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10-K
06-16-2008, 21:15
Is the BMT trail well blazed and easy enough for someone with very minimal map and compass skills to follow?

MOWGLI
06-16-2008, 21:25
Is the BMT trail well blazed and easy enough for someone with very minimal map and compass skills to follow?

It is not blazed at all in wilderness areas - of which there are 8. I would not recommend the trail to someone with minimal map and compass skills. Not at all.

SGT Rock
06-17-2008, 09:29
I concour.

10-K
06-21-2008, 13:28
How is the trail - is it discernable (the entire length) or can it be easily lost in places?

MOWGLI
06-21-2008, 13:36
How is the trail - is it discernable (the entire length) or can it be easily lost in places?

There are places you can get lost. SGT Rock and I both missed the same turn in Tennessee - several weeks apart. :)

The toughest stretches to follow IMO are in Tennessee. Mostly along the stateline south of Tellico. Get the following map for Tennessee. The trail is highlighted in yellow.

http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_781

The trail in the Smokies is also highlighted in yellow on the Nat Geo map.

http://www.natgeomaps.com/ti_229
The trail is easy to follow in the Smokies.

Since I haven't hiked the Georgia section in 5 years, I'll refrain from characterizing it.

sbank03
07-09-2008, 16:02
Section 8 was recently re-blazed. This is one of the most remote parts of the BMT.

mudcap
07-09-2008, 17:39
Be very careful. A person could get nervous very fast.

Wander
10-09-2008, 22:46
First post here- great forum by the way-
My son and I just spent two days doing Springer to Skeenah creek (hwy 60). The only place we (I) lost the trail was right at Bryson Gap. We had to backtrack all the way back UP a steep logging road...
If the whole BMT is like the section that we walked- it's my new favorite.

Dances with Mice
10-09-2008, 22:58
First post here- great forum by the way-
My son and I just spent two days doing Springer to Skeenah creek (hwy 60). The only place we (I) lost the trail was right at Bryson Gap. We had to backtrack all the way back UP a steep logging road...
If the whole BMT is like the section that we walked- it's my new favorite.Yep, I know exactly where you mean. The Trail slides off the old roadbed just north of the trail to the spring. The road's been blocked off before right there but each hunting season somebody ORV's up that road and clears out all the obstacles.

Wander
10-10-2008, 10:12
Yep, I know exactly where you mean. The Trail slides off the old roadbed just north of the trail to the spring. The road's been blocked off before right there but each hunting season somebody ORV's up that road and clears out all the obstacles.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one...
That hill is brutal.

Tilly
10-10-2008, 12:49
How well blazed/maintained is the BMT between Springer Mountain and the terminus of the Georgia Pinhoti?

dessertrat
10-10-2008, 13:17
Be very careful. A person could get nervous very fast.

And when it comes to backpacking, nervousness (being "lost") is a good way to get in trouble. Not knowing where you are is just a nice way to spend an extra day or two in the woods.

CBSSTony
10-10-2008, 13:48
The parts I have hiked are maintained well and blazed well. Watch out for the dog(s)? in section 7 I think it is. You will turn left onto an abandoned forest road and will notice all the dumped construction trash. As you make a hard right and see a house step quickly and quietly and keep an eye out for the dog. I made it through there fine once and was almost out of range when I was noticed, but I was too far for it to follow. There should be a way around this, but I am not sure how.

Caveman of Ohio
10-12-2008, 16:52
Where can I get maps of Sections 1 - 10 for the southern 80.2 miles of trail . I looked on the Bmt website and did not see them on there order form. Also what is a good guidebook for that section?

Egads
10-12-2008, 17:16
The GA BMT maps are cartoons. Use the BMT trail guides available for free on the BMT.org website.

