View Full Version : pre-planning required?
I noticed in another thread a poster suggested that a thru hiker take the BMT through GSMNP instead of the AT for a different experience.
Is the BMT (through GSMNP) a trail you can decide to take when you come to where it splits off the AT or should you prepare ahead of time with maps, etc. before you take off down the BMT?
Just trying to figure out if the BMT can be spontaneously hiked or if you need to do a bit of planning first - again, I'm just speaking about the section through GSMNP.
I would recommend a GSMNP map as the signage in the park leaves something to be desired and there are no blazes on the BMT in the park.
SGT Rock
03-21-2010, 03:54
You will have to decide BEFORE you enter the park. That is about it. The BMT doesn't get the same consideration for thru-hikers that the AT has. You must have a itinerary for your trip through the park on the BMT turned in prior to starting and you must have a reservation for any reservation only campsites that you intend to use. The same maps that cover the AT also cover the BMT through the park, and as Egads said, you ought to have one. The AT is the only trail in the entire park blazed, a monkey could follow the AT. But the BMT does some switching around on trails in the park, you wouldn't want to miss a turn.
So you could be hiking the AT and thinking about it for a while, but before you leave Fontana Dam area you need to decide and then work out your itinerary and get any reservations you may need before starting. If you pick campsites that do not require reservations, there isn't a need at all to call anyone at the Park Service. You just fill out your planned itinerary and turn it in at the self register sign like anyone else. It is possible to make it through the entire Park without needing a reservation.
Ox97GaMe
03-21-2010, 10:07
Hiking the BMT wont be difficult, but you should have a map so you know how far it is to the various campsites. You will need to take your own shelter, as the BMT only goes past 1 shelter in the park (Laurel Gap). The BMT is not blazed, but each trail junction has a tag on the bottom of the sign post with a green/white arrow designating the direction of the BMT. Not hard to follow. you are likely going to stop and read each junction sign anyway.
If you are planning to be hiking this trail this spring, note that it does not get the same level of maintenance as the AT. I dont believe that anyone has been on the BMT in the park to clear blowdowns yet. For that matter, it has been difficult to get on the AT to clear either. It could be slow going along some of the trails, especially between 2100 and 2800 ft elevation, where it appears most of the blowdown and debris exists.
Have a great hike, whichever path you chose.
AzWildflower
03-21-2010, 17:38
I am planning to take the BMT through GSMNP on my AT adventure this spring.
I highly recommend Sgt Rock's BMT thru-hiker guide in addition to the map. I just received my copy. Elevation profiles are included. Thanks Sgt Rock!:sun
Sgt Rock wrote a nice note on the inside cover, but I plan to tear out the GSMNP pages to take with me, thus destroying my beautiful book. :(
My concern, after blowdowns, is water crossings after all the heavy snow this year. I will start at Springer on April 19. Any comments on water crossings?
I am planning to take the BMT through GSMNP on my AT adventure this spring.
I highly recommend Sgt Rock's BMT thru-hiker guide in addition to the map. I just received my copy. Elevation profiles are included. Thanks Sgt Rock!:sun
Sgt Rock wrote a nice note on the inside cover, but I plan to tear out the GSMNP pages to take with me, thus destroying my beautiful book. :(
My concern, after blowdowns, is water crossings after all the heavy snow this year. I will start at Springer on April 19. Any comments on water crossings?
Eagle Creek, Hazel Creek, & Raven Fork have bridges. I not sure the condition of Noland Creek.
SGT Rock
03-21-2010, 19:21
Noland creek was the hardest ford on my hike in '08. Lots of days of rain, the water was mid thigh and FREEZING.
The GSMNP maintainers should be out there working their buts off clearing blow downs about now. I don't know what the status of the BMT is, but based on what my section looked like just south of there, it should be hikeable even if they don't clear them all off before you get there.
Sgt. Rock's comment about the Noland Creeks fords matches my experiences, except that I would also place the Slickrock ford, south of the park, as being very difficult too. Look at the $1 park trail map and you'll see that the Noland Creek fords are marked as "most difficult and potentially dangerous". The park service rarely checks thru-hikers for proper equipment or force thru-hikers to provide a list of every shelter where they'll be staying before granting entry permits as the general attitude seems to be "it's your life and your choice". Thus, when they check packs or denote fords as potentially dangerous, be assured that conditions can be truly dangerous.
If the water is up when you are there, please consider taking a 10 mile blue-blaze up Stillhouse Branch and Forney Ridge and down Noland Divide above the fords. It is not designated as a high-water bypass, but should be, as the topo map of that stretch makes greens blazing look quite sketchy. Yes, it might cost you an extra day, and you might be questioned by a ranger, but in reality, no ranger wants to pull a dead body out of creek and even if you are fined, I assure you the fine will be less than a funeral would cost. I talked to some weekenders last year who had a permit and plan for another trail with multiple dangerous crossings and were concerned about getting caught outside of their permit range. Of course, this concern was expressed at the trailhead, not at the creek where the reality of being caught in a bad current becomes more apparent. Still, it bears repeating, as the AT does not have fords like Noland creek anywhere in the south, and all but 2 of the crossings on Noland Creek have bridges.
