• What to know if you go

Peter McIntosh/Special (ENLARGE)

William Bartram once described the view atop Pinnacle Knob, three miles east of Clayton, as 'mountains piled on mountains,' an apt description 231 years later.

Peter McIntosh/Special (ENLARGE)

The wild magnolia was first documented by William Bartram in 1775, but naturalist Thomas Walter named it magnolia fraseri after John Fraser, who worked for him, in a book published in 1788.

Peter McIntosh/Special (ENLARGE)

A two-mile trek along the Bartram Trail takes hikers to the falls at Martin Creek. This is the second of two waterfalls along this stretch of the trail, which approximates BartramÕs route through North Georgia in the late 18th century.

Peter McIntosh/Special (ENLARGE)

John Ray, co-author of guidebooks about the William Bartram Trail, pauses at the marker commemorating the explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively throughout the Southeast, documenting the flora and fauna of the area as well as its native people.

Peter McIntosh/Special (ENLARGE)

Built in the 1920s as a horse barn, the Barn Inn at Lake Rabun is one of several inns in North Georgia that offer easy access to the 37-mile-long Bartram Trail.

Clayton — William Bartram was no dummy when he scaled the "exalted" northeast Georgia peak he named "Mount Magnolia" in 1775. The famous naturalist was on my mind as I gasped my way up the steep quarter-mile ascent to the top of what is now known as Pinnacle Knob, just three miles east of Clayton.

We 21st-century hikers may enjoy high-tech gear, I mused, but Bartram was smart: He was on horseback.

Following the adventures of America's first native-born naturalist 231 years later is something even the casual hiker can do, and just two hours from Atlanta. There are two spectacular waterfalls within two miles even if you skip the peak climb.

With my hiking companions, photographer Peter McIntosh and retired Clemson University professor John Ray, I rested on the rock outcrop atop Pinnacle Knob surveying the panoramic view Bartram called "the Cherokee mountains." Bartram's description of them is classic: "mountains piled on mountains."

I was fortunate to have Ray come along. He and his backpacking colleague, Malcolm Skove, have written the only detailed Bartram Trail guidebooks, four of them, describing the 18th-century hikes through Georgia and North Carolina. (The 37-mile-long Bartram Trail in North Georgia also connects to trails in South Carolina and provides access to the Appalachian Trail.)

Recalling the American chesnut

What did Bartram see from the top of Pinnacle Knob that we're missing, I asked Ray as we gazed at countless shades of summer green against layers of ridgelines. Back then, the giant American chestnut would have dominated the hardwood tree stands, he said. The native chestnut, of course, succumbed to an Asian blight before the mid-1900s, though scientists are working today to bring it back.

Most of the trees Bartram so meticulously cataloged in his journal, and later in his 1791 book, are thriving: red maples, white oaks, hickory, beech, buckeye and tulip poplar.

The wild native magnolia, his treasured discovery and the one for which Bartram named this peak — he wrongly declared it the area's highest — is still a wonder to behold. Although it blooms in early May, its large shiny leaves, earlike lobes nearly a foot long, are striking all summer.

Only a tenth of a mile from the sign commemorating the Bartram Trail at Warwoman Dell parking area — from which hikers must cross back over Warwoman Road — is Becky Branch Falls. A second falls at Martin Creek is only two miles up the trail, which is marked with bright yellow blazes. It's 3.7 miles to Courthouse Gap — a flat shady area for picnicking. A continuing trail, about nine miles long, leads to Rabun Bald and another to the quarter-mile ascent up Pinnacle Knob.

The wild magnolia the pioneering naturalist discovered should have been named the Bartram Magnolia, but naturalist Thomas Walter, who came upon it a decade later, published a book in 1788 naming it Magnolia fraseri after Englishman John Fraser, who collected plant specimens for him. Although Bartram documented it in 1775, by the time he published his book 16 years later, it was already named the Fraser magnolia.

