Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy
History. Art. And the Great Outdoors.
We have rescheduled our last Walking with Bartram hike to this Monday, April 22. We will be meeting at Warwoman Dell at 9am and shuttling to Sandy Ford.
We hope you’ll come join us this time! We had to reschedule because of the USFS prescribed burns that we encountered last time.
RSVP below if you can join us, and we can arrange carpooling from Franklin if desired.
Join us for the 3rd round of our Walking with Bartram series hikes. We’re starting all over again in North Georgia, at Russell Bridge/HWY 28 at the South Carolina state line. We’ll work our way through this first section to Sandy Ford Gap.
Last year, these hikes were really popular, we’re so appreciative of the enthusiasm and interest in them! Be sure to RSVP below to help us with planning. Also, if you would like to lead a hike, let us know.
This 9.5 mile section will take us along sections of the scenic Chattooga River.
We’ll meet at the Russell Bridge trail head at 9AM to get shuttle cars ready. Since there’s limited space at Sandy Ford, we’ll shuttle there and walk back to Russell Bridge.
Please RSVP below to help with planning for this hike. For any other questions, directions and more details, feel free to reach out directly.
Trail Report:
We had another great group for this hike with a lot of folks joining us again as we section hike our way through the Georgia portion of the Bartram Trail. We couldn’t have asked for finer weather conditions with clear skies and highs in the 60’s.
The group met at Warwoman Dell to figure out shuttle logistics before driving to the Sandy Ford trailhead.
The trail overall was in good shape. In the previous couple of weeks, we had trail maintenance volunteers out on this section clearing some downed trees and cutting back overgrown brush. So, while the path was clear for hiking, there is still some tread work to be done and we’ll have more days set aside for this work.
The group did observe some bird activity including Hermit Thrush, Robins, and Flocking Hollies.
Thanks to everyone who joined on this section hike from Sandy Ford to Warwoman Dell.
Walking With Bartram – Section 2 from Sandy Ford to Warwoman Dell group:
If you’re interested in joining us, we would love to have you along! Walking With Bartram section hikes are held on the last Friday of the month. Sometimes we have to reschedule due to weather or conflicting holidays or other events. You can find information about our hikes posted on our website here – https://blueridgebartram.org/events/
Our next Walking With Bartram section hike will be on December 30th. We will hike section 3 from Wilson Gap to Warwoman Dell (reverse direction). Please visit and RSVP here – https://blueridgebartram.org/event/december-30th-walking-with-bartram/
You can also find other events like Trail Maintenance Work Days or Bartram Trail related special events. Please sign up for our newsletter for all the latest announcements.
This group for the first section hike of another Walking With Bartram journey thoroughly enjoyed the autumn views along the way. We met at Russell Bridge on HWY 28 for quick introductions and shuttle planning, then off we went to Sandy Ford. Easier day of shuttling this way.
Plenty of parking for this group and just before 10am, we were gathered around at the trailhead for a reading from Bartram’s Travels from Brent Martin.
TRAILHEAD NOTE: The road up to the Sandy Ford trailhead is mostly traversable by all vehicles. There is a creek crossing (Upper Dick’s Creek) that everyone successfully navigated, even a Mazda Miata! Please use caution when crossing this creek!
The weather was near perfect warming up from the 40’s to near 70 degrees in the middle of the day. Plenty of sun and just the right amount of wispy clouds created great viewing opportunities along the trail sharing the Chattooga River corridor.
We hiked at our own pace, stopping occasionally for a little Bartram story to be woven into the day. Lunch at Earls Ford provided a great sound of flowing water as a backdrop while folks chatted over their snacks.
Most of the trail was in really great condition with some recent volunteer work recently completed. With the exception of the Dick’s Creek Bridge being out for some time, all other creek and river crossings were in great shape.
Enjoy the photos and if you’re interested in joining us for the next hike in November, please visit this link to RSVP. We did have a record turn-out for this one and if there is a demand for it, we’ll figure out how to offer another outing!
We look forward to seeing you on the trail!
