Both the Appalachian Trail and the Bartram Trail cross Wayah Bald, where hikers have sweeping views of the surrounding mountains. The Appalachian Trail grew from a 1921 vision of preserving the Appalachian crests through a great footpath that would let city workers escape the mechanization of modern society and find wonder and tranquility. The Appalachian National Scenic Trail extends 2100 miles along Appalachian Mountain ridgelines from Georgia to Maine through 14 states, and three to four million people hike some portion of it each year. Volunteer hiking clubs built it in the 1920s and 1930s, and today the Nantahala Hiking Club and the U.S. Forest Service maintain 53 miles crossing the Wayah Ranger District, marked with white blazes. The Bartram Trail honors naturalist William Bartram, who traveled through the Southeast from 1773 to 1777 and recorded vivid descriptions of the plants, animals, and Indians he encountered. The North Carolina Bartram Trail Society established and maintains a 100-mile trail through Western North Carolina that follows as closely as possible Bartram's original route. Its yellow blazes lead through a landscape whose name, Wayah, comes from the Cherokee word wa'ya, meaning wolf.