travel – Page 2 – Our Adventures

BMT 0 to BMT 94, Ducktown

Day 1, Mar 27, BMT 8.0

Spent most of the day travelling from Houston to the trail. Flew to Atlanta, caught the MARTA train to north Atlanta where I was picked up by my shuttle driver (“Bandit”). There were four other hikers in the van, all heading to the AT. I got dropped off at the trailhead around 3:00PM .

I hiked up to the official start of the BMT and then headed north. I saw several other hikers over the first few miles where the two trail cross but after leaving the AT I was pretty much by myself.

My first night was a pretty campsite by a stream and I had company! “Weedeater” showed up just before dark. He is doing a portion of the BMT.

Day 2, Mar 28, BMT 18.7

Today was disappointing. I started in the dark at 7 o’clock with my headlamp, but was able to turn it off within 30 minutes. Today was supposed to be a 4000 foot plus day and I am clearly not ready for a day like that yet. And the trail is VERY HARD.

I met a lovely couple from Georgia that had done the Pinhoti trail and then headed south on the BMT. They had done 400 miles so far and we’re planning on doing the AT once they hit Springer Mountain.

Stopped for lunch just after noon and about 9 miles. Was not feeling that great. I’m having to stop a lot on the climbs which is unusual for me. I decided to stop earlier than my plan – hiking a couple of miles off trail to the Skeenah Creek CG.

At the CG I learned l that the Georgia Death Race is happening tomorrow on the part of the trail I was currently on. I plan to catch the race shuttle from the CG tomorrow to skip the couple of miles that the race will be on.

Day 3, Mar 29, PT 42.0

Today was an interesting. It started when I caught the race shuttle from the campground to where the trail crosses Skeena Creek Road. I was hiking at 8 o’clock or just after. Another hard day with lots of climbing – 3600′ and 17 miles.

I had originally intended to stop short of iron Bridge Cafe, put up my tent and then walk to the cafe for dinner. But I saw no spots on the trail to camp, so I continued onto the café and had an early dinner about 3:30. It was wonderful. Left the café at 4 o’clock for a 4 mile road walk to get to the trail, then hiked up to the Fall Branch Falls and found a place to put at my tent.

Not sure this is a legal spot, but there are no signs saying no camping so… I’m here.

This was a pretty good day. The climbs were tough, but I think I may be getting acclimated to the trail. It’s a Saturday so there were quite a few day hikers on the trails, but I only saw a few thru-hikers going southbound. I signed my name to a trail journal and it looked like the last northbound hiker ahead of me is at least two days ahead of me.

Day 4, Mar 30, BMT 52.4

Broke camp and started walking in a light rain at about 7:30 AM. It rained all morning, never really hard, but often moderate. I made it to Indian rock shelter at 12:45 and had a hot lunch.

The next decent campsite is 10 miles. So I’m spending the night here. Tomorrow is a 4000 foot day so I’m hoping the rest will help. I did not see a single other hiker today day.

Day 5, Mar 31, BMT 66.6

Tough day, only a little over 14 miles but well over 4000 feet of elevation gain. Tomorrow’s hike is over 16 miles but only 3000 feet of elevation game so probably easier.It was raining when I woke up and rained all morning sometimes heavy sometimes light, but it never stopped.

I stopped at noon during a brief lull in the rain on a high ridge to eat some crackers. Did not want to haul out my food bag because the rain could start up at any time. As I was sitting there it slowly got dark. Ominous. I started hiking and the thunderstorm hit. Very heavy rain, lightning and thunder.

It only lasted 15 minutes or so, but it was hard to hike. About 15 minutes after this, another hiker caught up with me. It was Weedeater! He had hopped off the trail yesterday, which is how I was able to pass him since he is much faster. It was nice seeing him again.

I got to Double Hog Pen gap campsite about 3:30 PM. It was not raining so I was able to set up the tent and filter some water.

I have a little bit of cell coverage and was able to get the Weather app to work. It shows a 50% chance of more rain in the next couple hours, but no rain tomorrow! Which is good, since I am rapidly running out of clothes to wear.

Day 6, Apr 1, BMT 82.9

And I thought yesterday was hard! I’m totally wiped. Currently camped at double Spring gap. It was a cold morning, probably in the high 30s when I started hiking around 7:45 AM. But it warmed up nicely and turned into a lovely day, especially in comparison with yesterday’s shit show. I passed the spot where the Pinhoti Trail ends into the BMT.

I got to my campsite just after 5 PM. So it was a very long day (9 hours, a little over 16 miles). I did take a long lunch at least an hour to lay out the tent and my clothes to dry.

Day 7, Apr 2, BMT 93.8

Good news! I got a phone call last night around eight (yes I have limited cell coverage here) from a shuttle driver (Seth). So I have a ride into Ductown, Tenn when I get to the trailhead.

It’s much warmer today, in the mid 50s when I packed up. Started hiking about 7:30 AM and immediately started climbing up Big Frog mountain. It’s a 1000 foot climb over about a mile and took me about an hour.