The trail itself has sections that are marked very well & others that are confusing or not marked. One spot had blazes going in three different directions. Maybe the locals were pranking the hikers. It fooled me about for about 1.5 miles before I doubled back.

jesse
10-12-2008, 17:19
I have done most of from mile 48 to Springer. Did not have too hard a time, but there were a few places I had to hunt for the trail. If you see a double blaze, pay attention. Its a great trail, I can't wait to get back on it. I reccommend the BMT trail guide, I think it can be purchased from the BMT site, or from several local outfitters. I was there in May 08, water was scarce in places.

hootyhoo
01-07-2009, 10:52
I have done all but the Springer to Cohutta section and a small section just past hwy 64. Don't be discouraged by the replies. My bet is that most folks are not good with map and compass and may even get nervous from time to time. You could get some GPS skills and do quite well on the BMT. "You are not lost, unless you have to be at a certain place at a certain time". Horace Kephart

Rockhound
01-07-2009, 11:37
The map contingent here on WB will jump down my throat again for saying you dont need maps for the AT. So be it. But yes the trail is very well marked. A handbook is sufficient. I would even venture to say that the vast majority of hikers on the AT dont use maps. Tends to be the 40+ male set that will crucify me for saying this. (of which Im one) but honestly of the 1000+ hikers Ive seen on the trail only a handful have I seen with maps. These are the older guys I see pouring over their maps for an hour each night and morning only to wind up at the same spot I do each afternoon. With this said, map and compass reading are great skills to have and if you plan on doing lots of blueblazing or plan on hiking the CDT etc... you will need to have these skills. As for the AT though, its the I-95 of trails. In fact if you do get lost on the AT, (lost lost. not just a few feet off the trail before you find your bearings again) you are probably not capable of reading a map anyway. Modoraters please take noticed. Im sure Im about to get called naive, stupid, irresponsible etc... as is always the case when somebody says you dont need maps for the AT.

Lone Wolf
01-07-2009, 11:40
The map contingent here on WB will jump down my throat again for saying you dont need maps for the AT. So be it. But yes the trail is very well marked. A handbook is sufficient. I would even venture to say that the vast majority of hikers on the AT dont use maps. Tends to be the 40+ male set that will crucify me for saying this. (of which Im one) but honestly of the 1000+ hikers Ive seen on the trail only a handful have I seen with maps. These are the older guys I see pouring over their maps for an hour each night and morning only to wind up at the same spot I do each afternoon. With this said, map and compass reading are great skills to have and if you plan on doing lots of blueblazing or plan on hiking the CDT etc... you will need to have these skills. As for the AT though, its the I-95 of trails. In fact if you do get lost on the AT, (lost lost. not just a few feet off the trail before you find your bearings again) you are probably not capable of reading a map anyway. Modoraters please take noticed. Im sure Im about to get called naive, stupid, irresponsible etc... as is always the case when somebody says you dont need maps for the AT.
you've never thru-hiked and had an emergency situation come up where you needed to know the quickest way out. i have.

carry maps folks. it'll save your life or someone else's

nufsaid
01-07-2009, 11:50
The map contingent here on WB will jump down my throat again for saying you dont need maps for the AT. So be it. But yes the trail is very well marked. A handbook is sufficient. I would even venture to say that the vast majority of hikers on the AT dont use maps. Tends to be the 40+ male set that will crucify me for saying this. (of which Im one) but honestly of the 1000+ hikers Ive seen on the trail only a handful have I seen with maps. These are the older guys I see pouring over their maps for an hour each night and morning only to wind up at the same spot I do each afternoon. With this said, map and compass reading are great skills to have and if you plan on doing lots of blueblazing or plan on hiking the CDT etc... you will need to have these skills. As for the AT though, its the I-95 of trails. In fact if you do get lost on the AT, (lost lost. not just a few feet off the trail before you find your bearings again) you are probably not capable of reading a map anyway. Modoraters please take noticed. Im sure Im about to get called naive, stupid, irresponsible etc... as is always the case when somebody says you dont need maps for the AT.

I think that this thread is about the BMT.

Tinker
01-07-2009, 11:51
you've never thru-hiked and had an emergency situation come up where you needed to know the quickest way out. i have.

carry maps folks. it'll save your life or someone else's

I couldn't agree more.
AND a cell phone :D (sorry, LW;)).

