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The BMT, Boardtown Rd. to Springer Mt.

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    • The BMT, Boardtown Rd. to Springer Mt.

      (sorry, this is going to be long)

      I had a great hike on the BMT from Boardtown Rd., mile 53.3, to the summit of Springer Mountain, mile 0, plus the Approach Trail.

      Originally, I was to start hiking on Thursday, May 12, but there were thunderstorms and I wasn't packed so instead spent the night in Blue Ridge, GA at America's Best Value Inn. That gave my daughter and I time to scope out where she was dropping me off the next morning. Our plan was to drop me off, she park at Amicalola State Park and hike on the AT while I hiked to the car.

      Day 1. Boardtown Rd. to Fall Branch Falls. 12.3 miles plus a lot of confused wandering around.

      From Boardtown Rd. to Hwy 76 was a frustrating section. My frame of mind probably contributed to this. Pre-trip jitters, anxiety about my daughter's hike, and being the passenger while she drove, meant I was out-of-sorts that morning.

      Being a solo, female hiker and being the mom of a solo, female hiker is a very weird situation. I can't help being a mom and admit to lying in bed a few nights before, teary eyed about the "What If's." Our non-hiking families deserve a lot of respect and gratitude for putting up with us.

      Anyway, the first 3-4 miles was through a developing, mountain community with large, beautiful vacation and residential homes. The trail dips into the woods and returns to the road many times and figuring out the trail was difficult for me.

      On the first, short section, I ended up too far up the road and couldn't find the blazes. After walking up and down the road, I phoned hikerboy for help. While describing my location, a dog walker came by and pointed me in the right direction. My theory is that I was on the old BMT (it had been rerouted through here at one time) as the blazes were very faint.

      Another difficult-for-me spot was at mile 50.8 where you leave the road, walk down a boardwalk, by a chapel, and around the lake until you come to a switchback. I followed a faint path around the lake, trespassing on private property and walking by small, private, lake decks until the path ended. Again, I turned around, went back, studied my directions, tried it again, but still couldn't figure it out. Eventually, I walked up to the road, pulled up google maps, and started towards Hwy 76. Within five minutes, I found the white diamonds but still haven't figured out what happened.

      This scenario occurred at least once more and it took nearly three hours to reach Hwy 76. There are landmarks that I never saw, water tanks? well house? and wonder how much trail I missed. Before reaching Hwy 76, I met Dan who was hiking to Fontana and returning via the AT.

      Once I crossed Hwy 76, it was smooth sailing. The weather was beautiful and I settled into my groove. My hip hurt and that concerned me but could only wait and see how it progressed. I met a day-hiking group from Knoxville that included a couple who were finishing their last section of the BMT.

      That night, I camped at Fall Branch Falls. The falls are nice but are very close to a road and I could hear cars drive by. That's not a comfortable situation but I put it out of my mind and tried not to use my light so my tent was not noticeable in the dark. Except for the snafus in the first couple miles, it was a fabulous day.


      (Photos in the gallery)
      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • Day 2, Fall Branch Falls to Payne Gap, 14.5 miles plus more wandering around.

      After my usual night of fitful sleep and trouble staying warm, I was up at first light, packed and ready to go. Unfortunately, Day 2 started the same as Day 1.

      I left the falls and came out on a road to begin a 3+ mile road walk. Except the guide says to cross Fall Branch bridge. There wasn't a bridge on the road but there was one across a meadow with a big realty sign next to it. I didn't think that was the right bridge so walked down the gravel road about 1/2 mile looking for bridges and blazes. Not finding any, I turned around and walked back to make sure I hadn't missed something. Where is that confounded bridge? Maybe the bridge across the meadow eventually leads to another road where the road walk starts?

      I took the path through the meadow, crossed the bridge, and followed the path for about 15 feet before it came to an end...it wasn't right. There was nothing else to do except walk down the road again and eventually I started seeing blazes. What a relief! My theory is there used to be a bridge next to the entrance to Fall Branch Falls but is no longer there. I need to quit relying on guides and PDFs and start trusting myself.

      I turned on some tunes, started singing, and grooved on down the road. After about a mile, runners started passing me. Most of them were run/walking as they were around mile 70. It was the Cruel Jewel, an ultra race on the BMT and runners would continue to pass me all day. It was fun to cheer for them and made the day go by really fast. My hip felt good and I knocked out the miles, even though there were a lot of climbs and descents. At one road crossing, there was a tent with food for the runners. I walked by and drooled at the sight of watermelon but was too proud to ask for a handout.

      My favorite part of the day was sitting at the picnic table at Shallowford bridge, drinking coffee, eating breakfast, and watching the fishermen on the Taccoa river.

