BMT, split from: A Walk in the Woods Movie? [Archive]

weary

03-18-2005, 10:27

U mean the AT isn't already overused???

The footpath in my opinion is rarely overused, with the possible exception of the touristy places like the Whites in New Hampshire, Gulf Hagas and Katahdin. The shelters and camping areas are overused. A solution would be to create hardened tent/tarp sites with privies every few miles a couple of tenths of a mile off the trail, and build as many alternative loop trails as possible.

Useful also would be widening the corridor and making any route in the corridor eligible for the 2,000 miler patch.

Weary

smokymtnsteve

03-18-2005, 10:30

cmon down to GA in the spring thru hiher season..

but good point weary.

MOWGLI

03-18-2005, 10:40

cmon down to GA in the spring thru hiher season..

but good point weary.

With the Benton MacKaye extending from Springer to Davenport Gap, the NPS is hoping that some presure will be taken off of the AT in the Smokies. I'm hoping some adventurous souls will use that as an alternative to the AT. IMO, you'll be richer for the experience.

To me, GSMNP is the most used section of trail. In places it is little more than a ditch. That is not a slap at the SMHC. They do a GREAT job in the most visited park in America. They also have to contend with horse traffic, which the other maintaining clubs don't have to deal with.

smokymtnsteve

03-18-2005, 10:44

GSMNP is certainly very heavily used, but that first 35 miles in GA can be a real zoo in the spring.

Youngblood

03-18-2005, 10:51

maybe so...during the spring "thru-hiker' season it's used all out of proportion.Steve,

When the Benton MacKaye Trail is completed all the way from Springer Mountain to the north end of the Smokies at Davenport Gap (and it may already be) it can take some of the heavy use off the southern AT... at least I think that was one of its purposes.

When this happens it is going to be interesting to see how the small mountain cabin community at Cherry Log(?) in GA handles this influx of hikers literally going through their back yards. (It is pretty neat going through there.) I suspect that the amount of hikers is so low at present that many of the residents haven't even seen a backpacker passing through. I hope it all works out and suspect it will if backpackers follow the rules and don't mess up a good thing.

I have hiked the 90 something miles of the BMT from Springer Mountain to the Ocoee River at US64 in TN several times, it is a good hike and certainly would be an enjoyable alternative to the GA AT. You've got the Toccoa River at 14 miles, the Toccoa Bend Country Store at 17 miles, the Toccoa River again with a trail/riverside restrurant at 35 miles, US76 with Blue Ridge about 8 miles north when you cross at 50 something miles (with groceries, laundry mat, lodging, etc). After that you go through Cherry Log before entering the Cohutta Wilderness and then the Big Frog Wilderness followed by the Ocoee River and US64. That's as far as I've gone, but there is a BBQ place and a grocery store a few miles east on US64... don't remember how far or know about lodging?

So, whose going to be the first to take this new route all the way from Springer to Davenport Gap?

Youngblood

SGT Rock

03-18-2005, 11:38

Youngblood

03-18-2005, 12:32

Youngblood,

I am very seriously considering using the BMT to start when I do my thru-hike. I don't know exactly how much of it I will use. Do you have a map source so I can look at it, because, of course, re-supply can be an issue. There is so much already known about the AT that it is a no-brainer, a monkey could re-supply on the AT; but I am concerned about planning the first few weeks on the BMT if I use that.

Thanks.Sarge,

I have a lot of info for the BMT up to US64 in terms of paper maps, electonic maps and books. I have paper maps that I printed out from electonic maps for the sections from US64 to Twenty Mile Ranger Station on the SW entrance of the Smokies. I think at that point the plan was to use trails that already existed within the Smokies to cross the AT and then end the BMT at Davenport Gap at the north end of the Smokies.

