BMT Thru the Smokies

[TNhiker]

Ahhhh....

ok...

---shuckstack tower
---tons of cemeteries along lakeshore trail
---the historical parts of hazel creek
---more cemeteries along noland creek
---waterfall along chasteen creek
---mount sterling (but you've been there)

[Dogwood]

What you will experience also has to do with what you're willing to do to have those experiences. Will both of you be in that common thru-hiker gotta go gotta go gotta be somewhere else here is the trail I'm not deviating from it because I want to bag the BMT tick tock tick tock if anything is worth doing it's worth doing fast mindset? Are both of you turned off by hitching into Bryson City(in Oct shouldn't be an absolutely hard hitch with a icy cold micro awaiting at Nanthal Brewing Co), Cherokee, Newfound Gap(still one of GSMNP's great overlooks!), to Oconaluftee or possibly Smokemont to check out history, geology, forestry, etc or possibly elk bugling, or veering off the BMT to Cataloochee for elk viewing or checking out a waterfall, tramping off trail up to a ridge to find an overlook that perhaps has never been visited....? There are some neat linking trails between the BMT and AT too. Hoo Koo ka du and TN Hiker I think have done every trail and most of the man ways in GSMNP so they are like books on audio full of insider insight.

[blue indian]

Ahhhh....

ok...

---shuckstack tower
---tons of cemeteries along lakeshore trail
---the historical parts of hazel creek
---more cemeteries along noland creek
---waterfall along chasteen creek
---mount sterling (but you've been there)

Been up to Shuckstack and Mt. Sterling but will be looking forward to revisiting them.

sounds like alot of green tunnel action!

[blue indian]

What you will experience also has to do with what you're willing to do to have those experiences. Will both of you be in that common thru-hiker gotta go gotta go gotta be somewhere else here is the trail I'm not deviating from it because I want to bag the BMT tick tock tick tock if anything is worth doing it's worth doing fast mindset? Are both of you turned off by hitching into Bryson City(in Oct shouldn't be an absolutely hard hitch with a icy cold micro awaiting at Nanthal Brewing Co), Cherokee, Newfound Gap(still one of GSMNP's great overlooks!), to Oconaluftee or possibly Smokemont to check out history, geology, forestry, etc or possibly elk bugling, or veering off the BMT to Cataloochee for elk viewing or checking out a waterfall, tramping off trail up to a ridge to find an overlook that perhaps has never been visited....? There are some neat linking trails between the BMT and AT too. Hoo Koo ka du and TN Hiker I think have done every trail and most of the man ways in GSMNP so they are like books on audio full of insider insight.

Im willing to take any adventure that comes our way. Way sides, off trail exploration, cold beer, or elk.....im down for any of it!


Our basic plan is to walk around 15 miles a day. That probably means early mornings and walking into the evening. Early mornings and a few leisurely breaks throughout the day is the plan.

[blue indian]

alrighty folks. I dont normally do trip reports but this one was interesting so I thought I would share my experience...

So the plan was to hike the BMT thru the smokies starting Monday and hiking to Friday or Saturday...

My dream darien UL hammock failed on night one, effectively ending my hike. The hammock material just straight up ripped leaving me on my butt which also ruined my underquilt. I was able to manage 2 nights without it but that wasnt much fun. I decided to try and hitch a ride back to my jeep. I hitched out of Smokemont camp ground and the lady who picked me up not only took me all the way back to my car at Fontana but bought me lunch and took me to the Cherokee Indian museum. So I didnt complete my hike but it was an interesting experience.

Saw three black bears- mama and 2 cubs, a big ole boar, 5 turkeys, and many many chipmunks (more than ive ever noticed beore)

I also saw no backpackers after Laurel Gap shelter. The BMT really is secluded.

[Tipi Walter]

My dream darien UL hammock failed on night one, effectively ending my hike. The hammock material just straight up ripped leaving me on my butt which also ruined my underquilt.

The same exact thing happened to Sgt Rock on Whiggs Meadow during a group BMT backpack. His wife had to meet us at a road crossing and bring another hammock.

