Suggestions for alternate routes ...

[ChrisEdgington]

I have a hike planned with four other men for Apr 29 - May 1. The plan was to do ~33 miles in 3 days, by hiking from Newfound Gap to Davenport gap. Problem is - when I called to make reservations for shelters on Tuesday - there was only room for four people in each shelter. So - I tried to get reservations the other way - from Clingamans to Fontana - less space there. So now I'm trying to figure out another Smokies hike we could do like this. I've only hiked the AT in the Smokies. I'm wondering about the Benton trail from Smokemont to Davenport. Looks like we'd have to carry tents ... right? Any suggestions here?

Thanks,
-Chris

[endubyu]

lets convince the ATC to reroute the AT out of GSNMP

[dragoro]

Uh no way!

[royalusa]

The Benton (BMT) trail in the Smokies is quiet nice. You will need a tent as there are no shelters on that section and depending on where you are staying you still may need reservations - such as site 47 and 38, which are reserved sites. 38 is a cool site w/ a fire tower with great views. You may still be able to get a reservation for that site. Check out our journal for that general area: http://trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=317410