Another option is to use the BMT and Duncan Ridge Trail between Springer Mountain and Blood Mountain. The BMT starts on Springer Mtn in GA and takes its own seperate treadway from the AT. At Three Forks, it crosses the AT (probably the second or third time) and the Duncan Ridge Trail begins, sharing trailway with the BMT. The BMT/DRT split from the AT just a mile or so up the trail near Long Creek Falls and continue past the Toccoa River and GA60 (a few miles west of where the AT crosses GA60 at Woody Gap) before they split on the ascend of Rhodes Mountain. At Rhodes Mountain mountain the BMT heads west while the DRT heads east until it terminates on the AT on the south side of Blood Mountain. It use to end on the AT at Slaughter Gap but they changed that when they re-routed the AT away from Slaughter Gap a year or so ago... you will likely still see Slaughter Gap as its termination in writeups about the DRT.

I've got to go get lunch and see about getting some work done on my car this afternoon. It might be best to talk about some of this on the phone this weekend because there are so many options depending on what you have for software, etc; if you want to do that let me know and you can email me your number or I can email you mine.

Youngblood

walkin' wally

03-18-2005, 13:46

The footpath in my opinion is rarely overused, with the possible exception of the touristy places like the Whites in New Hampshire, Gulf Hagas and Katahdin. .

Weary

I have to respectfully disagree with this as far as Maine goes. I have seen sections in Western Maine where the trail is just roots and bedrock. The soil is long gone and the woody branches used for handholds are bare. Some of the trees beside the trail are ready to topple over if you are not careful what you try to hold on to.
Weary's idea of more campsites here and there may be a good idea because I think the lean-tos see a lot of use judging from the condition of the areas around some of them.

weary

03-18-2005, 14:03

I have to respectfully disagree with this as far as Maine goes. I have seen sections in Western Maine where the trail is just roots and bedrock. The soil is long gone and the woody branches used for handholds are bare. Some of the trees beside the trail are ready to topple over if you are not careful what you try to hold on to.
.
That's not a function of overuse. It's a product of how we relocate and build trails in Maine. Two thirds of the trail was relocated during the 70s and 80s. Almost none of this work involved any significant trail engineering, which is needed on any trail that has any kind of significant use.

The aim was to get the trail out of the valleys and onto the ridgelines before Congress set the "permanent" location. Only now are we going back and doing the erosion control and rock work needed for permanence.

That's why MATC raises and spends many thousands of dollars each year hiring trained trail specialists to work with volunteers from around the country who spend a week or two correcting the inadequate construction of the relocation years. Maine is a beautiful section of the AT. It does not, and never has had much good trail construction, until the reconstruction began a few years ago.

Weary

SGT Rock

03-18-2005, 14:27

Sarge,

I have a lot of info for the BMT up to US64 in terms of paper maps, electonic maps and books. I have paper maps that I printed out from electonic maps for the sections from US64 to Twenty Mile Ranger Station on the SW entrance of the Smokies. I think at that point the plan was to use trails that already existed within the Smokies to cross the AT and then end the BMT at Davenport Gap at the north end of the Smokies.

Another option is to use the BMT and Duncan Ridge Trail between Springer Mountain and Blood Mountain. The BMT starts on Springer Mtn in GA and takes its own seperate treadway from the AT. At Three Forks, it crosses the AT (probably the second or third time) and the Duncan Ridge Trail begins, sharing trailway with the BMT. The BMT/DRT split from the AT just a mile or so up the trail near Long Creek Falls and continue past the Toccoa River and GA60 (a few miles west of where the AT crosses GA60 at Woody Gap) before they split on the ascend of Rhodes Mountain. At Rhodes Mountain mountain the BMT heads west while the DRT heads east until it terminates on the AT on the south side of Blood Mountain. It use to end on the AT at Slaughter Gap but they changed that when they re-routed the AT away from Slaughter Gap a year or so ago... you will likely still see Slaughter Gap as its termination in writeups about the DRT.

I've got to go get lunch and see about getting some work done on my car this afternoon. It might be best to talk about some of this on the phone this weekend because there are so many options depending on what you have for software, etc; if you want to do that let me know and you can email me your number or I can email you mine.

