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bmt thru hike 2015 pt 2-the best plan is no plan

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    • superman and sheepdog leaving at green cove marked the approximate halfway point of my hike,a far different hike than i had originally envisioned.
      although hiking with them was a lot slower than my normal pace, i not only enjoyed their company, but it slowed me down a lot and i was able to pay more attention to the millions of miracles occurring all around me. i was in awe at the diversity of the plant life, and couldnt believe the number of different types of plants, ferns and flowers i saw.at the start, the forest was still a bit brown ,but with all the rain, and the sun reemerging finally, the wildflowers were in bloom, butterflies abounded, and i felt like i was hiking in a scene from avatar in beautiful,lush green forest.
      when people ask about views, i always get confused. i love the "green tunnel" as much as i love the mountain vistas, and this trail has both. one day youre on a ridgeline walk, the next youre back in the forest, with more streams, creeks, cascades and luscious lush green mossy boulders.
      so now i was back on my own, and open to whatever the next day would bring.

      [IMG:https://scontent-lga1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11045515_417897895070438_892397723711089539_n.jpg?oh=7b94926ca463649028be5c27c940c986&oe=55C4F746]
      its all good
    • 4/23 secret campsite to cold spring gap 9.3 miles

      i woke to birdsong and sunshine. i lingered around the falls while i got water and had a safety meeting. i thought about whether the guys were continuing we had made some tentative plans early on to meet up with a few of the hobos from hiking hq at whigg meadow. i packed up my tent, still wet from the rainstorm the night before,and headed up toward whigg meadow. it was windy, and the sun was out, so i hung out my tent and sleeping bag to dry completely, sat down and ate some lunch. as it was beautiful out and i was only looking to hike a few more miles that day,i decided to linger and see if the guys were following. by 2:30, i finally decided to get going, and found out later they were both off the trail.it was all me, at least for now.
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      its all good
    • 4/24/15 cold spring gap to tapoco lodge 14.3 miles

      another day of warm sunshine. after the usual shake for breakfast and some bacon, i was once again on the ridge and the views were spectacular!!


      this was the new slickrock creek bypass,and the trails were in much better condition than they were in the "heart of darkness" i had just hiked through the past few days.i approached the top of haoe bald and it wsa there i ran into tipi walter.when he saw me he said "you look familiar" and as i smiled,said"tipi walter, i'm hikerboy!" he showed me his new ul setup including a 3 lb hilleberg. he examined my pack closely, knew he could never carry 18 days f food in it, and we both laughed. chatted a bit, he told me he had hiked for a while with willow, a lady friend, one of the few people that thru'd the bmt so far this year. he heard storms were moving in again,and he was gonna see if he could hole up somewhere. he told me a bit about the trail ahead, we said goodbye, and i went off towards the hangover, where i was treated to more 360 views




      coming off the hangover and getting back on the trail wsa a bit confusing and i had to go back and forth 3 times before i was sure i was on the right trail going down. it was a fairly steep downhill the rest of the day, and i finally made out through the trees some signs of civilization , and walked down the road till i got to tapoco lodge. i had called ahead so was already prepared for the high prices, checked into a room, and took a nice hot shower. went to dinner and while i was eating my $46 ribeye, nedtrailnamened from maine walked over. jhe had had to get off and go into tellico for a coupla days as a tree limb had fallen on his tent in the night and bent one of the poles of his hubba, so we had to wait to get them overnighted. he was headed out the next day, but i was going to wait out sunday's expected storms before heading to fontana.
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      its all good
      • 4/25/15 tapoco lodge 0 miles
      nedtrailnamened and i had breakfast together and talked about the smokies.he had already got his permit , i hadnt yet set my itinerary. after breakfast, ned left, while i stayed to wait out the severe weather headed our way.
      as it turned out, the storms never came, it was a bright beautiful sunny day.although i was annoyed to have made the decision to stay, and never wanting to waste a good day, i figured the rooms already paid for,so i may as well enjoy myself. i was able to get my laundry done, i went on their computer and booked my smokies permits, then ate and drank down by the river and watched kayakers the rest of the day.
      tapoco lodge at $179++/night is pricey, but the service was outstanding, everyone warm and friendly.there is no resupply available however,although i intended to resupply at fontana village anyway.
      that night i booked a room for the following night at fontana inn.





