Benton MacKaye Trail Plan

Getting to the Trail

The southern terminus of the BMT is about 2 hours north of Atlanta. My plan is to fly into Atlanta on March 27, take the MARTA red line 2o miles or so north to the Sandy Springs Station and then have a shuttle take me (~70 miles, 2 hours) to the Springer Mountain trailhead.

I arrive around 10:30 so am hoping I can get a least a few miles down the trail the first day.

Section 1 (Springer Mountain to Thunder Rock CG, 94 Miles, 6 Days, 23,000 Ft):

The trail starts near Springer Mountain in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, about 80 miles north of Atlanta. The start of the trail is within a quarter of a mile of the start of the much more famous Appalachian Trail. In fact, the two trails cross several times and basically take a parallel path north.

I hope to get 6-8 trail miles on the day arrive so I can complete the remaining 90 miles in the following 6 days. Five of those will be in Georgia, and the last in Tennessee, finishing at Thunder Rock CG on the Ocoee River around noon on April 2. From there I will either hitch or try to find a shuttle for the ~7 miles of highway to Ducktown for my first zero day.

Day	Date	Miles	Climb (ft)	BMT Mile
0	27-Mar	8.0	750	8.0
1	28-Mar	15.0	4,100	23.0
2	29-Mar	14.5	3,300	37.5
3	30-Mar	14.9	2,300	52.4
4	31-Mar	14.2	4,050	66.6
5	01-Apr	16.3	3,250	82.9
6	02-Apr	10.9	1,600	93.8
7	03-Apr	ZERO		Ducktown

Resupply options are limited in Ducktown (just a Dollar General) but there is a real grocery store about 4 miles south in Mackaysville if I can figure out a way to get there.

Cell coverage in the first section is pretty good. The figure below shows voice (green) and data (purple) for each day. Importantly it shows voice coverage at the end so I may be able to contact a shuttle.

Section 2 (Thunder Rock CG to Fontana Dam, 95 Miles, 6 Days, 25,500 Ft):

The second section winds northeast along the Tennessee/North Carolina border for 95 miles, ending at Fontana Dam, a TVA dam on the Little Tennessee River. The first day on this section is longer than I would like but it allows me to get to a real campground (with running water!).

Day	Date	Miles	Climb (ft)	BMT Mile
8	04-Apr	17.5	3,400	111.3
9	05-Apr	15.8	3,560	127.1
10	06-Apr	15.3	4,150	142.4
11	07-Apr	15.0	3,700	157.4
12	08-Apr	16.0	4,600	173.4
13	09-Apr	16.6	3,700	191.5
14	10-Apr	ZERO		Hike Inn

There is a resort complex (lodge, campground, marina), Fontana Village Resort right on the trail as you approach the lake at the end of this section. However, the day I plan to arrive, Wednesday, April 9, the entire resort is booked for a private event (even the campground?). So this very convenient rest stop is not available. And, on top of that, the cell coverage is terrible here.

So….. my plan is stop at the Tapoco Lodge (about 10 miles from the Fontana Village) and arrange a shuttle pickup from The Hike Inn , a hiker-friendly hostel about 9 miles east of the dam.

Section 3 (Fontana Dam to the End, 99 Miles, 7 Days, 20,250 Ft):

The last section is entirely in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) where free camping is not available and campsites have to be reserved. I plan on reserving these from The Hike Inn and am hoping that the Giant Orange Turd’s attack on the national park service does not impact my plans.

Day	Date	Miles	Climb (ft)	BMT Mile
15	11-Apr	13.2	2,400	207.6
16	12-Apr	15.1	2,200	222.7
17	13-Apr	15.7	3,200	238.4
18	14-Apr	14.7	4,150	253.1
19	15-Apr	14.5	3,100	267.6
20	16-Apr	10.0	4,000	277.7
21	17-Apr	12.0	1,200	289.7
		3.0		Hostel

Cell coverage (with T-Mobile) is very poor. I will not have cell coverage at any of my campsites and rarely during the day. But there is coverage near the end so will be able to contact Standing Bear Hostel to arrange a pickup if I don’t want to walk 3 road miles to their place.

I plan on staying a night at the hostel before shuttling in to Knoxville for my return flight to Houston in April 20.