SGT Rock
03-21-2010, 21:34
Sgt. Rock's comment about the Noland Creeks fords matches my experiences, except that I would also place the Slickrock ford, south of the park, as being very difficult too. Look at the $1 park trail map and you'll see that the Noland Creek fords are marked as "most difficult and potentially dangerous". The park service rarely checks thru-hikers for proper equipment or force thru-hikers to provide a list of every shelter where they'll be staying before granting entry permits as the general attitude seems to be "it's your life and your choice". Thus, when they check packs or denote fords as potentially dangerous, be assured that conditions can be truly dangerous.
If the water is up when you are there, please consider taking a 10 mile blue-blaze up Stillhouse Branch and Forney Ridge and down Noland Divide above the fords. It is not designated as a high-water bypass, but should be, as the topo map of that stretch makes greens blazing look quite sketchy. Yes, it might cost you an extra day, and you might be questioned by a ranger, but in reality, no ranger wants to pull a dead body out of creek and even if you are fined, I assure you the fine will be less than a funeral would cost. I talked to some weekenders last year who had a permit and plan for another trail with multiple dangerous crossings and were concerned about getting caught outside of their permit range. Of course, this concern was expressed at the trailhead, not at the creek where the reality of being caught in a bad current becomes more apparent. Still, it bears repeating, as the AT does not have fords like Noland creek anywhere in the south, and all but 2 of the crossings on Noland Creek have bridges.
I gotta agree with that. The Slickrock Creek Ford has been known to hold up hikers for days when the creek is high. The creek crossing in 2008 wasn't bad for me though as a blow down created a bridge for me to cross. http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=215394
AzWildflower
03-22-2010, 01:48
Thanks for the comments. I have made notes on my map and pages. This information is valuable and greatly appreciated.
My demise is not in the plans for my AT adventure. I am well past the age of major risk taking. Most likely I will decide which route to take just before I enter the park when I have a better idea what the conditions are at that time. The 10 mile detour route remains an option. I think I read about this somewhere else on either WB or TJ but did not understand it until now. I will pay the fine and live to hike on!
[QUOTE=AzWildflower;991401...Thanks Sgt Rock!:sun
Sgt Rock wrote a nice note on the inside cover, but I plan to tear out the GSMNP pages to take with me, thus destroying my beautiful book. :(
...[/QUOTE]
Get another copy to destroy, save the one with the note, as a keepsake. :cool:
If you're sentimentally inclined. :sun
SGT Rock
03-22-2010, 10:13
Or photo copy out the pages you plan to rip out.
Or photo copy out the pages you plan to rip out.
Don't know if it's feasible or not to produce them but I really like the unbound version of Appalachian Pages / The AT Guide.
I order both bound and unbound versions. I take the pages I need out of the unbound version and I leave the bound copy with my wife.
When I call her to check in, I can show her exactly where I'm at by giving her the mile marker / page number in her copy of the book.
SGT Rock
03-22-2010, 11:13
For the low volume of folks hiking the BMT, it isn't financially feasible for me to have multiple formats like it is for a guide like Awol's AT Guide. Maybe I can look at it in the future if there is enough interest.
What I hope to do eventually is find a good format like PDF where I could sell someone a secure copy and they could print it on any size paper they wish or carry it on an iPhone, PDA, Kindle, Droid, etc. I already keep a copy of the BMT Guide and the ALDHA Companion on my smartphone (I buy a Companion every year too so I don't feel like a thief). I've looked into Kindle stuff, while Kindle is good for text like books, it's graphics ain't up to snuff. PDFs can be secured, but I'm not 100% sold on their security. I figure it will eventually happen for most of the guidebooks though if they want to stay on the cutting edge.
The only issue is I don't want to have something where once they get their digital copy they can't then give it to others or make it a download of the internet. It ain't that I am trying to get rich, I just finally broke even again on my own printing costs the other day and I'm still technically at a deficit since I also haven't covered other expenses from doing the guide. I'll probably never see a profit from the guide, and really don't care - but I would like it to pay for itself enough that I can do one every year.
AzWildflower
03-22-2010, 15:14
Now I have official permission from the author to photocopy his book.:sun
(for my own personal use, of course)
Thanks Sgt Rock!
I think I can find a way to fit all the pages on one sheet of printer paper. It will be interesting to see what kind of condition that one sheet of paper will be in when I exit the park!
Now I have official permission from the author to photocopy his book.:sun
(for my own personal use, of course)
Thanks Sgt Rock!
I think I can find a way to fit all the pages on one sheet of printer paper. It will be interesting to see what kind of condition that one sheet of paper will be in when I exit the park!
I put 'em in 1 gallon freezer bags, opposite pages on either side and just turn the pages as I hike along.