      its all good
    • 4/26/15 tapoco lodge to fontana inn 10 mi

      i had breakfast and checked out early as i remembered this stretch of trail from last year with rasty.,and even though the miles were short , i had a coupla thousand feet of elevation gain over steep ups and downs ahead of me, wanted to get to fontana early to resupply and check into fontana inn.
      the yellow creek ridge trail was part of the original at before fontana dam was built.
      last year, the trail had only been flagged but not cleared in most areas, this year the trail was in great shape, except for the occasional blowdon, i got to a fs crossing and saw a tree down across from where i thought the trail went, looked at my map and the guidebook, and started down the fs to the left. it wasnt long till it led to a dead end water source, and i realized my mistake. when i got back to the owned tree, i saw a bmt marker on the underside, and knew the trail was right behind it. this is the beginning of the stairway too heaven, a series of steep ups and downs with some steps in places, leading to the top of yellow creek mtn , and its a ball buster.when i got to the top of the mtn, i checked my phone for service, as i hadnt had a chance to speak to my mom in a while, had no service for the past week. i got a signal and sat down, called mom, called my daughters, and checked in with my boss at work. i ate some crackers, and started down the trail again the downhill became quite steep , came back over some steps again, and came to the same tree down across the trail i had passed some 45 minutes before! i had just hiked 2 miles in the wrong direction!!!
      after some fine cussing, i just started back up again. once your over the mtn, the downside into fontana village is very pretty. finally got to fontana inn around 4pm. checked in and decided to just resupply in the am before i hit the smokies.had another ribeye for dinner.

      up next the smokies

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    • I am thoroughly enjoying the daily reports, both the descriptions and the pictures. Loved hearing about the section that is like a scene out of Avatar. I'm with you HB. I like being in the forest and seeing the flora and fauna almost more than the views from a ridgeline or mountain top.
    • 4/27/15 fontana inn to possum hollow campsite 88 11 miles

      checked out early and headed down to the general store to resupply. i ran into a few nobos crossing the dam , and split off onto the lost cove trail.
      when i made my reservations at tapoco lodge, i planned on staying at mt sterling again for my last night, but found 3 days already marked full. this meant a coupla extra days to kill so i split the trip into two permits-- 4 nights, into cherokee overnight, and then 3 more nights and out.this allowed me to again set an agenda different than last years hike, and chose all different sites,except for sterling.
      the lakeshore trail is very pretty with many views of the lake through the trees, as well as touching the shore several times.
      i set up camp alone,and gathered a little wood to make a small fire to get rid of the biting flies that have been a constant nuisance anytime i stopped moving. while foraging for wod, i came acros a nice size rattler wondering what i was up to.







































      its all good
    • 4/28/15 possum hollow to chambers creek 16.2 miles

      another bright sunny morning, let my tent dry out from overnight condensation, then headed down the trail. i passed through the abandoned town of proctor, where rasty and i had camped last year. i made a shake and ate some bacon on the porch of the calhoun house, and then headed on.so far ive seen noone at all on the trail.this would be my highest mileage day on the hike so far, but the terrain was flat and the trail easy,

























      its all good
    • 4/30/15 mill creek to newton bald 16.3 mi

      we started early as it was going to be a long day, and we had heard bad weather might be moving in late afternoon.the trail starts at 2540' at mill creek, climbs to 4250' at the noland divide trail, then drops back down to martins gap at 2360' and finally climbs up to newton bald at 5000'
      its a beautiful stretch with huge old growth trees, and water plentiful until martins gap.nedtrailname ned and i saw noone on the trail at all.it started clouding up and the wind picked up as we climbed.
      newton bald campsite lay a coupla hundred feet from the summit in a gap that looked swept clean.we set up our tents just as it was starting to rain, cooked a quick dinner, and figured on leaving early the next morning and get into cherokee, so we said goodnight.the temperature dropped and all night the wind kept blowing,maybe 30-40 mph, enough that i worried my stakes wouldnt hold, but bearpaw's tent managed to keep me dry through the night.

