His book's an American classic

Bartram was the first to write about the unique environment of America and its grand possibilities — appropriately enough, on the eve of the American Revolution. He was an avowed Patriot, although his father, John Bartram, had been appointed "Botanist Royal in America" by King George III.

William Bartram's meticulous descriptions are more than just scientific observation; his book is considered an American classic by scholars. He wrote about the environment with great emotion, and he influenced many Romantic-era European poets and literary figures.

They were fascinated with his sensitive observations of Native Americans and with his poetic descriptions of nature. He was roundly criticized by his hometown Philadelphia newspaper, however, for his sympathetic accounts of the Seminole, Creek and Cherokee Indians he met.

The young Bartram, age 35 when he traveled Georgia, was funded by a British plant collector and physician, Dr. John Fothergill, to whom he sent plant specimens and drawings. Bartram traveled 2,500 miles through what are now eight Southern states: North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. Though much of his trek has succumbed to modern development, members of the Bartram Trail Conference, founded in 1976, work to maintain trail access and initiate botanical gardens commemorating the journey.

Martin Creek Falls

According to Ray, no one knows the precise path Bartram traveled, but experts know the approximate route and can pinpoint many sites he visited because of his detailed descriptions. One of those is the dramatic second waterfall on this hike, Martin Creek Falls, which Bartram called Falling Creek. His description of the cascading falls might have been written today:

"Over successive ledges and sloping buttresses of solid rock, the waters drop and slide ... . At one side, above the pool, is a cavernous recess in the rock, with a twilight atmosphere created by dense overhanging rhododendrons ... . From the pool, as from the bottom of a well, one gazes far upward to a little patch of sky, closed in by the tops of mighty hemlocks and lesser beech, maple and tulip poplar."

On our way down the four-mile hike, I asked Ray why some trail guides identify Rabun Bald, Georgia's second-highest peak, as Bartram's "Magnolia mountain." He said it is probably because today's trail goes over Rabun Bald, which is higher than Pinnacle Knob and also home to wild magnolia. The current trail, he explained, utilizes public lands to track an approximation of Bartram's travels.

According to Ray, Bartram never made it to the top of Rabun Bald. His writings indicate he followed an early army road built to route Indians near the current U.S. 441.

A ruffed grouse

Hikes nearly always include delightful surprises. Ours was seeing a ruffed grouse hen close-up. Ruffed grouse are normally easier to hear than to spot; the male makes a drumming sound by flapping his wings furiously in a rumbling rhythm that resembles a motorcycle. To our amazement, the mama grouse stood perfectly still in front of us on a gravel road, as if she were a traffic cop, while her three babies crossed, one on foot and two by flight. She was intricately patterned in deep reddish browns and blacks as if she'd stepped out of a shiny wildlife book.

Unlike Bartram, who recorded natural wonders for posterity with precise artistry, we were helpless to capture the fleeting moment for fear our scramble for a camera would frighten her away.

Bartram's original drawings from his Southeastern excursion are housed in the British Museum of Natural History. Aside from displays at his historic Philadelphia home and garden, the University of Georgia Library (rare books section) in Athens is one of a handful of American institutions that own a complete set of excellent copies.

Bartram's stature has grown over the centuries. He is often called the 18th-century Thoreau, referring to better-known naturalist Henry David Thoreau, born in 1817. But Thomas Slaughter, a Rutgers University history professor, says it would be more appropriate to describe Thoreau as the 19th-century Bartram.

IF YOU GO

It's about a two-hour drive from Atlanta to Bartram Trailhead near Clayton in Rabun County. Take I-85 north and veer left onto I-985 to Gainesville, which turns into Ga. 365, then merges at Cornelia with U.S. 441 north to Clayton. The first street to the right past the second stoplight in Clayton is Warwoman Road. Go three miles and turn right at the Warwoman Dell sign to a parking area with covered picnic facilities and restrooms. Follow Bartram Trail sign on right. The trail, marked by yellow blazes, crosses back over Warwoman Road just past the historic Bartram marker.