      That night I camped at Payne Gap. As I've learned previously, gaps are cold and windy and this one is no exception. I rehydrated some white beans, ate, and crawled in my tent around 8 pm. All evening, runners passed by and shined their headlamps on my tent. It is a little freaky when you wake up at 1 am, everything is quite, and a light illuminates your tent. I imagine some of them were freaked out also, running through the woods in the dark.

      One of my problems when hiking is not getting enough calories and my afternoons become real struggles. I'm just not hungry and have difficulty forcing myself to eat. For kicks, I wore a heart rate monitor on Day 1 and it said I burned 3,965 kcal. Wow! I really need to work on this and will revisit some of the food threads in the Cafe. So, I forced myself to finish all the white beans and boy did I regret it.
      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      mental note wrote:

      You've come a long way baby! Seriously, your doin' great TJ. :thumbup:
      Thanks! You know, I sort of felt like a real hiker. :D
      Wait till you hear my poop story. I'm debating how much of the story to tell, it's humiliatingly comical.
      You are a real hiker.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      mental note wrote:

      You've come a long way baby! Seriously, your doin' great TJ. :thumbup:
      Thanks! You know, I sort of felt like a real hiker. :D Wait till you hear my poop story. I'm debating how much of the story to tell, it's humiliatingly comical.
      You are a real hiker.

      I had one of those 'events' back in November. My insides decided to empty as I'm walking down the trail. Not diaheria... not sure what the ause was. Just as I'm thinking of looking for a spot off the trail to clean myself up, people would walk by. Every single time... There must have been a get together further own the trail. So, I walked back to the car, holding my pants in a strategic location, to keep 'it' off my shoes, already on my leg and inside the pants, and drove home. Showered, put on clean clothes. Still feel yucky about it, but at least now I can look back and think it could be funny some day.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.
    • JimBlue wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      mental note wrote:

      You've come a long way baby! Seriously, your doin' great TJ. :thumbup:
      Thanks! You know, I sort of felt like a real hiker. :D Wait till you hear my poop story. I'm debating how much of the story to tell, it's humiliatingly comical.
      You are a real hiker.
      I had one of those 'events' back in November. My insides decided to empty as I'm walking down the trail. Not diaheria... not sure what the ause was. Just as I'm thinking of looking for a spot off the trail to clean myself up, people would walk by. Every single time... There must have been a get together further own the trail. So, I walked back to the car, holding my pants in a strategic location, to keep 'it' off my shoes, already on my leg and inside the pants, and drove home. Showered, put on clean clothes. Still feel yucky about it, but at least now I can look back and think it could be funny some day.
      Oh my, that stinks...(couldn't help it)...and I laughed a little too. :D
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Day 3, Payne Gap to Taccoa River swinging bridge, 11.9 miles

      The morning is rather unpleasant and the details will only to be told sitting around a campfire sipping bourbon. :)

      As a consequence of The GI Incident, I use nearly all my TP and hygiene supplies and know there isn't easy access to resupply. Shivering with cold, my hands numb, and my stomach churning, I pack quickly and hike a few miles to Skeenah Gap Rd., worrying that my hike is over. I sit in the sun, warming up and considering my options. There is decent cell service at the edge of the road so look at Google maps for places to resupply. I also text hikerboy to see if he has any ideas.

      While I'm sitting there, a car stops in the road. I watch and wait and they just sit there for several minutes. They are stopped on a 55 mph hwy. I start getting nervous but decide to approach the car to see what they want. It is a man and woman and the woman is being dropped off at her car parked on the side of the road. They are runners from the day before. I ask them for napkins or paper towels and explain the situation and the woman reaches in the backseat and grabs half a roll of TP. I just can''t believe it and may have cried a little. I went from worry and uncertainty to elation.

      The day made a dramatic turn-around and ends up being fabulous. My stomach is still off but it isn't a problem, my hip is pain free, and my hiking strong.

      I decide to have an early day and stop about 5pm at the campsite next to Taccoa river swinging bridge. There are several other campers and I meet Columbus, a young BMT, nobo thru-hiker and veteran AT hiker. We chat, compare notes, and exchange phone numbers, and hope to hear from him when he gets close to Knoxville.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • TrafficJam wrote:



      I decide to have an early day and stop about 5pm at the campsite next to Taccoa river swinging bridge. There are several other campers
      you can drive and park real close to the bridge; camp there on a nice saturday night any you'll have more than "several" other people for company. luckily, most camp on the N side of the river to minimize the walk so you can still have privacy on the S side.
      2,000 miler
    • WanderingStovie wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      TP Magic! LOL
      The best Trail Magic is when you get what you Really Really Need. :)
      My favorite was water before entering the south end of SNP.
      A trail angel by the name of Bill Gallagher puts the water cooler there at Beagle Gap. Super nice guy.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference