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

bmt thru hike 2015 pt 1- the plan

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

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      i need to hike. patience 56 days.

      No fair, 78 days for me. Hell I'm so impatient I packed all my food today except my tortilla wraps.


      140 days for me. Have not started packing food yet, but closet has boxes of Mountain House I have been buying on clearance. Already gone thru AWOL's guide and planned where I will do mail drops and resupply in town.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      i need to hike. patience 56 days.

      No fair, 78 days for me. Hell I'm so impatient I packed all my food today except my tortilla wraps.


      140 days for me. Have not started packing food yet, but closet has boxes of Mountain House I have been buying on clearance. Already gone thru AWOL's guide and planned where I will do mail drops and resupply in town.



      I'm not doing any mail drops, but I do have some beer stops planned. :D
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      i need to hike. patience 56 days.

      No fair, 78 days for me. Hell I'm so impatient I packed all my food today except my tortilla wraps.


      140 days for me. Have not started packing food yet, but closet has boxes of Mountain House I have been buying on clearance. Already gone thru AWOL's guide and planned where I will do mail drops and resupply in town.



      I'm not doing any mail drops, but I do have some beer stops planned. :D


      I am looking forward to Shenandoah NP and the Waysides. I figure I can cut down some on the food I have to carry thru there. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      i need to hike. patience 56 days.

      No fair, 78 days for me. Hell I'm so impatient I packed all my food today except my tortilla wraps.


      140 days for me. Have not started packing food yet, but closet has boxes of Mountain House I have been buying on clearance. Already gone thru AWOL's guide and planned where I will do mail drops and resupply in town.



      I'm not doing any mail drops, but I do have some beer stops planned. :D


      I am looking forward to Shenandoah NP and the Waysides. I figure I can cut down some on the food I have to carry thru there. :)



      Definitely.Also Coin Showers at Loft, Lewis, and Big Meadows.And the campground stores all have beer & wine.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • hikerboy wrote:

      well ive ordered sgt rock's guidebook and started planning my thru hike.
      i enjoyed the trail so much last year i need to go back and do it again. this time i'll be hiking the whole thing solo. it was great having rasty along last year, we're very compatible partners, but this time i want to deal with the solitude alone.
      i have to rethink resupply. last year i did 2 drop boxes . ill probably stay at the green cove motel again where rasty and i stayed last year and use that as one point. i had shipped another box to jacks river country store, but will look for an alternative, as its 4 miles downhill from the trail crossing and was a bit of a pita. that walk took forever, and i even called rasty to see if he could figure out whether i had somehow passed the place, and i was lucky enough to get a ride back to the trailhead.
      it shouldnt take me more than 3 weeks to get to davenport gap, im not sure how long i'll stay out this spring, but may hike into trail days again.
      tentative start date:monday, april 6th.
      I'm still not sure that I'm comfortable with the idea of you hiking an entire trail. It's just too close to doing things correctly. :D
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • getting back to being self absorbed, i got confirmation my new pack's been shipped.hooray!! a new toy!!
      as i stated in the cafe thread, im not looking to repeat last years hike. i had thought of doing the bmt/at loop back to springer, but i dont really want to put myself in the middle of the bubble again. i may just hike the smokies back to fontana and go home from there.im planning on doing the long trail end of summer or early fall, so i probably wont stay out more than a month this spring.
      its all good

    • i dont think ill make it to trail days this year, just gonna stay out for a month or so, although i could extend it. i do have a certain responsibility at work, and if im taking another month off later this year, dont want to stay out too long in the spring.i'm lucky that my boss lets me do these trips, so i dont want to abuse the privilege.
      of course, my plans are always subject to change.
      its all good

    • socks wrote:

      now, is that an internal frame pack, or an external frame pack?


      well the frame is on the outside , so i guess technically its an external.it feels great on, the hipbelt is really comfortable and the pack sits comfortably right wear its supposed to.the water bottle holsters are accessible without having to contort myself to reach one. the mesh back pocket is plenty big for rainshell, or storing a wet tent. there are lash points on the base to attach a tent or pad, but my tent fit comfortably inside, along with the rest of my gear, and i have plenty of room left over for food. by having one compartment, unlike the osprey atmos 50,which has external pockets , all the volume is delegated to the one main sack. i ordered the pack with two belt pockets, which are big enough to carry first aid, phone/camera,headlamp, first impression is im gonna be a happy camper.
      its all good

    • hikerboy wrote:

      socks wrote:

      now, is that an internal frame pack, or an external frame pack?


