Bartram Trail to Cheoah Bald – 1/20/18 – 14 Miles
I found myself tagging along with Cathy and Anonymous as
part of a large group renting a cabin at Nantahala Outdoor Center out in
western North Carolina on a frozen winter weekend retreat. Folks arrived Friday afternoon and evening,
and as the pot luck chili and adult beverages flowed, Saturday hiking plans
were proposed and debated. I was on
board mainly for the camaraderie, but I had done some prior research and hoped
to hike the Bartram Trail from the Winding Stairs access up to its
intersection with the Appalachian Trail, then the AT back to the NOC. This is a popular backpacking route requiring
a short shuttle, but it’s also a reasonable dayhike. I held onto my thoughts, though, to see if
something more interesting came up.
It didn’t. One
promising idea was abandoned once it was determined that an essential forest
road connection was seasonally closed. I
floated the Bartram/AT idea and suddenly we had ourselves a bunch of hikers and
a shuttle plan. Turned out to be a grand
day.
The Winding Stairs parking area is on Highway 19/74 just a
few miles west of the NOC. The Bartram
Trail is blazed with easy-to-see yellow rectangles. It crosses the road, then the railroad
tracks, and goes steeply up the mountain for 4.8 miles to the AT. On the ascent the trail winds in and out of
coves, some shady and snowy, a few sunny and bare. Here we go!
We faced at last half a dozen creek crossings that normally
would be a quick hop, but the presence of ice made us stop and think before
taking steps. It’s good to be last in
line to see how everyone else does it. Just make sure someone stops to watch
you, too, in case you do slip and fall!
Rhododendrons
and icicles
Bartram Falls
At the AT intersection, taking a breather, but still
.2 miles of climbing to reach Cheoah Bald.
The bald is a prime camping spot and large enough for lots of people
(good or bad?). I hiked over it a couple
of years ago on a backpacking trip but didn’t spend the night. Keeping it on the list for another time.
Note: Cheoah Bald is
the northern terminus of the Bartram Trail. Hmmmm….I'll bet there's a trail guide and a website...
Mighty chilly on the bald so we didn’t stay long. Cathy and Anonymous put it in high gear and I
didn’t see them again. Since I was hiking
back to our cabin, I didn’t mind (really enjoyed) the solitary 8-mile walk in the
woods. All that elevation gain to the bald was now going back down, though, and
slippery snow is less fun on that downhill.
Looking down at the Nantahala River in the Gorge
A trailside memorial reminder to be grateful
A hot shower and hot chocolate: ahhhh
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