[blue indian]

The same exact thing happened to Sgt Rock on Whiggs Meadow during a group BMT backpack. His wife had to meet us at a road crossing and bring another hammock.

Interesting...Was the it the same kind of hammock? I used it for 200 miles on the AT in May with no problems and I really liked the product. Needless to say I was really disappointed that I had to leave the trail with such beautiful weather.

[TNhiker]

whoa....

at least you made the best of it afterwards........

[blue indian]

whoa....

at least you made the best of it afterwards........

Yeah. I was dissapointed in having to leave the trail early and in the failure of the hammock. But I am grateful for getting to spend some time in the Smokies with such beautiful weather and the wildlife sightings.

By the way, that terrain is no joke! It beat me up

[Tipi Walter]

Interesting...Was the it the same kind of hammock? I used it for 200 miles on the AT in May with no problems and I really liked the product. Needless to say I was really disappointed that I had to leave the trail with such beautiful weather.

It was a homemade hammock he showed me before the trip and was very proud of because it was so light. Perhaps too light in fact.

[blue indian]

Apparently Dream Hammock made theirs too light as well. I contacted them and his reply was that he was not surprised about the hammock ripping and that he could do nothing for me..

[TNhiker]

That's absolute crappy customer service.....

[Dogwood]

The Dream Darien came in a UL version that attained it's wt, at least in some measure, through use of a very light wt single layer. This version was sold by Dream with the notification it was UL and only recommended for a certain weight individual and with advanced UL user knowledge as a rather specialty item. There is only the Dream Darien currently offered but still with the option to single or double layer or opt for various wt and characteristic fabrics but with the caveat that certain very light wt fabrics not be used for single layer hammocks. In the quest to go ever lighter people push the wt envelope not always being aware of the potential limitations.

[Dogwood]

Oh, BTW, I've had some decent customer service from Dream Hammocks. Again , there are caveats about fabric wts and single and double layering options on their website.

[Dogwood]

The same exact thing happened to Sgt Rock on Whiggs Meadow during a group BMT backpack. His wife had to meet us at a road crossing and bring another hammock.

Was it an UL Darien, Darien, or one of Rock's super light hammock set ups? And if it was a Darien do you know the wt of the fabrics he was using or if he had a single or double layer?

[blue indian]

It was the Darien UL.

And I am completely aware that UL fabrics have their hangups. Ive been using lightweight and ultralight weight gear for a while now and understand the limits and capabilities of certain fabrics.

However Dream Hammock admitted to making a shotty product and still offered no recompense what so ever. I work for a small outdoor retail company and have had to deal plenty with return authorizations and returns. When a product straight up fails (not due to user error) I expect the vendor to compensate. Dream Hammock has not offered to help at all. I can no longer recommend their product to my customers and I most likely will not be doing business with them in the future. Thats too bad becuase I enjoyed their product until it left me on my a** in the middle of the Smokies.

[jcamp]

I use a hexon 1.0 fabric hammock from Dutch. Although it works well and is very ultralight, I would never blame the manufacturer if it ripped. Now if a seem came apart or some part of the sewing was shotty then that's a different story. The UL fabric was your choice and it seems like you knew the caveats ahead of time. Obviously, I don't know the whole story, I'm just going off of your report " the hammock material ripped... After 200miles on the AT"

[blue indian]

I use a hexon 1.0 fabric hammock from Dutch. Although it works well and is very ultralight, I would never blame the manufacturer if it ripped. Now if a seem came apart or some part of the sewing was shotty then that's a different story. The UL fabric was your choice and it seems like you knew the caveats ahead of time. Obviously, I don't know the whole story, I'm just going off of your report " the hammock material ripped... After 200miles on the AT"

This was a complete seam failure at the gathered end of the hammock. The double stitched seems blew out. Its not a random rip which was accentuated by my laying in it. It was a failure of the sewing. Which also resulted in the bug netting ripping and my underquilt being damaged as well.