(To all hikers) Think about others when you're out there. Carry not only what you think will help you, but what might help others (cookies, brownies extra chocolate pudding, too)!
I saw a long term hiker give his flashlight to a lost dayhiker in the White Mountains so he and his buddy could get back to their car. Pretty selfless. He figured he could replace it at the next road crossing (this was before headlamps were common on the trail).

MOWGLI
01-07-2009, 12:01
Modoraters please take noticed. Im sure Im about to get called naive, stupid, irresponsible etc... as is always the case when somebody says you dont need maps for the AT.

Lets try and stay on topic about the BMT - which is a VERY different trail from the AT. Case in point: I met a young woman thru-hiker just south of the Smokies last week. In almost 200 miles, I was the second hiker she had met. You'd be foolish not to carry maps on the BMT, because it is not blazed in many places, signs are down in other places, and if you got into a "situation," you could be out there for days or possibly weeks before somebody found you.

Lone Wolf
01-07-2009, 12:04
You'd be foolish not to carry maps on the BMT, because it is not blazed in many places, signs are down in other places, and if you got into a "situation," you could be out there for days or possibly weeks before somebody found you.

you'd be foolish NOT to carry maps on any trail well-blazed or not. period

Mags
01-07-2009, 15:16
The map contingent here on WB will jump down my throat again for saying you dont need maps for the AT.



Except this thread is about the BMT..not the AT. :D

From what I understand, the BMT is more akin to a western trail in some ways: sporadically marked, only two shelters and lightly used.

It is why I would love to do it someday. The southern Appalachians are beautiful from what I remember. I would love to see them again (esp in Spring flower season!) but in a place a bit less used than the AT.

Someday.

Christopher Robin
01-07-2009, 16:27
Section 8 was recently re-blazed. This is one of the most remote parts of the BMT.
I'm thru hicking in 09. Can you tell he where I should mark the new blazes in the map? :-?

MOWGLI
01-07-2009, 16:46
Can you tell he where I should mark the new blazes in the map? :-?

Can you please clarify that question? I don't understand what you mean.

Rockhound
01-07-2009, 19:57
My apologies. I had a brainfreeze. Didnt realize this was a BMT thread. Ive only hiked the BMT where it is contiguous with the AT. Im sure its not traveled nearly as much or as well marked. If I were to hike the BMT I would certainly get the maps. In regards to the AT however, I stand by my previos post.

Chappy
01-24-2009, 05:33
Where can I get maps of Sections 1 - 10 for the southern 80.2 miles of trail . I looked on the Bmt website and did not see them on there order form. Also what is a good guidebook for that section?

Tim Homan's, Hiking the BMT, is a very good guide book through section 12.

SGT Rock
01-24-2009, 10:49
I'm thru hicking in 09. Can you tell he where I should mark the new blazes in the map? :-?

It was re-blazed because folks lost the trail at times. You shouldn't have any proiblems. Download a copy of my guide to help.

bsa-troop6
11-04-2009, 22:34
Most of the TN/NC section of the BMT has been logged, brushed out and blazed during this past year. Except we are still not allowed to blaze in the wilderness areas, but this might change in the future. The Cherokee National Forest is considering our request to allow at least some blazing in wilderness. A new trail guide is about to be published on the TN/NC section of the BMT with each 5-10 mile section on a two page spread with a map, profile, access points, water sources and campsites (all with GPS locations) and a description of the section of the trail. The guide will be 48 pages long, printed on waterproof paper in color with lots of nice photos and will be about 4x11 inches in size, easy to fit in your pants pocket or pack side pocket behind your water bottle. When it is published it will be available on the www.bmta.org (http://www.bmta.org/) website and at most REIs and other outdoor stores.

Doooglas
11-05-2009, 07:21
The parts I have hiked are maintained well and blazed well. Watch out for the dog(s)? in section 7 I think it is. You will turn left onto an abandoned forest road and will notice all the dumped construction trash. As you make a hard right and see a house step quickly and quietly and keep an eye out for the dog. I made it through there fine once and was almost out of range when I was noticed, but I was too far for it to follow. There should be a way around this, but I am not sure how.
.357 magnum comes to mind.:cool: