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In Bartram’s Footsteps
Written By: Stuart Ferguson | Issue: May 2024
A new guide spotlights the twisty trail blazed by naturalist William Bartram.
“A Hiker’s Guide to the Bartram National Recreation Trail in Georgia and North Carolina” has everything you’ll need, except the granola bars and Aleve.
This wonderful new book ($21.95, Univ. of Georgia Press) by Brent Martin fits easily into your backpack but contains a library’s worth of insight about the route and its namesake, that congenial and intrepid Philadelphian, naturalist William Bartram (1739-1823). Bartram was here in 1775, with the Cherokee, and the hiking trail mostly follows
his wanderings.
The 112-mile-long section of the Bartram Trail covered by Mr. Martin starts where U.S. 28 crosses the Chattooga River on its journey from Walhalla, S.C. to Highlands. The path winds its way to the summit of Scaly Mountain before descending to the Little Tennessee River (you can canoe or Kayak part of the route) and ending at the Appalachian Trail on Cheoah Bald.
The guide includes a detailed account of what to expect along the trail, maps and suggestions for day hikes. What really makes this book unique is Mr. Martin’s deep knowledge of our area and his engaging prose. He is the executive director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy and owner of Alarka Expeditions in Cowee, north of Franklin. His other books, including that on George Masa (see below) are also rewarding.
In his acknowledgements Brent thanks “ancient trails expert” Lamar Marshall, who created the maps. What I learned here is that Bartram, in Mr. Marshall’s expert opinion, actually climbed today’s Satulah Mountain, which the explorer described as “the highest ridge of the Cherokee mountains… This exalted peak I named mount Magnolia, from a new and beautiful species of that celebrated family of flowering trees…” He called the plant “auriculato” but it’s now known as Fraser magnolia.
Mr. Martin will sign copies of his guidebook at the Highland Hiker (the Falls on Main) in Highlands from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. on Saturday, June 15, and at the Highland Hiker in Cashiers on Wednesday, June 19, from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M.
On August 20, at 5:30 P.M., as part of the Cashiers Village Green nature series (sponsored with the Highlands Cashiers Land Trust) he will discuss photographer George Masa who, with his friend Horace Kephart, helped preserve the Great Smoky Mountains as a national park. Masa is the subject of Brent’s book “George Masa’s Wild Vision,” part of which recounts Masa’s time here on the Plateau and is loaded with his amazing images.
