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Hmm..after seeing other threads mentioning the BMT and how "old school" AT like it is, this trail is starting to peak my interest.
It has been 10 yrs since I have thru-hiked the AT. Ideally, I would have loved to do the AT again in 2008 (ain't gonna happen!). Starting inthe Smokies and ending at Springer may work.
I honestly miss Eastern hiking. The damp and rich smell, the thick woods, the subtle versus the grand.
After doing the CDT last year, my mind is starting to wander back East.
Looks like the BMT is ~300 miles. I could probably squeeze in the whole trail under three weeks with my preferred pace.
So..now that I've done enough rambing ;), would early October be a good time to start it? Maybe hike south and end on Springer and follow the fall foliage a little bit?
Thinking further ahead, I guess Atlanta would be the logical start off /end point in terms of transportation?
Just idle speculating...but I really think this a possibility for my hike this upcoming year. A chance to get an AT fix for the end, a chance to explore a new trail, and chance to re-discover the beauty of the East.
SOBO on the BMT will get your biggest climb out of the way... 4000ft in 5-6miles.. but yea, youre used to that stuff living in CO!
Id hike anywhere on the BMT in October. great weather.
SGT Rock
12-12-2007, 12:24
Plan for about 3 weeks to hike it, give or take a few days. There is a thru-hike guide in the process of getting published soon I hear.
October is a great month, not too hot or cold. Foliage is nice, but fire season so you may have some burn ban issues in the wilderness areas along TN/NC.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
12-12-2007, 12:25
Or you could go SOBO by starting off from Standing Bear hostel with Curtis doing a shuttle to the Big Creek area of the GSMNP. Personally, I can't wait to thru-hike this trail. We had planned to do it this fall, but life (or actually end of life :( ) happened. Maybe next spring........ if life quits interfering with my hikng plans.
The guide is out! Very handy and good details!
take-a-knee
12-12-2007, 12:27
Mags, I would wait until the end of Oct, the first week or two is still practically summer in the south, I live in GA and we've only had a couple of mornings below freezing this year so far. The weather is still nice in NOV and it usually is nice in DEC (like it is now). Rock lives near the BMT, he could tell you more. I think the leaf color peaks about the 3rd week in OCT.
I've done almost two thirds of the trail Mags. It would be well worth your while. Lots of beauty and solitude.
I am really liking the sound of this trail more and more.
Maybe mid Octoberish...
GeneRoll is out there at this very moment. Im sure he could give you real-time weather for this time of year. (he was supposed to be doing Smokemont to Davenport in GSMNP)
The Weasel
12-12-2007, 13:34
From generally knowing the area, I would think late Spring would be incredibly beautiful from flowers, and no hunting concerns, with plentiful water.
TW
From generally knowing the area, I would think late Spring would be incredibly beautiful from flowers, and no hunting concerns, with plentiful water.
TW
Spring (March? April? ) is the tail end of ski season here in Colorado.
Mid-October is about when the hiking season (at least for the high country) ends in CO and it is not quite ski season.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO... for my outdoor "schedule", mid-October or so would work well. I really, really love Fall hiking. And to me, nothing is more the epitome of Eastern hiking than the foliage change. You just don't get that here.
Still, spring could be nice. But my heart is with fall.
From generally knowing the area, I would think late Spring would be incredibly beautiful from flowers, and no hunting concerns, with plentiful water.
TW
I have photos of Mayflowers, Bloodroot and Trillium growing up in the middle of the treadway from April 2003. I did run into several spring turkey hunters, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have seen anyone until day 6 atop Big Frog Mountain! The hunters were nice folk.
Hi everone i start my Thur-Hike On Feb 5 2008 if i want to hike the bmt instead of gone thur GSMNP where would i pick up the bmt at start of GSMNP and where would i get off at the end of bmt get back on the AT.
Also how far apart are the shelters on the bmt and resupply points oh yet what the water. Thank
The Weasel
12-12-2007, 13:53
Partini ---
Just be aware that some will say that it's not an "Appalachian Trail Thru Hike" if you use the BMT. There's a thread on here about that.
TW
Frolicking Dinosaurs
12-12-2007, 13:57
Hi everone i start my Thur-Hike On Feb 5 2008 if i want to hike the bmt instead of gone thur GSMNP where would i pick up the bmt at start of GSMNP and where would i get off at the end of bmt get back on the AT.
Also how far apart are the shelters on the bmt and resupply points oh yet what the water. ThankLink to 1.4 MB PDF map of GSMNP - BMT is yellow trail (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/upload/trails2005.pdf) BMT has far more campsites than shelters - one of its finer qualities IMO.
Partini ---
Just be aware that some will say that it's not an "Appalachian Trail Thru Hike" if you use the BMT. There's a thread on here about that.
TW
If Partini has already hiked the AT in the park, the implications of that are... zero. If he hasn't, he may not qualify for a patch and certificate. But my guess is.... if he's honest about what he did, the ATC will send him the patch. Just a guess on my part though.
BMT enters GSMNP at 20Mile Ranger station... or take the AT across the Dam and intersect the BMT at Sassafrass Gap and go from there.
Flush2wice
12-12-2007, 14:05
Hi everone i start my Thur-Hike On Feb 5 2008 if i want to hike the bmt instead of gone thur GSMNP where would i pick up the bmt at start of GSMNP and where would i get off at the end of bmt get back on the AT.
