Hitch from Fontana to Twenty Mile?

[CalebJ]

Considering a loop on BMT and AT in May or June. Most likely route is to start at Standing Bear and go south on the AT to Fontana Dam, then north on the BMT to get back. Does anybody know if it's a difficult hitch from the dam to Twenty Mile Ranger Station?
Thanks!

[TNhiker]

they did do a reroute of the BMT to make the road walk/hitch obsolete....

believe the BMT route now goes from fontana dam over lakeshore trail to connect up....

and you could restock at fontana villiage by using the shuttle from the phone at the bathrooms near the marina...


here's what the bmt organization has about it..


2014 Yellow Creek Reroute Information
The section of the BMT between the Joyce Kilmer Slickrock Wilderness and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was rerouted in 2014 to eliminate the dangerous road walk on Route 129 and allow hikers access to facilities at Fontana Village to resupply, get back country permits, etc. This reroute added almost 5 miles to the overall length of the Trail, and is well signed on the ground. Here is a brief description for northbound hikers:

From the Slickrock Trailhead, follow NC 129 SOUTH 0.5 miles to Meadow Branch Road. Turn left, hike up Meadow Branch 100 feet and you will see the James. F. Burchfield Trailhead just across a small bridge. Follow that trail 1.8 miles to the crossing of Old Field Gap Road.

Cross Old Field Gap road and follow the gated Forest Service Road 0.5 miles to a sign post and a left hand turn to go up a small hill and reach the ridge. This gated road is not open to the public, but logging trucks may use it at times. From the ridge mentioned above, follow the obvious trail east for about 3.2 miles to intersect the Forest Service Road again. Continue to follow it east along the ridge for 1.3 miles to its end, then continue east along the ridge on the trail. There may be heavy brush on this unused section of Forest Service Road. The trail follows the ridge east, crosses under the power lines and continues east along the ridge over Yellow Creek Mountain to Green Gap, which is a total of 7.4 miles from Old Field Gap Road.

At Green Gap, turn left and descend the "Stairway to Heaven" Trail (very steep) down to the Fontana Village area. From Green Gap, the Fontana Lodge, with Internet access for National Park Back Country Camping Permits, is 1.6 miles.

From Fontana Lodge, you may get back on the BMT and head east 3 miles to the intersection with the Appalachian Trail, turning left at the junction, descending the hill to cross NC Route 28 at Fontana Crossing by the Fontana Marina. You may also get a shuttle from Fontana Village to this point. For hikers, continue to follow the Appalachian Trail past the Fontana "Hilton" Shelter and across the Fontana Dam.

At the far end of the Dam, turn right and continue following the AT/paved road about a mile to the signed trailhead. At this point, the AT goes left and up over Shuckstack, while the BMT separates and follows the Lakeshore Trail 5.3 miles to join the existing BMT at Lost Cove area. From there, just continue on the BMT as shown on maps and guidebooks.

[CalebJ]

Great - somehow I'd missed where the new relocation came in. I'll probably come down past that point on the AT to camp at the Fontana Hilton, then head back up to the BMT directly. Saves me a few miles that morning in exchange for carrying a couple of extra days of food initially.

[4shot]

that sounds like a great loop. If you haven't done either trail through the Smokies, I'd like to hear your opinions afterwards. IMO, I like the the BMT much better through the park. (with apologies to any offended parties as this is an AT board after all)

[CalebJ]

I've seen a very few miles of the AT through there, and done a loop from Big Creek up to Mt. Sterling and back. Just a tiny percentage of the two. Looking forward to this. It will involve some really long days, but should let me see everything in the time I have if my feet and legs are up for it. Will definitely let you know.

[Dogwood]

Considering a loop on BMT and AT in May or June. Most likely route is to start at Standing Bear and go south on the AT to Fontana Dam, then north on the BMT to get back. Does anybody know if it's a difficult hitch from the dam to Twenty Mile Ranger Station?
Thanks!

There are so many options for your hike through GSMNP for a loop that begins and ends at Standing Bear. How about hiking the AT SOBO to Fontana Dam, resupplying, and then taking the BMT NOBO back to Standing Bear getting on the BMT just after retracing the AT NOBO to near Shuckstack Fire Tower picking up the Lakeshore Trail(BMT)? Good Loop!

[CalebJ]

Dogwood, that's basically exactly what I am doing. Full length of the AT southbound to the dam, then back up the AT to the cutoff at Lakeshore and BMT all the way back. The only real change to your itinerary is no resupply at the dam.

[Dogwood]

Well there is resupply at Fontana Village and there is a PO located there as well. It would however add on some mileage.

[CalebJ]

Yep - I'll definitely be keeping that in the back of my mind. If it takes me an extra day to get to the dam I'll have to head down there and grab some supplemental supplies for the return trip. Realistically I've got 5-6 full trail days to make this work, so there won't be any time spent standing around camp.