Bartram Trail Triple Treat: War Woman Dell / Pinnacle Knob / Courthouse Gap

The familiar in-and-out hike from Warwoman Dell to Pinnacle Knob and beyond to Courthouse Gap has been given a new twist.  We will park at Warwoman Dell, 3 miles from Clayton on Warwoman Rd. Almost immediately upon leaving the trailhead (1884 ft), marked by a plaque to William Bartram, we come to the first of the two waterfalls on this hike, a two-level cascade on Becky Branch.

For the next half hour we hike roughly parallel to Warwoman Rd, then swing north and soon pick up Martin Creek, a picture-book creek with grassy banks and pebbly riverbed as well as swirling rapids and a spectacular falls, viewed from a platform. Leaving the creek, we steadily ascend through open woods to an intersection from which we take a steep side trail to Pinnacle Knob (3141 ft). Here we can enjoy views in three directions while eating lunch.

Now comes the new part. We do not descend the way we came, but leave the rock face by following an opening to the back into a circle of trees and then descending steeply on a very faint trail that leads to an old logging road. The well-used trail on this road, now and then marked by primitive white blazes, first goes to the south, then makes a hairpin turn to the north, eventually coming out on Courthouse Gap Rd.

From there we take the access trail to Courthouse Gap, where we regain the Bartram Trail and, passing by the side trail that took us to Pinnacle Knob, return to Warwoman Dell. The hike is about 11.1 miles long with an elevation gain of 2367 ft. and should take about 5 hours.

This is a very interesting hike! As you warm up towards the first mile, you are greeted by a cascading waterfall that gives you that "welcome" feeling. In the next 2 miles, another moderate size waterfall captivates your enthusiasm to keep going to discover the miles ahead.  By this time, your heart rate has accelerated to give you that momentum for a challenging climb. However, just before you take up that challenge, another major waterfall envigorates your soul that in some way gives you that wellness feeling to embrace the challenging steep ascent ahead.

This hike falls between a D4 and D5 in level of difficulty: At 11.1 miles and with an elevation gain of 2367 ft it is a demanding D4 hike, but the extremely steep climb up Pinnacle Knob makes it more like a D5 hike.

From the park and ride take I-85 North to I-985 North. I-985 turns into GA 365/US 23/US 441. Continue to the Burger King in Clayton, GA, for a pit stop and for meeting the other co-leader Dorothea.  Once back in the cars, continue east onto Rickman Street. Follow Rickman Street for approximately 0.5 mile to its end at signed Warwoman Road. Turn 
right onto Warwoman Road and proceed approximately 2.3 miles to the 
right turn into the Warwoman Dell Recreation Area at the Warwoman Dell Lane and recreation area signs. Travel gravel Warwoman Dell Lane 
0.3 mile to the picnic area parking lot. The path begins at the far right 
end of the parking lot.

I will be contacting you if you have not recently done a D5 hike to determine whether this is a suitable hike for you.