Also how far apart are the shelters on the bmt and resupply points oh yet what the water. Thank
Pick up the BMT just north of Shuckstack. It comes out at Big Creek Campground and you'll have a road walk to Davenport Gap. The only shelter is near the end at Laurel gap. There are 30ish campsites on the BMT in the Smokies. Resupply at Smokemont which is the equivelant to Newfound gap. At Smokemont hitch east on 441 to Cherokee NC. You can play the slots while your there. Lots of creeks and streams so water won't be an issue. Maybe too much water in the spring- you'll have some fording to do probably.
dessertrat
12-12-2007, 14:26
The importance of "the badge" is demonstrated by the number of thru-hikers who won't do the BMT on their thru-hike, I guess.
By the way, how long do you all think it would take to do the BMT end to end?
envirodiver
12-12-2007, 14:30
Mags check out my photos and that will give you some idea of what fall looks like on the BMT. I was there in Mid Nov.
By the way, how long do you all think it would take to do the BMT end to end?
3 weeks for a strong hiker. It is nearly 300 miles. 3 weeks would be tuff in winter. Not enuf daylight.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
12-12-2007, 14:44
The importance of "the badge" is demonstrated by the number of thru-hikers who won't do the BMT on their thru-hike, I guess.Some - especially those not from the south - want to experience the views in the AT in the GSMNP as well. It is a matter of personal taste. It would take views a lot more spec-darn-tacular than those in the GSMNP for me to put up with the drawbacks of the AT in that section, but others have different priorities. It's all good.
SGT Rock
12-12-2007, 15:36
Mags, I would wait until the end of Oct, the first week or two is still practically summer in the south, I live in GA and we've only had a couple of mornings below freezing this year so far. The weather is still nice in NOV and it usually is nice in DEC (like it is now). Rock lives near the BMT, he could tell you more. I think the leaf color peaks about the 3rd week in OCT.
Just a couple of below freezing days. But I think this has been a mild Fall so far. According to the Farmer's Almanac it should be a mild winter this year too.
Hi everone i start my Thur-Hike On Feb 5 2008 if i want to hike the bmt instead of gone thur GSMNP where would i pick up the bmt at start of GSMNP and where would i get off at the end of bmt get back on the AT.
Also how far apart are the shelters on the bmt and resupply points oh yet what the water. ThankGo up the AT, just past Shuckstack moutain you cross the trail. Another option is to take the lakeshore trail on the far side of Fontana Dam and go to Campsite 90 near the Eagle Creek Trail where it links into the BMT.
Only one shelter on the BMT in the Smokies, the rest of the places to stay are campsites. They are spaced closer than the shelters are on the AT in the Smokies.
For Resupply, you can walk (or hitch) into Cherokee on 441 which is only about 6 miles away. There is also a posibility to get into Bryson City when you hit the road to nowhere - but that is probably going to be end up a further walk. I haven't tried it personally yet.
The importance of "the badge" is demonstrated by the number of thru-hikers who won't do the BMT on their thru-hike, I guess.
By the way, how long do you all think it would take to do the BMT end to end?
3 weeks is what I am planning. I think it would depend on the hiker - but probably 20-25 days depending on the person.
3 weeks for a strong hiker. It is nearly 300 miles. 3 weeks would be tuff in winter. Not enuf daylight.
Good point. If you plan to hike it in winter you may want to plan to be moving early and have a light ready in case - that is my plan.
Good point. If you plan to hike it in winter you may want to plan to be moving early and have a light ready in case - that is my plan.
The light is helpful too because you're going to spend a lot of time in your sleeping bag in the dark. I can't sleep that long. Lithium batteries are a good investment.
SGT Rock
12-12-2007, 15:52
The light is helpful too because you're going to spend a lot of time in your sleeping bag in the dark. I can't sleep that long. Lithium batteries are a good investment.
Yep, work good in cold weather and last a lot longer. They also weigh a lot less for the gram weenies like me.
Hammock Hanger
12-12-2007, 23:25
3 weeks for a strong hiker. It is nearly 300 miles. 3 weeks would be tuff in winter. Not enuf daylight.
I was just up there last weekend and had a hard time getting from campsite to campsite before losing the light. It started to get dark around 4:30, by 6-6:30 it was pitch black. It didn't get light until after 6 am.
BTW: Monday of last week it was 15 degrees up on Sterling Mt (campsite 38) and with the wind howling it was chilled down to below zero!!! COLD COLD COLD!!
However, on Wednesday morning my hike up the mt (??) was beautiful and white. I loved making fresh tracks and looking at all of the animal tracks as I came upon them.
Sue/HH
generoll
12-15-2007, 00:00
Back. I'd like to modestly take partial credit for ending the drought on the North Carolina side of the Smokies.
I did a tadpole hike. the tail was the 1.2 miles of the BMT from Smokemont. The body was Smokemont to Standing bear and then back on the AT to Pecks Corner and then down to reconnect with the BMT back into Smokemont.
I took three days to hike from Smokemont to Big Creek and needed all of it.
YMMV.
The weather was about what you would expect for this time of year if you add about 10 degrees.
The importance of "the badge" is demonstrated by the number of thru-hikers who won't do the BMT on their thru-hike, I guess. This is a logic flaw called Affirming the Consequent.
If you hike the AT you get a badge.
Many people hike the AT.
Therefore people hike the AT in order to get a badge.