western north carolina Archives - Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy

Trail Maintenance Skills Workshop

We’re excited to partner with the Nantahala Hiking Club and Appalachian Trail Conservancy to offer a trail maintenance and leadership training workshop on October 14-15. This workshop will be held at Appletree Campground with camping available on Friday and Saturday nights. Limited spots are available free of charge to volunteers and members. We’d be happy to have new members along with us as well!

The workshop will take place all day on Saturday, you’re welcome to join without camping, and will focus on proper trail construction and maintenance. Sunday will offer a half-day training session on trail crew leadership and organization.

Greg Ritson is with the ATC and is our trainer for the weekend. Here’s a little more information about him and the workshop opportunity:

Greg has led and worked on crews performing conservation and trail work across the country in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Alaska, Washington, and Pennsylvania. He is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, having served in Zambia with their Rural Aquaculture Program. Recently, Greg served as Roving Trail Crew Project Leader for the Student Conservation Association’s PA Outdoor Corps where he worked closely with Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

A graduate of Penn State University, Greg studied Environmental Resource Management and holds minors in Environmental Soil Science, Watershed and Water Resource Management, and Sustainability Leadership.

Greg looks forward to working with volunteers up and down the A.T.!

If you’re interested in joining us for this workshop, please email us directly at info@blueridgebartram.org.

August 25th, Walking With Bartram – Wayah Bald to Lake Nantahala

This will be a relatively long hike at around 8 miles, but well worth the views from Wayah Bald as well as over Lake Nantahala as we approach it. We’ll pass through Sawmill Gap on the way down. This section shares about a mile or so with the Appalachian Trail just below Wayah Bald to Winespring Gap.

We’ll plan on meeting at the Lake Nantahala trailhead at 8:30 am and shuttling up to Wayah Bald to begin the day. There is limited parking at the Lake Nantahala trailhead, so please consider carpooling if possible. Reach out and we’ll help with that!

Newcomers are welcome to join us. Please plan to bring plenty of 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!

Here’s a link to the trailhead location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B011’30.9%22N+83%C2%B038’25.2%22W/@35.1924892,-83.6409569,17z/data=!4m13!1m8!3m7!1s0x885ece407dc4aad3:0xcb5a0e2479a23ee8!2sTopton,+NC+28901!3b1!8m2!3d35.2470348!4d-83.7032269!16s%2Fm%2F04b6wyp!3m3!8m2!3d35.191905!4d-83.640332?hl=en&entry=ttu

Please RSVP below to help with planning:

The Shape of Summer: Wildflower Walk and Site-Specific Cyanotypes with Brent Martin & Eric William Carroll

Saturday, July 22nd, 10 am – 4 pm @ Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin, NC
Hosted by: The Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy

Brent Martin will lead participants in a midsummer wildflower walk on the Little Tennessee River in the Cowee National Historic District. This easy walk will allow participants to collect a wide variety of plants and flowering parts for the creation of their own cyanotype, as well as learn about the incredible plant diversity in the Little Tennessee Watershed.

Following the wildflower walk, we’ll meet at the Cowee School where participants will be introduced to the cyanotype process by artist Eric William Carroll. Together we’ll create photograms (cameraless photographs) based on the specimens collected during the walk. Participants will be encouraged to creatively illuminate their clippings in multiple ways, showcasing the broad range of interpretations each plant can have. Some of the work created during the workshop will be displayed at the Bascom: Center for Visual Arts in an exhibition this fall. No experience is necessary and this workshop is appropriate for ages 10+. All materials will be provided. More photos at the bottom of this page.

More information can be found on the Kinship Photography website – https://kinship.photography/listening-to-the-land-workshops/shape-of-summer

Cost: $50 (scholarships are available)

Class size: 15 students – Spots are still available!

Cyanotype prints by Eric William Carroll

Eric William Carroll processing a cyanotype in a mountain creek

July 28th, Walking With Bartram – Wayah Bald to Wallace Branch

We’re going to take advantage of the longer summer days to knock out this long hike from Wayah Bald all the way down to Wallace Branch. This is roughly an 11-mile section of mostly elevation loss on one of the most popular sections of the Bartram Trail.

We’ll plan on meeting at Wallace Branch at 9am and shuttling up to Wayah Bald to begin the day.

Newcomers are welcome to join us. Please plan to bring plenty of 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:

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