Ethan met with the Quaker men to discuss the possible routes to Georgia. Mabry described how he had traveled on horseback and had followed the most direct inland trail, far from the sea and paralleling the coast. He had crossed the Haw and Deep rivers, then ridden along a roundabout trail west and then south to cross the Savannah River at Augusta. Maddock’s settlement, which they had named Wrightsborough, was farther west. He estimated the total distance to be about 350 miles, and it had taken him twelve days to get there and, traveling light and without cargo, nine days to return.

“This is a difficult path, often through Indian territory, suitable most of the way only for unburdened horsemen who can move rapidly. It’s not one we can follow with our families and livestock,” he said.

He spread a rough map on the table and continued, “Here is the route that Maddock recommends for us.”

The men gathered around and traced the path they would have to follow, much more southerly, and along the coast.

Ethan asked some questions but didn’t argue with Mabry’s experienced advice concerning travel arrangements. Their first day’s travel would be to the banks of the Haw River, which they would ford southwest of Hillsborough. The trail then paralleled the Haw and Cape Fear rivers to Wilmington, and from there they would travel along the coast road on into Charles Town. Except when traveling along the established coastal route, they could expect only narrow trails first traversed by Indians. They knew from their own experience that these were mostly unmarked, frequently just wide enough for a horse and rider, but at least they provided a clear route to the best places for streams to be forded. Any possessions would have to be lashed onto the backs of their horses and oxen. On the wider and more heavily traveled trails they could use a travois, an A-frame platform made of two poles dragged behind a horse, with a load carried on hide stretched between the poles.

Based on what they had learned from the Quakers who had preceded them to Georgia, they figured they could travel fifteen to twenty miles each day on a good trail and half that when there were frequent streams to cross, if the livestock tended to wander, or when rain created bogs or flooded the lowlands. They hoped to make the trip in four weeks, with good luck and favorable weather, or a week longer if they were delayed.