View Full Version : BMT in Smokys
Mother Nature
05-06-2009, 17:21
I will be starting the BMT through the Smokys next week and I have concerns with stream crossings due to the heavy rains in the area during the past few weeks.
I was in Cades Cove last weekend and found that the lower streams were very full and running swiftly.
Has anyone been on any of the BMT trails that tend to have dangerous crossings such as the Lost Cove Trail in the last few days?
Thanks!
You shouldn't have problems. The park's forests are intact, so floods only occur with torrential rains. Most of the big stream crossings on the BMT are bridged. Have a good hike.
IIRC, all the crossings on the BMT from 20 mile to Smokemont are bridged...
EAnderson
05-06-2009, 18:16
There are several crossings on Lost cove which may not be rock-hoppable due to recent rains, but they shouldn't be dangerously deep. I think Mowgli is right in that all of the big creeks are bridged.
Mother Nature
05-06-2009, 18:23
Great! Hammock Hanger and I are hoping for decent weather. Should be fun!
I'm here in Cherokee taking a zero before going back on the BMT NOBO tomorrow. As I remember there were a few crossings in Lost Cove that were fords and not rock hops but none over knee high. The fords of upper Noland Creek were slightly worse - as I recall there were three where the water was fast and just over knee deep. Note by knee deep that I am 6'2" so MN and HH may be slightly more challenged. On the other hand I hit Lost Cove before all the rain in the last week so it may be worse than that now. On the third hand y'all will probably not have as much rain as I had and the water may be down.
The leaf covered mud on downhill slopes was my worse challenge - don't know if I will ever get all the mud out of my pack from the slipping and falling a couple times.
Mother Nature
05-08-2009, 18:50
Thanks for the update, HOI. I am thinking we should carry life jackets. HA!
Hope you hike is going well!
MN
Its going well MN - losing weight and getting into condition is progressing and I am going slow enough to have fun
Mother Nature
05-24-2009, 10:49
we crossed over at least 25 knee deep streams w/o bridges. Sue/HH
generoll
05-24-2009, 16:31
From Bryson City to Smokemont? Wow, my memory really IS going.
Ox97GaMe
05-24-2009, 19:34
Sorry I missed you MN. I was in the general area this past week, but forgot that you would be in the eastern part of the park. Would have loved to hook up with you and hiked some. Next time, send me a PM with an itinerary. :)
Mother Nature
05-24-2009, 20:25
From Bryson City to Smokemont? Wow, my memory really IS going.
From 20-Mile Ranger Station to Smokemont.
generoll
05-24-2009, 21:25
From 20-Mile Ranger Station to Smokemont.
OH. Guess I misunderstood.
we crossed over at least 25 knee deep streams w/o bridges. Sue/HH
damg - that was a lot worse than what I had - how did you like that last crossing of Noland? trying to step around those large rocks in the ford area was "interesting" for me and another BMT thru hiker I was talking with at the last campsite before leaving the park.
Mother Nature
05-28-2009, 06:05
Greetings HOI! Glad to hear the hike is going well and you are really enjoying the walk!
We started out trying to cross on rocks but as we traveled downhill and other creeks flowed into streams and the flow increased we had no choice but to just "walk on". At one point we just had no choice but to give up and enjoyed the cool rinsings and loaded boots.
The Noland Creek crossing was slimey! With shorter legs it was interesting! Especially since I am wearing a pair of Merrell Moab Ventilators which are S**T for shoes on wet rocks and slab walking.
Loved the continuous sound of roaring water though. It was SO peaceful out there.
Sorry I missed you OX. I would have enjoyed walking with you too.
I need to finish Smokemont to Davenport on the BMT. Maybe we can get together in the fall and get that done. Smokestack and I will be heading to Massachusetts in late July and June is already packed.
Please take care with the Noland Creek crossings on either side of campsite 62. The upstream crossing is actually worse than the downstream (at least in warm weather). The GSM trail map list these fords as "most difficult and potentially dangerous". 48 hours after yet another heavy rain this spring (but not torrential- only an inch in a hour per the Robbinsville records) the fords were 30 or more inches deep. The only other ford on the BMT that compared was Slickrock. I encountered no other fords on the trail that were bad for me, though I suspect Brookshire Creek might have been if my timing had been different (I spent 2 nights in a motel waiting for the rain to stop and the water to recede before heading out to Slickrock).
If I had known how bad the footing was on Noland Creek (much worse than Slickrock) and how swift the current, I would have blue blazed around by taking a quick left at campsite 64 (Northbound), North on Forney Ridge, hit the AT, then come down Noland Divide. It should only be about 10 miles, and much quicker than waiting around or dying of hypothermia in a cold weather crossing. I have no idea how long you'd wait it you had truely torrential rains- this is what was left behind on the Big Blue 48 hours after a bad storm: http://www.patc.us/hiking/destinations/tuscarora/bbphoto.html
Remember, the weather impacts the difficultly of trail far more than anything else I've encountered.