Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

Day Hiking on the BMT

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • My walk yesterday in the Citico Creek Wilderness was really fun but a litlle frustrating. I don't have a detailed map of the area so I printed some general maps and some instructions by Tipi Walter. I wanted to hike to Bob Stratton Bald per Rasty's recommendation but I didn't find it. The trails are numbered, which I'm not used to, and I came across several that weren't marked at all. I think I was supposed to take 54A at the first trail intersection which was about 2.1 miles from the Unicoi Crest parking lot. Instead, I kept following the BMT and then 95 until I had to turn around. I must have misinterpreted Tipi's instructions, or things have changed since he wrote them in 2006.

      This area is the same distance from my house as most trails in the Smokies and I've been a fool to ignore such a great place.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      My walk yesterday in the Citico Creek Wilderness was really fun but a litlle frustrating. I don't have a detailed map of the area so I printed some general maps and some instructions by Tipi Walter. I wanted to hike to Bob Stratton Bald per Rasty's recommendation but I didn't find it. The trails are numbered, which I'm not used to, and I came across several that weren't marked at all. I think I was supposed to take 54A at the first trail intersection which was about 2.1 miles from the Unicoi Crest parking lot. Instead, I kept following the BMT and then 95 until I had to turn around. I must have misinterpreted Tipi's instructions, or things have changed since he wrote them in 2006.

      This area is the same distance from my house as most trails in the Smokies and I've been a fool to ignore such a great place.


      The trail to the bob connects with the BMT in two places.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Rasty wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      My walk yesterday in the Citico Creek Wilderness was really fun but a litlle frustrating. I don't have a detailed map of the area so I printed some general maps and some instructions by Tipi Walter. I wanted to hike to Bob Stratton Bald per Rasty's recommendation but I didn't find it. The trails are numbered, which I'm not used to, and I came across several that weren't marked at all. I think I was supposed to take 54A at the first trail intersection which was about 2.1 miles from the Unicoi Crest parking lot. Instead, I kept following the BMT and then 95 until I had to turn around. I must have misinterpreted Tipi's instructions, or things have changed since he wrote them in 2006.

      This area is the same distance from my house as most trails in the Smokies and I've been a fool to ignore such a great place.


      The trail to the bob connects with the BMT in two places.


      That's what I thought. I turned onto trail 95 at the following intersection which was about 3.3 miles from the parking lot (I forgot to turn on my garmin watch so the mileage may be off a little). I followed this until I came to a clearing with an unmarked trail to the left and 95 to the right. I went right until I ran out of time and had to turn back. Was I even going in the right direction?
      Lost in the right direction.

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      My walk yesterday in the Citico Creek Wilderness was really fun but a litlle frustrating. I don't have a detailed map of the area so I printed some general maps and some instructions by Tipi Walter. I wanted to hike to Bob Stratton Bald per Rasty's recommendation but I didn't find it. The trails are numbered, which I'm not used to, and I came across several that weren't marked at all. I think I was supposed to take 54A at the first trail intersection which was about 2.1 miles from the Unicoi Crest parking lot. Instead, I kept following the BMT and then 95 until I had to turn around. I must have misinterpreted Tipi's instructions, or things have changed since he wrote them in 2006.

      This area is the same distance from my house as most trails in the Smokies and I've been a fool to ignore such a great place.


      The trail to the bob connects with the BMT in two places.


      That's what I thought. I turned onto trail 95 at the following intersection which was about 3.3 miles from the parking lot (I forgot to turn on my garmin watch so the mileage may be off a little). I followed this until I came to a clearing with an unmarked trail to the left and 95 to the right. I went right until I ran out of time and had to turn back. Was I even going in the right direction?


      Not knowing where I was in relation to Bob Bald is slowly driving me insane :huh: . I bought a map today and it shows that trail 2 and 95 are the same trail through this area. Why did the arrow and "95" point to the trail on the right? From what I can figure out, when I got to the clearing (is this Snow Camp?), I should have turned left onto the unmarked trail to get to Bob Bald. I think I was on trail 54 at this point. Can anyone help me figure this out?