Youngblood

Well I have a couple of years left to plan before my thru-hike, but any info you have is appriciated. I would like to try and get on the trail somewhere maybe this summer as a section hike. I did find this site with an overview map and some trail info, plus it looks like I can get all the maps for $5: http://www.bmta.org/

I am thinking this is a good way to beat some crowds at the start and I figure it is all good as long as I am walking the whole way to Maine - if I'm walking, I ain't cheating :D

max patch

03-18-2005, 15:35

I am thinking this is a good way to beat some crowds at the start and I figure it is all good as long as I am walking the whole way to Maine - if I'm walking, I ain't cheating :D

Depends on what your goal is...do you want to hike all the way to Maine or do you want to hike the AT all the way...there is a difference.

There is a value to the purists vs blue blaze vs yellow blaze debates. It allows someone planning their hike to decide what is important to them before they set foot on the trail. An informed decision can be made up front rather than at the spur of the moment. If a group you are walking with decides to take the Kimsey Creek trail and "save" 20 miles do you tag along or do the the Standing Indian loop instead? There are many options like this on the AT.

SGT Rock

03-18-2005, 15:52

I agree Max, I am not a purist, and I have never claimed to be. But I'm also not out to shortcut the walk, just open up possibilities for doing it more than just one way. I remember 1999 having a conversation with three thru-hikers in VA, two were proud that they had found a horse trail that cut off many miles of their walk, while the third felt "stupid" for missing it. I think that he missed the point - he wasn't stupid for walking the trail, he was smart. The others weren't necessarily better either just because they found a short cut. But then why listen to me, a lowly section hiker at the time (at least that is what I saw in his eyes).

But, I also think that in some ways, looking at the Trail as a trail corridor and a trail system may have create a better situation for the trail in that it opens up more land within the system for protection and reduces the impact in some currently "high impact" areas. So if by changing my start route I help reduce impact and crowding, fine. If I'm the only one or one of a few, that is fine too. I'm walking to the beat of my own drum when I do go. I don't need a patch or certificate to tell me if I accomplished anything.

Youngblood

03-18-2005, 17:18

Sarge,

The BMTA site has a lot of good info. Some of their members posted the existing trail and the new/proposed trail electronically here: http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/topo/searchlist.cfm , but you need the TOPO! North Georgia, Great Smoky Mountains & Atlanta disc to see it. Mine is several years old and it seems like I had to buy the TOPO! GPS USA disc also to handle some of the interfaces with it... I don't remember if it was to print, download files, upload files or all of those. Anyhow, I have used those on my Garmin GPS unit and have copied them from there to Garmin's MapSource software and MapTech's topo software as well.

I have the old 'page' maps (I think there are about 11 of them) that the BMTA use to (and kind of still does) sell. I also have the book that Tim Homan on the first 93 mile segment that the BMTA is now using as a guidebook (that's Springer to US64). Johnny Molloy's book is written for thru hiking it but again, it is for the segment that ends at US64. Unfortunately, at least the BMT portion of Molloy's book has a few typo's that I have caught, but I usually take a typed up mileage log from Molloy's book and a set of 1:24,000 series strip topo maps that I print out. But, I have hiked it enough to know about the tricky turns in the Cohutta Wilderness and Big Frog Wilderness... where they don't paint blazes. The detailed directions tell you about them and you would at least want to use the detailed directions for those areas.

I think you will like the trail.

Youngblood

SGT Rock

03-18-2005, 17:34

I just looked at the on-line stuff, looks like shelters are few, a couple of steep sections are listed, and so far I only see about one fair re-supply point about 17 miles in. The stuff on the site only lists up to HWY 64, but without a frame of reference of where that is in realtionship to the AT, it means nothing to me. The BIG map looks like the trails meet in the Smokies twice making a large figure 8. Oh, and the cool thing to me is I can still plan for Long Creek Falls on night one as my first camp.

I might get a book on the trail if I finally decide to do this, but I didn't know there were two books. I have actually been thinking about this since about November or December. I was thinking how funny it would be to introduce myself to people that have already been on the trail for three weeks as the guy they haven't heard of that has also been three weeks on the trail. I figure someone is going to want to "challenge" my trip, but screw 'em.

SGT Rock

03-18-2005, 17:42

I split this off the movie thread. Seems a new subject was going that probably belonged somewhere other than there.