Where to stay

Come summertime, several North Georgia inns with easy access to the Bartram Trail roll out the welcome mat for hikers who seek outdoor adventure by day and pampering by night.

• The Barn Inn at Lake Rabun. Charmingly refurbished and under the new ownership of two women from the corporate world, this five-room inn offers history, charm and a lake view, with easy access to hiking and fishing. The stone-and-timber structure was built in the 1920s to serve as the elegant horse barn for Coca-Cola's Samuel Candler Dobbs, who owned family property on Lake Rabun. Groves of hardwood trees shade the grounds where a large wooden deck beckons with swings, hammock, tables and chairs.

Jan Timms and Nancy Gribble serve hot breakfasts tailored to each guest's desires, from gourmet French toast and berries to old- fashioned scrambled eggs and sausage. Monthly hiking schedules from the Northeast Georgia Mountain Hiking Club are posted at the inn, where pre-arranged guided day hikes can be scheduled. A hiker's lunch prepared by the innkeepers comes with choices of healthy prepackaged foods, fresh fruit and frozen drinks in a waterproof, insulated bag, perfect for any backpack. Open year-round. 706-212-9995 or www.barninn.com.

• Beechwood Inn. Innkeepers and wine connoisseurs Gayle and David Darugh prepare delectable breakfasts and offer summertime special-event dinners and an interesting wine cellar. Located in Clayton, 10 minutes from Warwoman Dell trailhead for Bartram Trail. 1-866-782-2485, www.beechwoodinn.ws or

e-mail david-gayle@beechwoodinn.ws.

• Glen-Ella Springs Inn. Located on 17 acres of gardens and meadows north of Clarkesville, about 90 minutes from Atlanta, this 16-room country inn accommodates couples, families or groups. Close to many hiking trails (30 minutes from Bartram Trail), fishing, horseback riding. Award-winning restaurant serves complimentary breakfast for guests; open to public for dinner. Picnic lunches on request. 1-877-456-7527, www.glenella.com or e-mail info@glenella.com.

Highlands, N.C., offers three different style inns within a half-hour of the Bartram Trail and other day hikes; provides hike lunches and/or hiking packages. In addition to many restaurant choices, Highlands offers live music and theater all summer. See www.h-cmusicfestival.org and www.highlandsplayhouse.org.

• Colonial Pines Inn. Reasonably priced, child-friendly, mountain view, located a few blocks from town. Walking distance from Sweet Treats, where kids can view and feed brook trout and concoct their own ice cream cones. 1-866-526-2060, www.colonialpinesinn.com or e-mail sleeptight@colonialpinesinn.com.

• Highlands Inn. This 1880s inn is on the National Register of Historic Places. Moderately priced, located in downtown Highlands. Breakfast included; lunch and dinner offered daily. 828-526-9380, www.highlandsinn-nc.com or

e-mail info@highlandsinn-nc.com.

• Old Edwards Inn and Spa. Luxury accommodations, hiking, golf or fishing packages and spa. The Madison Grill, known for its fine wine list, serves gourmet breakfast, lunch and dinner, inside and on garden patio. Downtown Highlands. 1-866-526-8008, www.oldedwardsinn.com or e-mail info@oldedwardsinn.com.

Bartram Trail sources, guides

• "The Bartram Trail" by John Ray and Malcolm Skove. A detailed Georgia trail guide with maps, available online (www.geocities.com/j3hnr3y/purchase.html) or from Prater's Main Street bookstore in Clayton, www.praterbooks.com. The U.S. Forest Service currently has no Bartram Trail guides and refers to these sources.

• "The Travels of William Bartram," Francis Harper's Naturalist Edition of the 1791 classic (paperback with interpretive notes). UGA Press, 1998. Available in most bookstores.

• The Bartram Trail Conference, www.bartramtrail.org. Includes historical notes, current activities, related references.