      its all good
    • 5/1/15 newton bald to smokemont campground/cherokee 5.6 miles

      when we awoke, , the rain had stopped , but the wind was blowing hard and cold so we just packed up and headed down the trail. the night before we msde reservations at microtel motel in cherokee, and arranged for a taxi to pick us up at smokemont at 12 noon. we had 5 hours to do 5.6 miles. i bolted down hill to get warm, and trucked down the trail for an hour before is topped to make a shake and a snack. the sun had come out, and it felt good,felt warm . the trail was an easy downhill, but didnt seem as steep as i remembered last year, but i remembered hitting that part later in the day last year, so figured i must have been pushing harder. i waited around for nedtrailnamened, but finally decided to head on. i finally came to a stream, with a small cascade, also unfamiliar, decided to wash up , make some coffee, and wait for nedtrailnamened again. around 10:30 i decided to move on, and wait for him at the road. i got to a parking area that looked totally unfamiliar, and when i checked my map, saw i was 2 miles farther south than i should have been. i had taken the wrong trail down! from newton bald, you stay on the newton bald trail down to the road. instead, i had taken the mingus creek trail. i laughed at my mistake, and figured , oh well, id already done the other trail last year, and the stream i had snacked at was very pretty so i just got the opportunity to hike a new blue blaze, and i still had time to hike the 2 miles up to smokemont to meet nedtrailnamened and the taxi. i started walking up 441 and about 5 minutes later, and unfamiliar suv honked and waved at me, pulled over , and nedtrailnamened jumped out, waved me over. he had hitched a ride from a german engineer who was in the atlanta for a conference took a day to go up to clingman's dome, and was headed back to atlanta. he drove us into cherokee, we called the taxi to cancel, and walked the last mile to the motel.its a good place to stay with a food lion and family dollar nearby for resupply.
      tony the guy at the desk remembered me from last year, we checked in, i did my laundry, showered and changed. the motel runs a shuttle to the casino, and i wanted a good ribeye, so we took it to harrah's for dinner.
      as nedtrailnamened had a different reservation schedule for the next few days, i told him i wasnt leaving till afternoon so i could have a good lunch, as i only had a few miles to hike , so we said goodbye that night.



      its all good
    • 5/2/15 smokemont campground to upper chasteen creek 4.5 miles

      my smokies reservation was for lower chasteen creek, only 2 miles from smokemont, so i planned on not checking out till noon, so i could get another good meal in me before i hit the trail.i chatted with tony, the motel desk clerk, he thanked me for coming back again, and asked if i'd be coming back next year. i told them it was highly likely, as i love this trail, and wanted to do it again. i had been looking for a more solitary experience, but as it turned out, i spent less nights alone than not.he then asked one of the girls who worked there to take his truck and drive me to smokemont. i thanked him and told him i looked forward to seeing him again. i called standing bear and arranged a shuttle to ashville, so i could get a bus and get back home.
      after getting dropped off at the trailhead at smokemont, i took my time getting to the campsite, which was adjacent to a pretty stream. i saw a tent set up and met a young couple, who was camped there to fish. we chatted a bit, they told me they were headed to another stream to fish taht day, and would see me later that night. after having a little lunch, i decided the site was way to close to the road, and would probably crowd up later so i hiked on to the next site farther up the creek.when i got to upper chasteen creek it was empty except for a couple camped right by the stream, so i chose a flat spot near a fire ring on the adjacent hill and set up for the night. i never met the other couple, cooked dinner and read the deerslayer in my tent till it got dark. i lit a small fire to get rid of the bugs, and when it went out, i hit the tent for the night.











      its all good
    • 5/3/14 upper chasten creek to mcgee spring campsite 8.3 mi

      the morning saw me climbing back to the ridge before dipping down to enloe creek and then back up to the ridge. i had some breakfast at enloe creek under the bridge by the creek, where i had camped the year before, enjoying the sunshine and thee surroundings.

      the mcgee spring campsite is .9 mi on the hyatt ridge trail, and within a few minutes i came upon a beautiful campsite in a gap, lush verdant aquatic plants surrounded the spring, and set within a grove of old growth hemlocks.i again lit a small fire to get rid of the nagging biting flies, that stayed each afternoon till dusk.i cooked while the sun went down, and got treated to a sky full of stars before i retired to my tent.
      that night i though a lot about the hike, how it was completely different than what i had planned, but nonetheless, was a wonderful trip so far. i had one more night to sleep in the forest before my return home.

