Youngblood

03-18-2005, 17:50

Depends on what your goal is...do you want to hike all the way to Maine or do you want to hike the AT all the way...there is a difference.

There is a value to the purists vs blue blaze vs yellow blaze debates. It allows someone planning their hike to decide what is important to them before they set foot on the trail. An informed decision can be made up front rather than at the spur of the moment. If a group you are walking with decides to take the Kimsey Creek trail and "save" 20 miles do you tag along or do the the Standing Indian loop instead? There are many options like this on the AT.Max,

You are correct about there being many options like that. They don't always involve saving miles. Someone who is planning a first time thru hike probably has no idea what it means to follow your rules for being a white blaze purist. I would like to encourage you to take this opportunity to explain in detail just what you can and can't do if you want to be a white blaze purist, a 2000 miler or just be able to call yourself a thru-hiker. I'm sure it would help many of this years hikers, you wouldn't want them to take the wrong trail out of a shelter (or something of that nature if that isn't a problem) and invalidate their claims for how they did their hike. What are some of 'your tips' on mistakes to avoid?

Youngblood

weary

03-18-2005, 17:53

....I might get a book on the trail if I finally decide to do this, but I didn't know there were two books. I have actually been thinking about this since about November or December. I was thinking how funny it would be to introduce myself to people that have already been on the trail for three weeks as the guy they haven't heard of that has also been three weeks on the trail. I figure someone is going to want to "challenge" my trip, but screw 'em.
Unless things have changed dramatically since 1993, it's my guess no one will say a thing other than to ask you how you liked the Benton Mackaye trail. I wandered all around Georgia and North Carolina and no one seemed to care one way or the other.

These list debates in my experience rarely get translated into trail controversies unless the off trail people make it an issue. In 1993 Tux and Pirate regaled us in the shelters with their stories of shortcuts. Most listened. And then did their own thing, whatever that might be.

Even Wingfoot, who has emerged as the leading spokesman for "purity," argues such topics should be confined to the prehike debates, not trail confrontations.

Weary

SGT Rock

03-18-2005, 17:59

Even Wingfoot, who has emerged as the leading spokesman for "purity," argues such topics should be confined to the prehike debates, not trail confrontations.

That is good to know. I have experienced some of this on the trail to tell you the truth, but not much.

Nightwalker

03-18-2005, 20:21

GSMNP is certainly very heavily used, but that first 35 miles in GA can be a real zoo in the spring.
And, like many, I'm concerned that this silly movie will make it even worse.

Hey, maybe we'll get lucky. Maybe it'll be the one Redford/Newman movie to EVER flop. :)

MOWGLI

03-18-2005, 21:09

And, like many, I'm concerned that this silly movie will make it even worse.

My sources tell me that Redford & Newman are indeed going to make the movie. They're going to walk the BMT between Springer & Davenport Gap though. :D

max patch

03-19-2005, 12:01

Someone who is planning a first time thru hike probably has no idea what it means to follow your rules for being a white blaze purist.

I doubt you have any interest at all on my thoughts. I will cut and paste what the ATC says on the 2,000 miler application. Caps are my emphasis:

APPLICATION
ATC recognizes anyone who reports completion of the ENTIRE TRAIL as a “2,000-Miler.” (The term "2,000-Miler" is a matter of tradition and convenience, based upon the original estimated length of the Trail.) Conference policy is to operate on the honor system, assuming that those who apply for 2,000-Miler status have HIKED ALL OF THE A.T. between Katahdin and Springer, not just 2,000 miles of it. In the event of an emergency, such as a flood, a forest fire, or an impending storm on an exposed highelevation stretch, blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks are viable substitutes for the white-blazed route. Issues of sequence, direction, speed, length of time, or whether one carries a pack or not are not considered. ATC assumes that those who apply have made an honest effort to WALK THE ENTIRE TRAIL, even if they did not actually walk past every white blaze. If you meet these standards,please sign below and fill out the accompanying form.

I, ___________________________________, verify that I have HIKED THE ENTIRE LENGTH of the Appalachian Trail.