The wind started picking up as I near the top and by the time I reach the top it was blowing hard. There is a high wind advisory for the area. But it could be worse, there are tornadoes west of us near St. Louis.

Got to Thunder Rock CG about 1:00. Met a day hiker who, of course, offered me a ride into town. Seth arrived about 1:20 and I was at the Mallard Hotel by about 1:30 PM. On the trip I asked Seth if he was available on Friday to take me back to the trail and he said yes.

I was able to resupply at the Dollar General and even got pizza delivered to the hotel so not a bad place for a zero day.

BMT Equipment

Pack Weight (Base Weight)

Base weight is everything you carry excluding food, water and fuel. Weight is VERY important. The difference between carrying a 25 lb pack versus a 45 lb pack up a 2,000 foot climb is huge and has gotten even more important as I have aged. And, since I have to fly to the start, I have a travel bag that holds my pack and poles and converts to a pack liner when I arrive.

My base weight is 15.0 lbs so with 10 lbs of food and 2L of water I will still be under 30 lbs when I start a section.

The “Big Three”

This is the pack, tent and sleeping bag and pad. My backpack is on it’s last legs – the material is starting to delaminate but I’m counting on the liner to give me one more big hike before I retire it.

Item	Type	Weight (Lbs)
Backpack	Arc Blast	1.8
Travel Bag/Liner	Zpaks	0.2
Sleep Pad	Therm-a-Rest NeoAir	0.8
Sleep Quilt	EE Enigma (10F)	1.5
Tent	BA Copper Spur UL 1	2.3
		6.5

Cooking/Hydration/Toiletries/First Aid

My cook “kit” consists of a titanium mug, a canister stove and a spork. For water I use a Platypus filter, a couple of 2L collapsable bladders and a 4L “dirty” water bag (plus some hoses). Toiletries consists of a toothbrush, a poop kit (trowel, wet-wipes), reading glasses and sunscreen and… that’s about it.

Item	Type	Weight (Lbs)
Cook kit (minus fuel)		0.4
Hydration	Platypus	1.2
Toiletries		1.0
First aid kit	Including Epi-Pen	0.8
		3.4

Clothing (not worn)

The weather looks to be mild so I can leave my long johns at home. I always bring emergency clothing (micropuff, rain gear) .

Item	Type	Weight (Lbs)
Hat/gloves	Zpacks beanie	0.4
Rain Gear	Zpacks Rain Robe/wind pants	1.2
Micropuff	EE Torrid Apex Jacket	1.0
Sleep wear	Shorts, t-shirt	0.7
Socks, buffs, etc	Toe socks	0.3
		3.6

Electronics/Misc

I am taking two external 10,000 mAHr batteries. Each one should recharge my Iphone 15 twice and keep my headphones and keyboard charged.

Item	Type	Weight (Lbs)
Headlamp		0.1
Wireless Keyboard		0.3
Batterie (10AHr, 2)	Nitecore NB10000	0.7
SPOT Satellite Tracker	Gen 3	0.3
Headphones/cables		0.1
		1.5

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.

**Elevation profiles and cell coverage in Section 1**

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.

**Elevation profile and cell coverage in Section 2.**

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.

**Elevation profile and cell coverage in Section 3.**

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

A Turkish Interlude

We interrupted this year’s French floating fun to spend three weeks with friends on an Overseas Adventure Travel excursion in Turkey. We had been (briefly) in Istanbul 10 years ago on our way back from Africa but that was just a taste.

Istanbul and Cappadocia

We arrived in Istanbul on June 1 and spent a few days touring the usual sites (along with a lot of other tourists) before flying to Cappadocia.

We toured the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace and saw lots and lots of cats. They really love cats here.

We managed to get in a couple of early morning runs (it gets hot pretty quickly) and I jumped into the Sea of Marmara after one of them. Not exactly Lord Byron swimming the Hellespont but very refreshing.

After a few days in Istanbul our group hopped a plane to Kayseri in Cappadocia with its famous cave dwellings and underground cities. Our first morning in Urgup we did a sunrise balloon ride.

One evening we went to a demonstration of the Sufi mystic practice of meditative dancing (Whirling Dervishes).

Whirling Dervishes

OAT makes a point on their tours of interacting with the local cultures. We had lunch with a family in a small town near Kayseri and then dinner with a family in Antalya.

On our long bus ride to Antalya we made a brief detour to see the ancient Greek/Roman theater of Aspendos. One of the best preserved ancient theaters in Turkey, and it’s still in use.

The Gulet

From Antalya we travelled to Fetihye where we boarded a traditional Turkish Gulet (the “Halil Aga I”) for four days of coastal cruising.

She was about 60 feet long with 8 staterooms, each with a private bath. The beds were comfortable but we never slept in them – because of the heat we slept on deck. There was a captain and a crew of three (cook, first mate and a helper).

They never put up the sails which was a little disappointing.

Ephesus

Our last adventure was a tour of Ephesus and the Ephesus Museum. Ephesus is on the big cruise ship route so there were a lot of people but it was still fascinating.