      The 1st pic is where I turned but the map doesn't show 95 turning off of 2. The 2nd pic is of the clearing.
      Images

      • image.jpg

        1.11 MB, 2,048×1,740, viewed 507 times

      • image.jpg

        1.17 MB, 2,256×1,534, viewed 538 times
      Lost in the right direction.

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

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      For my next day hike, I'm going to do this loop. It looks fun.

      trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1642783


      If you are going left to right it looks pretty mild and then a steep climb and then even steeper drop. So if a loop then I guess maybe you get to warm before hitting that in the middle. I hope you have great views (with visibility).
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.
      Images

      • image.jpg

        2.74 MB, 3,264×2,448, viewed 523 times
      Lost in the right direction.

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.


      Wilderness areas that don't have signs can be a problem. One of the hikers I was with on the Art Loeb Trail had an app called Gaia which showed all the trails and showed where you were located, saved us from a wrong turn several times. You download maps to your phone so it doesn't matter that there is now signal. I now have it on my phone but have not really needed it yet. It shows shelters, roads, trails, way points and other useful info
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.

    • Drybones wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.


      Wilderness areas that don't have signs can be a problem. One of the hikers I was with on the Art Loeb Trail had an app called Gaia which showed all the trails and showed where you were located, saved us from a wrong turn several times. You download maps to your phone so it doesn't matter that there is now signal. I now have it on my phone but have not really needed it yet. It shows shelters, roads, trails, way points and other useful info

      Can it still show where you are at when there's no signal?
      Changes Daily→ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ ♪♫♪♫♪♫ ← Don't blame me. It's That Lonesome Guitar.

    • milkman wrote:

      Drybones wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.


      Wilderness areas that don't have signs can be a problem. One of the hikers I was with on the Art Loeb Trail had an app called Gaia which showed all the trails and showed where you were located, saved us from a wrong turn several times. You download maps to your phone so it doesn't matter that there is now signal. I now have it on my phone but have not really needed it yet. It shows shelters, roads, trails, way points and other useful info

      Can it still show where you are at when there's no signal?


      Uses the GPS
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123

    • Rasty wrote:

      milkman wrote:

      Drybones wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.


      Wilderness areas that don't have signs can be a problem. One of the hikers I was with on the Art Loeb Trail had an app called Gaia which showed all the trails and showed where you were located, saved us from a wrong turn several times. You download maps to your phone so it doesn't matter that there is now signal. I now have it on my phone but have not really needed it yet. It shows shelters, roads, trails, way points and other useful info

      Can it still show where you are at when there's no signal?


      Uses the GPS

      Cool. I'm gonna get that. Does that suck a lot of juice?
      Changes Daily→ ♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ ♪♫♪♫♪♫ ← Don't blame me. It's That Lonesome Guitar.

    • milkman wrote:

      Drybones wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.


      Wilderness areas that don't have signs can be a problem. One of the hikers I was with on the Art Loeb Trail had an app called Gaia which showed all the trails and showed where you were located, saved us from a wrong turn several times. You download maps to your phone so it doesn't matter that there is now signal. I now have it on my phone but have not really needed it yet. It shows shelters, roads, trails, way points and other useful info

      Can it still show where you are at when there's no signal?


      Yes...works off satellites.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.

    • milkman wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      milkman wrote:

      Drybones wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      Instead, I decided to do this hike.

      knoxnews.com/news/gosmokies/12…il-called-best-wilderness

      trailspace.com/forums/trip-reports/topics/129212.html

      Following cafe tradition, I did it all wrong and couldn't find Slickrock trail. In my defense, I wasn't the only one. I hooked up with two hikers and we bushwhacked and backtracked and it was nowhere to be found. There was no sign and the undergrowth was horrendous. I lost count of the number of times I fell. It was still a great day.