I don't understand why this is so difficult to understand. To get back to the original discussion, I mentioned that there are many opportunities to bypass the trail. If you stayed an extra day at a hostel and then yellow blazed 8 miles up the trail to catch up to your buddies have you hiked the entire length of the Trail? If you take Kimsey Creek Trail insead of the Trail over Standing Indian have you hiked the entire length of the Trail? If you look at your map in VA and see that you can save 6 miles by taking the Maur Hau trail have you hiked the entire length of the Trail? The answer is obvious to me. And in your heart, I think the answer is obvious to you.

I'm going for a hike on a gorgeous day here in GA. Ya'll play nice.

Doctari

03-19-2005, 12:19

I have considered doing the BMT if/when I thru, I have already done the AT from Springer thru the Smokies, (to Erwin) it might be nice to see something different. And, the BMT crosses the AT enough times that if I change my mind, I can always switch.
Perhaps not "Pure" but so what. Someday I will see all the white blazes, I am commited to that, want to see other areas too. I will always be glad I took the Kimsey creek trail.
Both "side trips" would lessen the total impact on the AT. I would love to do a non AT thru of the Smokies, again just to see other areas of the GSMNP :sun

BTW, I too hope they never make that damn movie. I think the book was/is a hoax. Perhaps a well written hoax, but,,,,,

Youngblood

03-19-2005, 15:23

weary

03-19-2005, 16:23

Thanks Max. The 2000 Miler definition did mention "honest effort to WALK THE ENTIRE TRAIL, even if they did not actually walk past every white blaze" and that doesn't quite sound the same as the phrase ENTIRE where ENTIRE MEANS ENTIRE which I sometimes see... to me the later phrase demands absolutely no exception. Where do you stand on issues like taking a different blue blaze trail when one leaves a shelter or not walking across a road crossing when one hitches back and forth to town, etc. are these just something that is up to an each person to handle as they please or are they grounds to disqualify one from being a 2000 Miler or a thru hiker or a section hiker or a white blaze purist?
Youngblood
It's my understanding that a resolution from the ATC board a few years ago mentioned "entire." Either that has been changed, or the staff has interpreted it differently when preparing the application papers. But my memory is from the activities of the 97 conference held in Maine when I sat on one of the panels about "loving the trail to death."

Weary

max patch

03-21-2005, 16:58

The 2000 Miler definition did mention "honest effort to WALK THE ENTIRE TRAIL, even if they did not actually walk past every white blaze" and that doesn't quite sound the same as the phrase ENTIRE where ENTIRE MEANS ENTIRE which I sometimes see... to me the later phrase demands absolutely no exception.

Again, I'll refer you back to the ATC 2,000 miler application a few posts ago which will answer your question:

"In the event of an emergency, such as a flood, a forest fire, or an impending storm on an exposed highelevation stretch, blue-blazed trails or officially required roadwalks are viable substitutes for the white-blazed route."

This means that when the white blazed AT is dangerous that a blue blaze or roadwalk basically becomes the AT for whatever period of time is required for the hazard to become resolved. "Dangerous" is not a synonym for "more convenient", "shorter", "more scenic", or "different".

I still don't understand how you can make an argument that taking, for example, the blue blazed Kimsey Creek Trail instead of the AT around Standing Indian Mountain meets the criteria for hiking the entire trail as set forth in the 2,000 miler application.

Youngblood

03-21-2005, 18:55

Max,

It is still not clear to me how some of these things are being interpeted... like the north/south sidetrails to shelter issue and hitching at road crossings. And I do appreciate it is a slippery slope, the blue blazes you mention around Standing Indian shortens the hike by 10 or 15 miles. But I think you will admit, that what is an emergency or safety hazard to one person may not be an emergency or safety hazzard to a different person... some folks have no fear while others are too cautious.

Youngblood

gardenville

03-22-2005, 17:30

So, whose going to be the first to take this new route all the way from Springer to Davenport Gap?