      well the frame is on the outside , so i guess technically its an external.it feels great on, the hipbelt is really comfortable and the pack sits comfortably right wear its supposed to.the water bottle holsters are accessible without having to contort myself to reach one. the mesh back pocket is plenty big for rainshell, or storing a wet tent. there are lash points on the base to attach a tent or pad, but my tent fit comfortably inside, along with the rest of my gear, and i have plenty of room left over for food. by having one compartment, unlike the osprey atmos 50,which has external pockets , all the volume is delegated to the one main sack. i ordered the pack with two belt pockets, which are big enough to carry first aid, phone/camera,headlamp, first impression is im gonna be a happy camper.
      Sounds good, there's no substitute for a pack that fits and feels perfect.

    • i leave in a month. i think im only gonna do one maildrop this time to reliance fly and tackle where i rented a cabin last year. i have to call him and see if they have enough for resupply, and may be able to avoid this as well.plan is to hitch into blue ridge day 4, get back on,its 4-5 days from there to reliance, another 6 days to fontana, through the smokies to davenport gap. i dont plan on going back to cherokee this time.not planning any zeros,except possibly at fontana. this of course could always change.
      i still dont know how im getting back to ny. i'll probably just hike north on the at till i find a town with a bus station, or i might just turn around and yoyo the bmt.
      its all good

    • they're fixin' to phuck up the BMT

      enton MacKaye Trail as possible alternative to AT
      The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is working on determining if the Benton MacKaye Trail could be a viable alternative option for thru-hikers. We are not opposed to this potentially being one way of reducing crowding among northbound thru-hikers.The main concern is making sure that all the major stakeholders of the Benton MacKaye Trail and the lands it travels through are not opposed:

      That would be the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The BMT is wilder, more remote, and more rugged than the A.T. While some entities are not opposed, others are concerned with impacts of increased number of hikers, especially inexperienced hikers who may not be well prepared and may necessitate more rescues in remote or wilderness areas. None of the entities has categorically ruled out having the BMT as an alternative, but we are a ways from the BMT being recognized as an official alternate route.

    • Does anyone know the stats on how many AT thru-hike attempts are by first time hikers?

      I would think the partiers and inexperienced hikers would voluntarily stay off the BMT, at least I would hope so. At this point, the resupply options and zero day options are so limited, many people wouldn't be interested. On the other hand, increased foot traffic will mean increased services and thus begins the slippery slope.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Da Wolf wrote:

      they're fixin' to phuck up the BMT

      enton MacKaye Trail as possible alternative to AT
      The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is working on determining if the Benton MacKaye Trail could be a viable alternative option for thru-hikers. We are not opposed to this potentially being one way of reducing crowding among northbound thru-hikers.The main concern is making sure that all the major stakeholders of the Benton MacKaye Trail and the lands it travels through are not opposed:

      That would be the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The BMT is wilder, more remote, and more rugged than the A.T. While some entities are not opposed, others are concerned with impacts of increased number of hikers, especially inexperienced hikers who may not be well prepared and may necessitate more rescues in remote or wilderness areas. None of the entities has categorically ruled out having the BMT as an alternative, but we are a ways from the BMT being recognized as an official alternate route.


      well it's part of the reason that I wanted to repeat my thru hike now rather than later I know sly supports the plan I'm dead set against it.
      its all good

    • this is a horrible idea for a whole host of reasons.

      philosophically, the bmt ain't the at no matter what anyone says. how can a "thru hiker" thru hike the trail when they skip the first couple hundred of miles?

      as a practical matter, first time thru hikers are gonna walk the at. the only people who would do this would be a percentage of repeat thru hikers. not enough thru hikers would use this option to make a meaninful difference. instead of 40 hikers at hawk mountain shelter on day 1 you'll have 39. maybe.

      many first time thrus start waaaay too early and are not prepared for winter in georgia. easy to get off the at in georgia and hole up in a hostel or go home. cross a road every day. whats gonna happen to these inexperienced hikers on the bmt? don't even have a shelter to hole up in. does the atc really want inexperienced hikers to hike the bmt on feb 1?

      ridiculous.
      2,000 miler

    • OzJacko wrote:

      And now the "valid alternative routes" of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah River and any nearby road in Northern Pennsylvania would just be the logical next step.
      I was ahead of my time.
      :)


      I wonder if there is anything that can be done to expedite the approval of that North PA alternate route before I hit all of those rocks in July? :rolleyes:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General