BMT Thru Hike

[restlesss]

Do you think it is possible to Thru Hike the BMT in 10 days?

[Hikerhead]

if you can do 10, 30 mile days. yes

[Phreak]

Do you think it is possible to Thru Hike the BMT in 10 days?

Yeah, its doable but it wont be easy. Its a tough trail.

[Tennessee Viking]

Do you think it is possible to Thru Hike the BMT in 10 days?

Remember its no AT. Its a little more rugid. Not as accessible. Re-supplying is tougher. You will probably have to have caches stashed or have support along the way.

And with all the recent weather its mucky yucky conditions with lots of blowdowns.

[Ox97GaMe]

you would have to be in pretty good hiking shape to do the trip in 10 days. 30 mile days will not be easy over that terrain. There isnt much ridgerunning on that trail. you are either going up, or going down along most of its route. A typical 30 mile stretch on the BMT would include at least 2 2500 ft climbs. some of the climbs are at or above 3500 ft elevation change.

Outside the Smokies, you have the option of stopping when you get to your 30 mile distance. In the Smokies however, you will be restricted by the requirement to stay in backcounty campsites. This may dictate at least one day a lot longer than 30 mile.

The year after I finished my thru hike, I did the GA section of the BMT in 5 days. I thought I was in pretty good shape after doing several 30+ milers on the AT. 20-25 mile days along the BMT were plenty enough for me.

[SGT Rock]

The fastest I've ever heard of anyone doing it is 6 days and that guys is a hiking machine. The kind of guy that does the entire Smokies in 24 hours. Matt Kirk aka Sweeper

http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/dep...mackaye-trail/

Personally, if I had 10 days, I would probably do from Tellico River Road to Davenport Gap which is about 136 miles. It covers some of the most remote parts of the BMT and has some of my favorite stretches, but also has easy to find trail heads at both ends. That would be about 8 full 15 mile days which is good mileage to walk while still leaving time to dawdle and explore, and two 7.5 mile days on each end to allow for getting on and off.

[restlesss]

I really want to do a thru hike of the BMT probably have to wait til next year. I have a couple of months to decide i guess. thanks again.

[SGT Rock]

Just my personal opinion or estimate, but it should take about 21 days to do a BMT thru hike at a fairly "normal" pace. So if you are looking at doing it in one shot, that is about how much time you should try to schedule for it.

[Mags]

I did in 14 days and that included starting the Springer Mtn approach trail at 4pm and a small chunk of AT (~ 3 miles) for "bonus miles". It was done when it was dark about 6pm. I'm also a reasonably experienced backpacker who enjoys hiking all day.


Take that for what it is worth....

[Tipi Walter]

Do you think it is possible to Thru Hike the BMT in 10 days?

Why not jog and do it in 5 or 6 days?

[SGT Rock]

Why not jog and do it in 5 or 6 days?

Ouch. I'd rather do it in about 30. And do it when it is warm. Lots of cool spots to stop and enjoy playing around in water or taking sun naps in fields. Unlike when I did it in Jan/Feb.

If you go out for that kind of weather better to pack like you Walter and make snowmen.

[Tipi Walter]

If you go out for that kind of weather better to pack like you're Walter and make snowmen.

Wow, it's funny you say this as on my last trip over Flats Mountain I approached and passed two mysterious Snowmen, I guess waiting for me like a couple trail angels. What did they give me? More snow and another cold blizzard. I don't know if they had stick arms or were just excited to see me.

[SGT Rock]

They wanted a hug.

I was up in my area doing some trail maintenance last month. I even stayed out over night, but I didn't see the pack mule and his dog anywhere.

[Tipi Walter]

They wanted a hug.

I was up in my area doing some trail maintenance last month. I even stayed out over night, but I didn't see the pack mule and his dog anywhere.

I haven't gotten to the lower Slickrock side in a while. There's just too much fun to be had on the high mountain bowl around it(i.e.Hangover/Bob Bald). Something big happened around Christmas 2009, hurricane winds maybe, but most of the trails north of Sandy Gap to Lake Calderwood have been pummeled and left full of blowdowns. I counted around 40 new ones just between Beech and Cold Spring Gap on the BMT. Old Ken and his Crosscut Mountain Boys are busy beavers and getting right on them.

[SGT Rock]

Yep. I had to work during the saw-a-thon so I missed the fun on that. I got an e-mail from Rick Harris that there was a big blow down right on Slickrock Creek trail - down near that campsite we stayed at in 2007. I went down and spent about 5 hours working the one blow down solo. Then camped out overnight at that same spot. There is a lot of free firewood down there now.

Anyway. I got the message because we had a southbound thru-hiker on the BMT report the blow downs. Apparently she was out there during all that mess.

[superman]

I plan on starting the BMT NOBO on March 31. Will I be the only one on it? Is that a trail that should be hiked later in the season like the LT?

[SGT Rock]

March 31 should be fine. The weather should stay warm most of the time and most services will be open.

[take-a-knee]

I hiked from Three Forks to the Ocoee last April. I had nights in the 30's. I saw a pair of day hikers just south of the DRT turn off, a solo female ( from Sweden IIRC) who passed me just before the first road walk near the river, a party of hikers headed south into the Jacks River and a lone hiker at the state line at double springs. That's about one party per day, my kind of hiking trail. The leaves were not yet out, I wore sunglasses a lot.

[Bearpaw]

I plan on starting the BMT NOBO on March 31. Will I be the only one on it? Is that a trail that should be hiked later in the season like the LT?

It should be a good time to hike. Less brush and better views. I "thru-hiked" Springer to the Ocoee in May of 2005 (before the middle section was completed and opened) and the brush was fairly intense in places. Wearing pants, I was fine, but I would prefer hiking with less brush over the trail. It's a narrow tread, so it's easy for foliage to cover it from both sides.

On the plus side, I didn't encounter one single other hiker on the trail the rest of that trip.

[SGT Rock]

There have been some work trips to hopefully clear up the worst sections of brush which were on the area known as the "State Line Trail" which is between Moss Gap and Sledrunner Gap.