(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)
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 ().