      its all good
    • 5/4/15 mcgee spring to mt sterling 14.5 miles


      my last full day on the trail. i got up early , had a quick liquid breakfast and started back down the hyatt ridge trail to where it rejoined the bmt and started down towards straight fork and then back up to laurel gap shelter. as i climbed i got my first scent of balsam fir, which always turns me on. huge old growth trees the floor of the forest carpeted with tiny white flowers, like a fresh snowfall, and the forest took on a fragrant magical feel. as i got to the shelter, it was clouding over, and it looked like i was in for some more storms.i had been hoping for a clear night on mt sterling, but i guess mother nature had different plans. i ate lunch at the shelter and continued up the trail, so that i could set up before the weather moved in. its a fairly flat stretch between the shelter and mt sterling, with a primeval forest to walk through, fragrant with the christmassy scent of balsam. when i got to the fire tower, there were 2 guys,30ish, overnighting that had their tents already set up. i pitched mine nearby and we talked about the trail. this was their longest hike to date a 3 day 2 night trip, and they had loved it, were hoping to get out for longer hikes.the skies cleared, and we were treated to a beautiful moonrise. they enjoyed my trail stories by a campfire, and as the embers died away, we said goodnight and retired to our tents.






















      its all good
    • 5/5/15 mt sterling to big creek 6.1 miles

      i woke up to see the guys already packing up. i went up to the fire tower to see the sunrise, and smiled, thinking back on my hike, and how different it had turned out. i had just over 6 miles to finish the trail and another 6 or so to get to standing bear. i packed up and headed down the trail,in no hurry, as i was surrounded in beauty.
      its an amazing piece of forest, and i would take frequent safety breaks, not wanting my hike to come to an end.i had half a thought to turn around and walk back to springer, but the weather was turning warmer, i had enjoyed my hike, and wanted to save some "vacation time " for another long walk in the fall. i eventually came out of the boreal forest, back into the hardwoods, and rhodos. and came to the northern terminus.























      its all good
    • "welcome to standing bear, people call me 'lumpy'.set your pack down right over there and i'll give you the grand tour"

      i got to standing bear around 2 pm and lumpy welcomed me back.i had met him in damascus 2 years ago, saw him again last year at trail days and again at the gathering. we got a quick safety meeting going, then i claimed a bed and got a pizza and some beers. got to meet some of the at class of 2015 , and seemed like a pretty good bunch of kids,except for one who kept crying he couldnt get his wifi to work, and that was the only reason he was staying there in the first place. i asked him what his alternative was, and he told me i didnt understand, that the web was the way he stayed in touch with his family. i sked him if they didnt know he was in the middle of nowhere, and he again insisted i didnt understand. he was right.
      later, we sat around the fire ring out front , lumpy brought out some moonshine, i got a guitar from the kitchen, and we had a helluva night, singing till well after hiker midnight.
      the next morning, i asked lumpy about the shuttle to asheville i had arranged with maria when i was in cherokee, and he said "oh sh*t, i was supposed to call. i told him dont sweat it, id take another day to decompress, and the following day would be fine.
      i met some more of the class of 2015, played some more guitar, drank and smoked, and finally hit the hay.
      the next morning my shuttle driver brought me to asheville and dropped me off at the holiday inn near the greyhound bus station. i ate some buffalo wild wings and went to bed.
      9am the next day i was on the bus going home.



      i appear at 5:47
      its all good
    • some final thoughts about my hike.

      the best plan is no plan.

      what planning does for me is give me flexibility in adapting to changing circumstances. as a life long blue blazer, im not locked in to any agenda, and ,even in the smokies ,i didnt adhere to my reservations all the time.
      but i stay open to every new day, every new opportunity, and when im on the trail, just deal with it a day at a time. i had originally wanted to be alone for the duration of the hike, but as it turned out with the weather, i had a wonderful time with bearpaw,superman, sheepdog, and nedtrailnamened. i know we are all now lifelong friends, and only through meeting entirely by chance. i am thankful that my hike took the turns it did.when we hiked together , we did fairly lo mileage days. this didnt trouble me at all, as it slowed me down a bit, and i just enjoyed the ride. as i was not continuing up the at the way i did last year, i had plenty of time to spend on this trail itself. and the company was a great way to ride out the weather.

      the trail can teach you so much to take home with you. teach you how happy you can be with so little.teach you to simplify your life. teach you to deal with whatever comes your way. teach you that things always work out, although it may not seem so at the time, teach you to embrace the suck, that those are the events that define us,the tough times are the events we grow from. teach you that things dont always come easy, but are worthwhile nonetheless. teach you that most people are kind, compassionate and helpful, when you are respectful and thankful , an attitude that carries over into every aspect of my life.
      i am grateful for everything thats happened in my life, both good and bad, because i wouldnt be in the place i am, if anything were different.