Youngblood
Youngblood and others:
As some will know I also have hiked all the BMT from Springer Mtn to the Ocoee River/Thunder Rock Campground just inside Tennessee. During the time I lived in GA and was a member of the BMTA I bushwacked a lot of the new part in the Cherokee National Forest. The route through the GSMNP has been published in draft form in several places. I have the route that was thought to be the one that would be used several years ago. My guess is that it didn't change or didn't change much. It should be easy to get the current route in the GSMNP.

Is there any interest in doing a BMT Thru-Hike. My medical situation seems to be coming to a successful conclusion and I hope to be up for a long hike by sometime this summer. I know a fall hike might be easier, cooler anyway but why wait. At 290 miles more or less I would guess a planning time frame of 24 to 30 days might work. Maybe less but this might require spotting a car in a few places to make resupply easier.

Jack Tarlin

03-22-2005, 17:43

Youngblod is wondering who'll be the first person to thru-hike the Benton MacKaye Trail.

It's obvious. You'd think Rocks 'n Roots would leap at the opportunity!

Then he could tell the rest of us how much contempt we have for it, that we don't deserve it, and that we're betraying its original purpose.

Oh. I forget. He doesn't hike any more than he reads.

Youngblood

03-22-2005, 18:57

Youngblood and others:
As some will know I also have hiked all the BMT from Springer Mtn to the Ocoee River/Thunder Rock Campground just inside Tennessee. During the time I lived in GA and was a member of the BMTA I bushwacked a lot of the new part in the Cherokee National Forest. The route through the GSMNP has been published in draft form in several places. I have the route that was thought to be the one that would be used several years ago. My guess is that it didn't change or didn't change much. It should be easy to get the current route in the GSMNP.

Is there any interest in doing a BMT Thru-Hike. My medical situation seems to be coming to a successful conclusion and I hope to be up for a long hike by sometime this summer. I know a fall hike might be easier, cooler anyway but why wait. At 290 miles more or less I would guess a planning time frame of 24 to 30 days might work. Maybe less but this might require spotting a car in a few places to make resupply easier.Bill,

The BMTA has maps online for the trail from the Ocoee River to Twenty Mile Ranger Station ( http://www.bmta.org/construction/bmt_const.htm ). Do they look familar? Do you know where I could find a copy of the current route in the GSMNP ... I was thinking they were going to use existing trails through the Smokies?

These are exciting times in the southeast, lots of neat interconnecting trails. Most folks should be able to find quite a variety of trails to hike. Gosh, not only does the BMT start and end on the AT, it connects at Three Forks, at Blood Mountain (via the Duncan Ridge Trail) and at Sassafras Gap(?) in the Smokies. And the Bartram Trail, the Foothills Trail and the Pinhoti Trail are all interconnect with the AT and BMT as well. One could hike for 500+ miles on that network of trails. I don't know much about the Cumberland Trail but it sounds like it will exceed the BMT in total miles. Neat stuff!

Youngblood

gardenville

03-22-2005, 19:14

Bill,

The BMTA has maps online for the trail from the Ocoee River to Twenty Mile Ranger Station ( http://www.bmta.org/construction/bmt_const.htm ). Do they look familar? Do you know where I could find a copy of the current route in the GSMNP ... I was thinking they were going to use existing trails through the Smokies?

These are exciting times in the southeast, lots of neat interconnecting trails. Most folks should be able to find quite a variety of trails to hike. Gosh, not only does the BMT start and end on the AT, it connects at Three Forks, at Blood Mountain (via the Duncan Ridge Trail) and at Sassafras Gap(?) in the Smokies. And the Bartram Trail, the Foothills Trail and the Pinhoti Trail are all interconnect with the AT and BMT as well. One could hike for 500+ miles on that network of trails. I don't know much about the Cumberland Trail but it sounds like it will exceed the BMT in total miles. Neat stuff!

Youngblood

All the data I have for the trail in the GSMNP does use current trails. They are the more southern lower trails. It comes in on what I think was the orginal AT before Fontana Dam was built. Crosses the AT and uses the lower trails over to Davenport Gap. I have sent an email to an old friend in the BMTA and should get an updated route for the Smokies if it changed. I downloaded the maps of the new part from the web site but also have all the same USGS maps of that area.

