The rigors of hiking many miles of trails can be a bit daunting. But they can also offer a sense of independence, freedom and self-reliance. That’s what appealed to two Rome sisters who recently decided to take on a more than 300-mile hike on the Pinhoti Trail.
Leah and Emily Bartleson braved high temperatures, uneven terrain and dark nights in the woods for the exhilaration of challenging themselves to complete the Pinhoti Trail and said the reward was so much greater than any fears they might have had.
The sisters, both 19 years old, together hiked the last 100 miles of the Pinhoti Trail, which stretches more than 300 miles through Georgia and Alabama. Emily hiked the first 200 miles alone.
“It’s been a longtime dream of mine to hike the entire Pinhoti,” said Emily, a Berry College student. “We’re both outdoorsy and adventurous. I’ve always wanted to do a thru-hike solo since I was in high school. We’ve planned this since about April of this year. It was sort of a personal pilgrimage of mine.”
Credit: Photo provided
Credit: Photo provided
So at the end of June she set out at the Pinhoti’s northern terminus in Northeast Georgia. Alone.
Her backpack was minimal, making for a lighter, easier hike while sacrificing many of the comforts others might want on the trail.
“I took bug spray, sunscreen, lots of blister care, a sleeping bag, a set of clothes for hiking and a set for sleeping, my hiking boots, trekking poles and some food,” Emily said.
For the next 14 days she hiked an average of 19 miles each day, sleeping in a tent at night, never making a campfire. She ate food such as instant tuna, applesauce and Cliff Bars.
Emily said she wasn’t scared for her safety, enjoying the time alone to think and reflect. She was only nervous because her parents were nervous for her, but she carried a satellite beacon with an SOS button in case she needed to alert anyone of her location immediately or if she was in any sort of danger.
“I actually felt safer in the middle of the woods than I do in many places where there’s people around,” she said. “It was very peaceful at night. I enjoyed that time alone. I really like being out in nature. There’s a sort of a purity about being soaked in sweat and being out in nature. It feels like it simplifies things a lot. I’m a very solitary person so I love just being out there in the woods. I feel like it teaches you a lot just to learn how to make peace with whatever challenges the trail hurls at you. I had a lot of time to think and plan different things.”
But it also opened her eyes to how much she values those she cares about, particularly her reliance on her family and her support system.
The Pinhoti is well marked, she said, and she downloaded the FarOut app, which gave her detailed maps of the trail and showed her location at all times.
There were some less-than-desirable moments for Emily, however. Once she almost stepped on a rattlesnake. And perhaps the most unnerving part of the entire hike was a 50-mile stretch of the trail that forces hikers to walk next to the road.
“You have about 30 miles near Dalton where you’re actually walking on the road,” she said. “The proximity to all the cars was the scariest part of the entire hike. And during that stretch I ended up having to camp behind a Dollar General for one night. I would not recommend that to anyone.”
She enjoyed her solo connection to nature until the last 100 miles of the trail, when she was joined by her sister Leah, a student at Georgia College and State University.
Together they hiked the last 100 miles, averaging about 17 miles each day.
“We weren’t really bothered by the heat because we were in the woods most of the time,” Leah said.
Credit: Photo provided
Credit: Photo provided
On this leg of the hike, the sisters slept in hammocks at night and enjoyed the beauty of the wilderness around them as well as each other’s company.
“I really love just being in nature,” Leah said. “I like the physical part of hiking but there’s also sort of a spiritual cleansing when you’re out there surrounded only by nature and you realize your tiny place in it.”
Together, they ended their adventure at the southern terminus of the Pinhoti on Flagg Mountain in Alabama.
The sisters said that while hiking those long distances may not be for everyone, they do encourage Rome residents to attempt at least a few miles of hiking and even an overnight or weekend trip to see if it’s something one might become passionate about.
“It’s easy to go out just for a day hike,” Emily said. “Start there. Get familiar with taking a few necessities and packing those and get used to the weight of a pack and walking a few miles so you’ll become comfortable with the trail.”
From there, she said, you can plan an overnight trip near Rome and then gradually increase the distance of your hike. For a beginner she definitely recommends hiking with a companion.
“I’d recommend having a good map, whether that’s a physical map or an app on your phone,” she said. “It’s important to take good shoes and hiking poles.”
And the most important thing she recommends for long hikes is to carry lots of blister care. Wearing two pairs of socks helped reduce the friction in her shoes but she also took along Gold Bond powder to reduce moisture and she bandaged spots as soon as she felt she might be developing a blister.
Credit: Photo provided
Credit: Photo provided
The sisters’ journey ended on Aug. 9, an unforgettable experience they could share.
“I’m so glad we could do this together,” Leah said. “We were able to get much closer as sisters and really challenge ourselves and our fears and realize that we could do anything we set out to do. Just having a companion along the journey to laugh with and share this experience with is something I’ll never forget.”
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
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