed out to.

      One neat thing about the Bartram Trail is stones engraved with locations and directions and distances. They also are good for sitting on to take a break. Since I knew I was going to dry camp I went ahead and ate dinner there.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 2
      12.9 miles to Wilson Gap
      Started mountains and waterfalls today. In the morning came to Warwoman Dell recreation area. Since no shelters on this trail was nice to have picnic table for lunch. Yesterday I ran into a group of a dozen day hikers. Today there was a Scout camp nearby and there were groups of parents going various places.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 3
      11.8 miles to West Fork Overflow Creek
      Raburn Bald fire tower had 360 degree views
      Well it used to, now a few trees need to be trimmed. Tallest mountain visible is Clingman's Dome (highest point on AT).
      After 35.7 miles crossed over from GA to NC
      [list][*]
      [/list]
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Looks like a real nice trail Astro. I bet the waterfalls were a help in cooling off in this heat.

      Did you see any other overnight hikers doing the trail?
      None, just lots of day hikers. Even ran into two trail bikers. Actually illegal. But they were considerate and stopped and held there bikes as I approached them (from the opposite direction).

      Yes, the waterfalls were nice and a great place to take a break. I am sure NH and ME will be cooler and less humid.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 4
      13.2 miles to Double Gap
      Lots of different mountain views today. Often you can see the mountains through the trees, but I really appreciate when you have a clear view. Especially when there are some nice rocks you can sit and take a break on.

      Was trying to make it to a campsite about .6m ahead but was getting dark and really could not see where the trail was. So I set up my tent on a rock. Unfortunately it was not as level or as wide as I would have preferred. Had to be careful about weight distribution, but made it through the night.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • A few interesting things from Day 4. Tha old school bus right on the trail used to used by hunters. Considered setting my tent up inside there if enough room, but was afraid some animals might have already homesteaded it.

      All the NC trailheads have a copy of the NC map. Also thought the yellow blaze on the post wss nice, but misleading since the trail was parallel with the sign and was a little trail lined up with the blaze.

      The blaze on the broken tree was like an arch you walked under.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Nice. Reminds me of the time I was on Sinking Creek Mtn on the AT in VA. It was early evening, the ridge was narrow and rocky, and I was out of gas. It was several miles to the next shelter and I suspected that once I dropped off the ridge there would be no camping spots until I got to the shelter. There was a tiny clearing the size of my tent footprint among the rocks just off the trail. I didn't think camping that close to the trail was appropriate but I didn't have any other good options so I camped there. Turned out to be the best site ever. However I found out the next day the shelter had been hit with a tremendous thunderstorm that night. If that storm had tracked a few miles west, I would have been fried in my sleep. Maybe sleeping on a rocky ridge between two aluminum lighting rods (trekking poles holding up my tent) was not a good idea?
    • Since I started walking the BT, the Astros won 11 straight games. So today they are rained out in Detroit, and playing a DH Saturday. I hope they keep winning. If not I need to get to NH as quickly as I can and get back to walking. ;)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 5
      3.6 miles to Hickory Knoll Road
      Just a quick little walk into Franklin this morning. The guide even recommends you skip the dangerous 10 mile road walk throgh Franklin. Thus I will be hiking from Cheoah Bald to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) at end of my hike to make up for that.

      After getting a much desired shower and washing clothes, I made my rHounds of the two outfitters. Picked up the NC map of the BT by Backcountry Maps and a couBple of AT tshirts at 3 Eagle Outfitters. Picked up a signed copy of 2000 Miles Together by Ben Ben Crawford at Outdoor 76. Outside Outdoor 76 were the signs about William Bartram.