I was really happy to see the BMT was done and there may even be some more trails linked to the ones you mentioned. The State of Alabama is very active at this time in developing and building Trails and some should connect to TN which might also link them to the TN part of the BMT.

MedicineMan

04-07-2005, 02:27

and wanted to commend you Sgt. Rock for even considering this alternative approach to your pending thru-hike....vehemently yes in considering the AT as a corridor, as a splendor of so many interlinking trail possibilities...and you are quite immune to the titling of 2000 miler or thru-hiker....I had just posted somewhere on the Mischa-Mogwa Adventure Trail which someday could be amond these possible connnections as one makes their way to may via the Appalachians, though not on the Congressionally mandated A.T.
I this cant help but think that the conversations on Mt. K. concerning which route taken (Benton MacKay, Tuscarora, etc) could only foment more hiking by those who sometimes will not take another step after completing the thru-hike......again it is a moot point for me but for our grandchildren and theirs it is something to consider now.

bulldog49

04-07-2005, 10:16

All the data I have for the trail in the GSMNP does use current trails. They are the more southern lower trails.

The AT follows the crest through the Smokies, once you get up there you stay up there until Davenport Gap. The "lower" trails to the south will be a more difficult, slower route because it goes up and down mountains the entire way. I've hiked these trails a number of times and enjoy them because of the solitude you find in this area of the park. At the present time there are no shelters along this stretch, except for Laurel Gap. Does anyone know if a shelter system is contempleted for the BMT through the Smokies?

SGT Rock

04-07-2005, 10:38

Lets hope not.

bulldog49

04-07-2005, 12:00

Lets hope not.

I completely agree Sarge.

Krewzer

04-07-2005, 22:23

Thanx Youngblood, for the info on Georgia.

I am also interested in hiking the BMT. I hiked bits and pieces on weekends many years ago and also parts that have become the extension. It's been a few years since I've been in that area though and it was always a weekend thing. I don't remember if there is a place get supplies between US 64 and the Twenty Mile Ranger Station. Anyone know?

I also heard the route through Smokies was still in question a couple of months ago. But it was just a matter of picking particular trails to be the BMT.

I'm personally pulling for a route on the Eastern side of the Park. Maybe over Welch Ridge and later over Mt Sterling. Maybe cross the AT and somehow work the Chimney Tops and LeConte in the route.

There's just too many good options. Glad I don't have to choose, the BMT would zig zag 500 miles through the Smokies....if it ever got out of the Joyce Kilmer/Slick Rock area.

SGT Rock

04-07-2005, 22:26

Heck, how about the west side along Abram's Creek? That would also be a cool walk, well except for some of the tourists in the 2.5 miles near the creek.

Krewzer

04-07-2005, 22:48

...and over Gregory Bald when the azelea is blooming.

I wonder how the park service is going to do the reservation thing for hikers doing the BMT.

SGT Rock

04-08-2005, 00:40

I don't know if they already have a sytem in place. Dpending on the route the BMT takes, you may not need a reservation if it goes to the right campsites.

Tha Wookie

04-08-2005, 01:03

I don't know if they already have a sytem in place. Dpending on the route the BMT takes, you may not need a reservation if it goes to the right campsites.
Or if you have a hammok!

generoll

04-09-2005, 00:26

Great set of maps. Anymore for the more southerly region?

Youngblood

04-09-2005, 08:20

Great set of maps. Anymore for the more southerly region?The BMTA had them on their web site at one time but have taken them off, maybe because there are versions of them in Homan's book and it is sold as a guidebook with the BMTA getting some of the proceeds? I have the jpeg files of the maps they use to post and of the ones I generated from the shared file that is on National Geographics website ( http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/topo/file.cfm?fileid=31 ). The ones I generated are for 11"x14" and are much larger files (better resolution) than the 8"x10" ones that the BMTA once posted... I think I had to figure out the route once it crossed into TN because of the break in the National Geographics software, but I had BMTA's old style paper maps to use as a reference.

Youngblood