Bartram Trail

The Bartram Trail is a 115-mile trail which originates in north Georgia near Clayton and terminates on Cheoah Bald in NC. I thru hiked this trail over the course of a year, in a combination of both day hikes and backpacking trips.

The botanical diversity was some of the most impressive I've come across in the Southern Appalachian mountains, which seemed very fitting considering the trail's namesake, William Bartram, an 18th century naturalist. I loved every segment of this trail and enjoyed the fact that I could hike it in segments, in various seasons. I think it would make an excellent backpacking thru hike, with the exception of one 13-mile road walk. I was thankful to have bypassed that leg by hiking it in segments!

Some of these hikes were devoted to a fundraiser for my children's school, Shining Rock Classical Academy, a public charter school in Waynesville, NC. We raised nearly $25,000 for our school by hiking 1500 kilometers over the course of a year! Some posts will reflect the purpose of the fundraiser which was to raise money for our outdoor experiential education programming.