      i'm hoping to hike the bmt again next year, solo, and again look for that solitary experience. but if i end up meeting more of you along the way, well,what can i say? its all good.
      its all good
    • hikerboy wrote:

      4/22/15 brookshire creek to "secret campsite" 10.8 miles

      i woke to another sunny, beautiful dawn, and lingered tll the guys caught up with me. sheepdog mentioned to me superman and he were going to stay at green cove motel overnight. i told him i didnt know if i would as well, would wait till we got there, so we hiked on to tellico river road, it was early in the day, and with the weather so nice, i wanted to take advantage, so we snacked at the picnic tables at the parking turnout, then we said our goodbyes, and they walked down the road towards the motel.
      i hiked on till i came to a campsite about .1 off the trail that me and rasty had lunched at. its a pretty site with a beautiful stream that falls over giant mossy boulders.i washed up, cooked dinner, and felt raindrops. a brief while later the heavens opened once again and it poured hard for about an hour. i started to wonder if i shouldve stayed with the guys when it abruptly ended, and a little while later the skies once again cleared.
      The skies always clear...eventually. Remind me of that in a few weeks when I post bitching about being soaked for days.

      You have taken some absolutely "Wow!" pictures! I love so many for their scenic beauty, and the cool old car out there! Awesome! The BMT is definitely on my list to thru.
      www.appalachiantrailclarity.com - Life on the A.T.

      Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.
    • twistwrist wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      4/22/15 brookshire creek to "secret campsite" 10.8 miles

      i woke to another sunny, beautiful dawn, and lingered tll the guys caught up with me. sheepdog mentioned to me superman and he were going to stay at green cove motel overnight. i told him i didnt know if i would as well, would wait till we got there, so we hiked on to tellico river road, it was early in the day, and with the weather so nice, i wanted to take advantage, so we snacked at the picnic tables at the parking turnout, then we said our goodbyes, and they walked down the road towards the motel.
      i hiked on till i came to a campsite about .1 off the trail that me and rasty had lunched at. its a pretty site with a beautiful stream that falls over giant mossy boulders.i washed up, cooked dinner, and felt raindrops. a brief while later the heavens opened once again and it poured hard for about an hour. i started to wonder if i shouldve stayed with the guys when it abruptly ended, and a little while later the skies once again cleared.
      The skies always clear...eventually. Remind me of that in a few weeks when I post bitching about being soaked for days.
      You have taken some absolutely "Wow!" pictures! I love so many for their scenic beauty, and the cool old car out there! Awesome! The BMT is definitely on my list to thru.
      i was at least able to avoid camping in the rain, although we slackpacked 8 of 10 days we slept indoors.it does get to you when its raining every day,but most days its not a big deal, once you're wet, you're wet. at the end of the day you get into dry clothes, into a dry bag, get some food in you, and its all good. but theres also nothing wrong with not hiking in the rain. take a zero if you just dont feel like it, or spend an extra day in town.
      a few years ago hiking sobo in maine, we had rain for 8 straight days, and i hiked through one day of torrential downpours with mandela and terranova and we sang black water by the doobie bros over and over again for hours, till we were giggling silly."...by the hand hand take me by the hand pretty mama..."

      oh , one thing,very very important
      no matter how bad you think the weather is never, ever say the words "it cant get any worse"
      its all good
    • AnotherKevin wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      no matter how bad you think the weather is never, ever say the words "it cant get any worse"
      Amen!
      Although I will from time to time say, "I can't get any wetter." That can be liberating. Rock hopping, for instance, gets a lot easier once your socks are already saturated.
      Sort of like when there are mud puddles all over the trail you slow down to avoid them, but when it is pouring and the trail becomes a flowing stream I actually hike faster because obviously your feet are already soaking wet and you want to get where you are going as quick as possible (especially with lightening).
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      AnotherKevin wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      no matter how bad you think the weather is never, ever say the words "it cant get any worse"
      Amen!Although I will from time to time say, "I can't get any wetter." That can be liberating. Rock hopping, for instance, gets a lot easier once your socks are already saturated.
      Sort of like when there are mud puddles all over the trail you slow down to avoid them, but when it is pouring and the trail becomes a flowing stream I actually hike faster because obviously your feet are already soaking wet and you want to get where you are going as quick as possible (especially with lightening).
      Sometimes that flowing water is nice to wash the ankle deep mud out of your shoes.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.