hikes Archives - Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy

Boating with Bartram on the Little Tennessee

We’ve reached the mid-way point on our Walking With Bartram section hikes right in time for spring! Once again, we’re going to switch things up and take to the water, assuming the weather plays nice. Join us as we kayak down the Little Tennessee River from the Hickory Knoll Road Trailhead to Tassee Shelter on the Greenway.

This is a lovely 4-5 hour float on the Little Tennessee, even closer to the path William Bartram is believed to take as he arrived in what is not the Town of Franklin. The river is calm and smooth sailing for this section and we should be treated to all the spring blooms and trees filling in along the banks.

Attendance for this will be limited to 14 folks for the sake of shuttling and boats. You are welcome to bring your own boat. Alaraka Expeditions will provide boats to rent if needed. Please contact Angela at blueyodel32@gmail.com to arrange your boat rental.

We will stop for lunch along the way and likely be ahead of schedule, but adding some time for shuttling and loading/unloading boats.

Please let us know if you have any questions about this river trip. In the case of inclement weather, we will look to reschedule and possibly switch this trip up with an abbreviated “road-walk” into town along the new path all the way to the Lazy Hiker. Either way, this will be a great day.

Please RSVP below to help with planning. We’ll cut off RSVPs when we reach 14 folks.

See you on the river!

Walking With Bartram Section 6 from Jones Gap to Hickory Knoll Road

RSVP for this hike is now closed (3/20/2023)

Please join us as we continue our monthly section hikes through the Bartram Trail. This section will be mostly downhill and take us by some wonderful vistas along the Fishhawk Range before we drop down towards Hickory Knoll Road. This is a moderately difficult hike in length, but lots of great views along the way. We’re in early spring as well and by this time we should be seeing lots of early flowers in bloom.

We’ll plan to meet at Hickory Knoll Road at 9am and shuttle up to Jones Gap to start. These trailheads are accessible and the roads aren’t too rough. But, we may recruit some volunteers to help with shuttling and shave some time off of the day.

More details to follow closer to this date once we have all our RSVPs in.

Newcomers are welcome to join us. All you need to bring is water, lunch, clothing appropriate for this season, and your sense of humor and wonder.

We have had great interest in these hikes and are working to create new hiking opportunities. If you are interested in leading a hike, let us know!

Please RSVP below to help with planning. If we get more than 12-15 hikers signed up, we’ll look to plan a second hike to accommodate everyone.

Visit with Dr. Dan Pittillo at Nodding Trillium Garden

RSVP for this event is now closed (3/13).

We’re excited to be able to visit with Dr. Dan Pittillo at his Family’s Nature Preserve and Nodding Trillium Garden to see some early spring flowers. Dr. Pittillo will lead us on a short walk along the Nodding Trillium Garden Loop trail, which is relatively short in distance but time consuming when enjoying the time to seek individual flowers are sought. We will also take a longer hike with a little climbing elevation.

The Garden walk will last 30-45 minutes. Participants are welcome to join along the longer hike or stay and linger in the garden.

Hikers wanting to spend the energy to hike up some 200 more feet elevation can join Dan and the group after the garden walk. By this time, there will be a lot more Trout lily and Trillium masses up the first 100 foot elevation and declining thereafter to the top and back down. On this hike, we are transitioning from Rich Cove, with basic soils, to more acidic Oak-Hickory Forest and acidic soils. There are 2 oak tree falls and a big pine fall that we’ll pass by and Dr. Pittillo will comment on.

Dr. Pittillo will also discuss the geology of this region, including Miocene impact (about 10 million years ago), plate tectonics of this Appalachian mass, and Pleistocene flora some 18,000 years ago.

Dr. Pittillo is among the original founders of the North Carolina Bartram Trail Society, organized in 1977. We are very fortunate to still have Dr. Pittillo as an active member on our Board of Directors

The Preserve is owned by Dr. Dan Pittillo and his family and is conserved through the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust. Nodding Trillium Garden, located within the Preserve, has one of the finest and most extensive collections of native spring wildflowers that can be found in the area. Dr. Pittillo is known for his extensive knowledge of the flora and ecology of the Southern Appalachians and his passion for sharing his knowledge through stories!

To get an idea of what to expect on this nature walk, watch and listen as Dr. Pittillo shares some of his special stories of plants at Nodding Trillium Garden on YouTube.

RSVP
RSVP for this event is now closed (3/13). This event will have limited registration and we will follow up with folks regarding more details and carpooling.

May 14th, 2023: Family Day on the Bartram Trail – A Hike and Craft Event

This will be a short and fun hike from Warwoman Dell followed by some crafting that will be fun for kids and adults alike.

We will meet at Warwoman Dell in the parking lot, hike the small loop while Erin discusses animals that call the Dell their home. We will end at the picnic pavilion where we will make animal tracks!

This event will be led by our own Erin Hadjidakis who is a Board Member with the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy and a Park Ranger at Tallulah Gorge State Park.

Please plan to meet at Warwoman Dell at 2 pm. After a short hike (less than a mile), we’ll make some animal track crafts!

Please RSVP below to help with planning.

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