      Wilderness areas that don't have signs can be a problem. One of the hikers I was with on the Art Loeb Trail had an app called Gaia which showed all the trails and showed where you were located, saved us from a wrong turn several times. You download maps to your phone so it doesn't matter that there is now signal. I now have it on my phone but have not really needed it yet. It shows shelters, roads, trails, way points and other useful info

      Can it still show where you are at when there's no signal?


      Uses the GPS

      Cool. I'm gonna get that. Does that suck a lot of juice?


      Not sure because I have not used it much and I always keep my phone turned off until I want to use it, which is almost never, a hiking buddy used it for three days without a recharge but I don't know how he had the phone settings.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.

    • Re: Day Hiking on the BMT

      TrafficJam wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      Picking up the new bypass route from the tail of the dragon


      Any advantage nobo vs sobo?


      for just that section(which section exactly?) or the whole bmt?
      I think the section is easier nobo.the whole bmt? dunno.


      sorry, I meant that particular section. By easier I meant for navigation purposes.
      I couldn't tell you that since the trail had not been cleared yet and was simply flagged for us
      its all good

    • I finally made it back to Farr Gap for another try at hiking the BMT in that area. I found the trailhead immediately this time (note to self, never blindly follow other hikers) and hiked South as I wasn't crazy about fording Slickrock Creek in February. It was 27* when I started (33* when I finished) with light precipitation and was very foggy. The forest was so serene. As usual, I didn't see anyone else out hiking. I hiked to the top of Big Fodderstack Mountain and back, about 10.5 miles.

      Adding 5.25 to my total mileage for the BMT brings it to 52.55. If I ever finish this trail, I should get my name listed twice for all the out and backs. :)



      Lost in the right direction.

    • I did it wrong. After hiking to Big Fodderstack, I have completed all the trail from Unicoi Gap to Farr Gap, except for a 3 mile section between Cherry Log Gap to the south of Big Fodderstack. The only way to hike that section, as far as I can tell, is to add about 6 miles from the trailhead at the Beech Gap parking lot, making for an 18 mi there and back.

      I can do an easy overnight or I can make this my highest mileage day so far. It's pretty flat in this area and I've been able to jog parts of it. I''m thinking about buying a running, hydration pack and going minimal...only taking food, water, first aid, map, and car key (definitely stepping out of my comfort zone).
      Lost in the right direction.

    • TrafficJam wrote:

      I did it wrong. After hiking to Big Fodderstack, I have completed all the trail from Unicoi Gap to Farr Gap, except for a 3 mile section between Cherry Log Gap to the south of Big Fodderstack. The only way to hike that section, as far as I can tell, is to add about 6 miles from the trailhead at the Beech Gap parking lot, making for an 18 mi there and back.

      I can do an easy overnight or I can make this my highest mileage day so far. It's pretty flat in this area and I've been able to jog parts of it. I''m thinking about buying a running, hydration pack and going minimal...only taking food, water, first aid, map, and car key (definitely stepping out of my comfort zone).


      If looking for a day pack, REI is having a Close Out Sale on GoLite Rush's. This link is the 14L, but they also have 10L and 20L (what I bought soon before GoLite went under).

      rei.com/product/884397/golite-…73j_dc|pcrid|55518619600|
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      I did it wrong. After hiking to Big Fodderstack, I have completed all the trail from Unicoi Gap to Farr Gap, except for a 3 mile section between Cherry Log Gap to the south of Big Fodderstack. The only way to hike that section, as far as I can tell, is to add about 6 miles from the trailhead at the Beech Gap parking lot, making for an 18 mi there and back.

      I can do an easy overnight or I can make this my highest mileage day so far. It's pretty flat in this area and I've been able to jog parts of it. I''m thinking about buying a running, hydration pack and going minimal...only taking food, water, first aid, map, and car key (definitely stepping out of my comfort zone).


      If looking for a day pack, REI is having a Close Out Sale on GoLite Rush's. This link is the 14L, but they also have 10L and 20L (what I bought soon before GoLite went under).

      rei.com/product/884397/golite-…73j_dc|pcrid|55518619600|


      do you like it? i tried to order it just before they went belly up and got the usual "out of stock" notification.
      2,000 miler