      O
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      Wow! I just caught up on this thread…I’m so happy for you, Astro. Loved reading about this trip! Congrats!
      Thanks, I am only half through with the trip reports. I need to catch up this weekend, since I start NH next week.
      Going to New England next week? I guess we won't be seeing each other this year. We won't be there until August. We have reservations in Baxter park the nights of August 11, 12, and 13. Then we'll go to the Pinkham Notch area so I can get Wildcat D.
    • Day 6
      11 miles Wayah Bald to Wallace Branch.
      Yesterday was Father's Day so I took it off going to church and hanging out with my dad.
      Today I had my sister drive me to Wayah Bald so I could slack pack. It was nice to have a lighter pack. I avoided 4000 feet of elevation gain, but still had 2000 with all the ups and downs. I also knew it would be foggy in the morning and I had seen Wayah Bald before, but not Williams Pulpit (2 miles from Wallace Branch).
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Wayah Bald pictures. Ran 0.6 miles south with the AT. Will run 1.9 miles north with it tomorrow.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Williams Pulpit and the waterfall near Wallace Branch.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • A couple of other interesting things from Day 6. Sign with diagonal arrows and wooden steps with alog handrail.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 7
      8.8m from Wayah Bald to gravel road leading to Nantahala Lake
      Was still pouring rain in the morning, so waited for it to stop and my sister had me back at Wayah Bald at noon. Since it should be the last rain I will see here, didn't see any reason to start in middle of it. Shoes got wet from where trail was overgrown, but didn't rain on me. Rocks and leaves still slippery, but I know it should be drier tomorrow.

      At the point where the AT and BT split I ran into a group of half dozen high school boys with a college aged leader that was backpacking from Winding Stair (US 64) the NOC on the AT.

      Walked back up to Wayah Bald again hoping to maybe catch a rainbow. No luck, but get different looking view than last time.

      I thought some of the Biology guys might appreciate the purple growth on the tree. Last picture is a view between the trees during the day.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • After a 0.7 roadwalk near the end of Day 7 the guide book said the trail goes back into the woods after the Phillips 66 station. Well it appears the station has closed and at first I could not find sign. As you can see from the two pictures it took a little effort.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 8
      13.9m to Duke Energy Surge Tank. Glad to get down off mountain switchbacks and have a flat place to set up my tent. Only 8 miles left to complete my thru hike of this trail. Then 8.3 miles down to NOC to get picked up Friday. Bad hot spot on my right big toe. Need to find my Leukotape as soon as I get back to Franklin. Hopefully doesn't pop before then.

      Went miles looking for a camp site till finally pleasantly surprised bythe Surge Tank spot. Dew fom the grass made my rainfly and footprint wet in the morning, but was grateful to have a flat spot.

      Going thru a campsite by Dam Falls in the morning I started down the path with the red rope. After a while I noticed that the next rope was thicker and the trail was steeper going down to bottom of the 80 to 100 water fall. As experience has taught me by now if things appear to much harder than expected, you are probably going the wrong way. So I turned around and walked back up to the campsite and the blaze leading out of it.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • Day 9
      10.2m to Sassafras Gap shelter
      9m to complete Bartram Trail and then 1.2 more on AT. First 4.5m were pretty easy, but last part of BT was tough. Over 3,000 feet elevation gain, 5 fords, and trail overgrown in some places. Great to be at AT shelter. Bench and counter to cook on, and for the first night some sleeping the same place I am. Never ran into another backpacker the entire BT.

      Guide book said normal conditions you can walk over stones for the 5 Ledbetter Creek crossings. Well with Tropical storm Claudette just blowing through was not normal conditions, and I had to ford all 5. Waterfalls were powerful, but hard to get a good picture with the growth.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Astro ().

    • Northern terminus was at Cheoah Bald on the AT. The sign where the BT runs into the AT could use maintenance, or outright replacement. The Cheoah Bald isn't as prominent as you would think either.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Day 10
      6.9 miles down to Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) on the AT
      Was great to get a hamburger while I waited for my sister to come pick me up. Wss a happening place with hundreds of people. Grabbed some boil peanuts from a roadside stand on the way back to my Dad's house.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General