How remote

[rjjones]

Was looking at this trail with the hope that it was really remote{less people and less civilization}.Read one post said they only saw a few hikers the whole trip.Watched a u-tube and it seamed like there was alot of road walking{old dirt roads}.I guess my question would be,does this trail give you the feeling your alone in the middle of no where?

[jj2044]

Some parts, but you never too far from a town or city.... there was a joke i heard on here a long time ago.... i think it was in a thread about getting lost, and the guy said if you ever get lost on the AT, just wait till dark and walk to the porch lights. As for how many people you will see, well that depends on when you leave and how fast you hike, if you leave in late feb or early march and hike fast you wont see tooooo many, if you leave in mid march into feb and hike slow you will see ALOT

[4eyedbuzzard]

Some parts, but you never too far from a town or city.... there was a joke i heard on here a long time ago.... i think it was in a thread about getting lost, and the guy said if you ever get lost on the AT, just wait till dark and walk to the porch lights. As for how many people you will see, well that depends on when you leave and how fast you hike, if you leave in late feb or early march and hike fast you wont see tooooo many, if you leave in mid march into feb and hike slow you will see ALOT

OP is asking about the BMT, not the AT. Haven't hiked it (well, I might have decades ago as parts of it are the old AT I think) but most trip reports here are that it is much less traveled than the AT.

[Kerosene]

I chatted with two hikers who were on the BMT where it coincides with the AT in southern NC back in May. They noted that they had not seen many people while on the BMT-only section. They also noted that there were encountering a lot of ticks and that they trail was overgrown in many places.

[royalusa]

We did the 560-mile BMT-AT Loop in June 2007. In our journal, we documented:

Total number of backpackers seen on BMT: 6 pre-GSMNP (192 miles) + 9 in GSMNP (96 miles) for a grand total of 15!
Total number of backpackers seen on AT: 200+


Yes, there are some dirt roads/woods roads as well as actual paved roads to walk on the BMT, but not many miles. I've been thinking of tallying those miles up, but haven't yet. If I was forced to recall from memory, I'd say about 10 miles of paved road walking, split over 2 or 3 sections.

The trail does give you a 'sense' of being remote, much more so than the AT as you can tell from the number of people that we saw on the entire trip.

Our journal may provide you more info: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=317016

Have fun!

[Bati]

The BMT will give you a feeling that you're alone. There's nothing quite like settling down in a campsite in the smokey mountains on a warm Friday night in April when there's no one else there but you. It's not remote though. For that, I'd recommend heading West, where the rangers will tell you where the nearest phone is, so that you can avoid a two-hour drive from that phone to the next nearest one (and add in the time it might take you to DRIVE to the nearest phone, and you'll get a sense of what "remote" feels like).

If you're looking for a less-crowded trail, the Sheltowee Trace, Allegheny Trail, and the Big Blue (now part of the Tuscarora) seemed to have fewer hikers on them. Personally, I like meeting people on the trail, and prefer it when I don't go more than a day without seeing someone (and I'm counting people in cars who might honk or wave if they see you trying to cross the road.). But if you're looking for multiple days of hiking in the spring without seeing anyone, you can accomplish that on the BMT south of the park, the Southern Tuscarora (and probably the Northern part as well) or the Sheltowee. If you want to be remote, the East coast is just too crowded.

[jesse]

I hiked the first 50 miles SOBO a few years back over a Memorial Day Weekend. Saw 5 hikers on the BMT, when we reached the AT at Long Falls, it was a Sunday afternoon and there were cars and people everywhere. We spent that night on Springer and it was quite crowded. There was one section of a road walking. I love this trail. In April, I'm going to hike the next 40 something miles NOBO.

[Tipi Walter]

I just got back from a January trip and saw only one backpacker in 18 days---on the BMT at Cold Spring Gap in the Citico. If you REALLY want solitude, do a blue blaze off the BMT from Sandy Gap north all the way to Slickrock Creek. Here are some of your choices:

** Sandy Gap to Kirkland Creek
** State Line Ridge will be empty.
** Brookshire will be empty---and you can veer left at the bottom creek crossing and find some nice camping.
** Sugar Mt will be empty.
** Sycamore Creek is quiet.
** Whiggs Meadow has a lot of side camps and a nice pond below it with solitary campsites.
** Whiggs sidetrail up to the top of Haw Mt and a tie in with Big Junction and Hooper Bald for a swaray into the Snowbird backcountry.

** Skyway BMT section can be disturbed by car traffic and hateful motorcycle screaming---but not in the winter.
** Beech Gap into the Citico and a possible roadwalk on the Skyway to the Jeffrey Hell trailhead two miles west.
** Cold Spring Gap has Trail 105 South Fork Citico on the left, the Wedge trail to the right, and the Bob Bald trail 54A to the middle right.
** Trail 149/BMT has a gap and beyond it is fantastic Brush Mt trail, the most remote and rugged trail in the Citico.
** Cherry Log Gap has the North Fork blue blaze.

** Fodderstack/BMT has the Pine Ridge left drop---a nice feature.
** Mill Gap and Mill Branch on the left.
** Crowder Camp has Big Stack Gap trail on the right down into the Slickrock watershed---and further has the Crowder Branch trail.
** Farr Gap brings the Stiffknee trail and Slickrock Creek arrival---here the options are endless---left turn and stay on BMT proper down Slickrock Creek to the crossing, or right turn on Slickrock Creek and tie in with the fantastic Nichols Cove/Yellowhammer and Windy Gap trails---taking you eventually to Big Fat Gap and the top of Hangover Mt.

ETC ETC ETC

[Tinker]

rjjones: If solitude on the East Coast is your aim, consider hiking the Long Trail in Vermont. The northern half (after it splits from the AT), is especially scenic and wild, though you're rarely 10 miles or so from civilization. The terrain in the north is rugged, similar to parts of southern Maine's AT.

If you're set on the BMT, I can't help. I haven't hiked that one yet.

[rjjones]

Thanks for all the responses.I was looking for a long trail for the fall in the next year or two depending on my rehab.I looked at the long trail also and now have what seems to be two options.Thanks again