Lessons from the Bartram Trail

Lessons from the Bartram Trail 

Hiked 6/9/2013: 8.2 miles + a mile give or take, elevation gain 1,446 feet + a few hundred give or take

Lessson 1: In reference to the above '+ a mile give or take,' if the blaze on the trail is green when it's supposed to be yellow, you have picked up a different trail than the one you're supposed to be on.  Our only choice: backtrack, smile, and hope to see the right color blaze soon.  Thankfully, we had veered left instead of right only about 1/4 - 1/2 mile back up the trail.  Another lesson: trust your instincts.  Mike recognized that the trail just didn't look right; we should have turned back sooner.

Lesson 2: This is a Math lesson.  This is nature teaching what perpendicular looks like.

Lesson 3: When your hiking partner yells, "Move!  Quick!"  it's best to move quickly.  You never know who is sharing the trail with you.

Lesson 4: This is an Art lesson.  The oranges you see in nature are much more spectacular than the shades of orange you can find in any crayon box.

Lesson 5: Hiking 4.2 miles to a mountain summit to see panoramic views when the cloud level is at around 4,600 and the mountain summit is at 4,696 feet, you've hiked to end up in a cloud.  The real lesson: it's just a different kind of beautiful than we expected.

Lesson 6: Bring along a waterproof container for cell phone if you bring it along.  It's a good thing we did.  It rained the last 2 miles of the trail.