Benton MacKaye Trail Association

“Didn't know if Karo had already posted this, and didn't know if everyone else already knew it -- but seemed newsworthy.. ;)


This trail is named in honor of Benton MacKaye whose vision inspired the Appalachian Trail (AT). The Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) offers a more primitive and more solitary alternative to the AT for thru-hikers in the Southern Appalachians.

The trail begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia with the Appalachian Trail (AT), but soon departs from it to follow the western Blue Ridge north and west to the Cohutta/Big Frog Wilderness and into Tennessee. At present, the trail is complete from Springer Mountain to US Hwy 64 near the Ocoee River in Tennessee, a distance of 90.9 miles.

A second phase of the trail, extending from the Ocoee River north along the Tennessee/ North Carolina line to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Deals Gap is currently construction under with completion anticipated during the Spring of 2005. Much of Phase II is already open to hikers. For the latest updates click on “Trail Section Descriptions. ” Phase II will add 85 miles to the trail.

Phase III of the trail will be entirely within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). In November 2004 the BMTA and the GSMNP signed an agreement to extend the trail through the Smokies. It will extend from the Twenty Mile Ranger Station in the southwest corner of the park to the northeast boundary near Davenport Gap. The route agreed upon will cross the AT twice, at opposite ends of the park, thus creating a giant BMT-AT loop-hike of almost 180 miles entirely within the park. Signs to guide hikers along this route should be in place by the summer of 2005.

Since the BMT is a trail in progress, most of the activities of the Association center on trail development and construction, as well as maintenance and repair of existing sections.

Members of the Association ordinarily meet twice a month, on the second and fourth Saturdays, for scheduled work trips. It makes a great day in the woods! No experience required. Check the “Work Trip Schedule” link for details - and join us!


http://www.bmta.org/
last edited: 12/16/04 6:47:52 AM”

“Very cool. I wonder if new campsites will be constructed or if it bounces to existing ones?

Thanks karo and TD.”

“I recalled seeing some trail by the Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, so I had to look up my photo of the sign. That one is the William Bartram Trail. There, now I have my "B" trails straight. :-)”

“I thought it was interesting.. the statement regarding shelters. They have no plans to allow shelters.. as to preserve the integrity of the wilderness.”

“have any of you guys noticed the trail before at Springer.”

“Thanks, TownDawg (and karo). Real interesting. I've heard rumors of another trail in GSMNP and of an alternate AT. I'll be checking the links in this article.

Lots of questions pop up, like dayhiker posted. How will the trail reach 20-mile Ranger Station? Where is the trail going to wander in GSMNP? The AT is about 68.5 miles in the park. So this new route will stretch 111.5 miles in GSMNP. I wonder how many thru-hikers will hike that extra 43 miles.”

“Ewk - yes. It intertwines with the AT for the first several miles of the AT. I think there are parts where the trails are one in the same.

If there aren't shelters then I'll probably hike parts of it then. I'm not a fan of shelters.”

“I'm going to go out on a limb here.

They won't cut any new trail in GSMNP. I'm extremely doubtful. The park can barely maintain what trails they do have much less add on to it. Plus the article states that signage will be in place by summer '05. There is no way they are going to have new trail cut in that time frame with untrained or minimally trained volunteer labor working two saturdays a month in a wilderness area that requires hand tools only.

Nope, just going to put new signs along old trail, just like that section of the Mountains to Sea trail. Does this mean I have to hike the trails I've already hiked many times before after the new signs go up to claim I've hiked the "new" trail? Change the names around, make it look profound. Big whoppie #&%!$.

I'm going to take out my GSMNP trail map right now and highlight a loop hike and rename it the "Humanpackmule is a cranky SOB inagural sorea$$ trail" We can call it the HIACSOBISAT for short.
last edited: 12/16/04 8:24:08 AM”

“spoil sport, uh, I mean, you're probably right. When looking at the maps it only looks like there are 1 or 2 drainage areas without many trails. Everything else is pretty well criss crossed.”

“LMFAO!

ya SOB, anyhoo :-)”

“And what isn't criss crossed with trails the park wants to keep that way.

I'm sorry if anyone gets bent at me and I certainly don't want to dump on folks trying to give us more trails to hike but come on.
Renaming something isn't creating anything new. It's slapping a new and improved sticker on the label and calling it by a different name.

Marketing.”

“When a person is reluctant to accept change, it is a sure sign of aging!

<Ho, ho, ho>”

“I realize I created this thread, and therefore of "questionable objectivity" in what is to follow.

There, now I have my "B" trails straight. :-) lizs

Wow, lizs. Incredible. You are the QUEEN of the zingers. ;) Made me bust out loud at work.

noticed the trail before at Springer. Ewker

Mike and I did the section that John and you mentioned -- but it was horribly cold. Yes, absolutely. I knew the BMT intersected, and recall it doing so maybe three times(?) rather quickly in less than a five mile stretch??.. Like they almost could not decide on how to run it.

What I had NO CLUE about was how much MORE of the BMT is apparently constructed, and this phase II coming ready (maybe some grand opening weekend) in Spring 2005.

How will the trail reach 20-mile Ranger Station? Where is the trail going to wander in GSMNP? The AT is about 68.5 miles in the park. So this new route will stretch 111.5 miles in GSMNP. I wonder how many thru-hikers will hike that extra 43 miles. nowslimmer

I don't have a clue Paul. You bring up an interesting point though. Since we know the 'original' path of the AT more closely followed 'straight line approaches' to most of the rise/falls? It's hard to know for sure, does the BMT cause a thru hiker to hike more miles? Possibly. I hear your logic, just wonder if now that the AT has had miles added over the years, if somehow the total distance (comparing AT path to BMT path) might be a wash.

We can call it the HIACSOBISAT for short. humanpackmule

Good job my friend. :P
last edited: 12/16/04 11:37:08 PM”

“After locating a map on one of the links, I think I've found the extra miles. First, the new route will be a longer and then there will be a 4.7 mile handle on the loop between the existing AT and Twentymile Ranger Station. They could include on the handle the additional distance between Deal's Gap and the Twentymile Ranger Station. Their mileage figure could include hiking the handle in both directions. (The alternate "handle" to the Fontana Dam is only around 3.6 miles.)

Looking at their map, their are some zig-zags on the route through GSMNP, which should make their route longer than the existing AT.
last edited: 12/17/04 4:59:48 AM”

“I think to connect to 20 mile it will either be a roadwalk or new trail will have to be constructed. That road is very tight in spots. I would not want to roadwalk it.

the easiest access would be to cross Fontana Dam and route westward via the "National Secutiry Emergency Trail" and connect to 20M via road or new trail.”

“I was just surfing and ran across this about the Benton MacKaye Trail. I thought it was interesting to TT'ers but I just sent it to Towndawg, cause I figured he already knew about it. From what I googled and found out, the trail will connect to the road near twenty-mile campground and follow existing trails thru the Smokies. It will link up and end at Deals Gap on the north end of GSMNP. This will give the AT a break from more traffic in the park and all the park service has to do is some more blazing and sign posting. When finished the entire BMT will form a figure 8 with the AT. I have hiked some of the John Muir trail near the Hiwassee River and it is beautiful. As far as shelters there is only one built and they want to keep the number of shelters low. This will keep the wilderness intact as much as possible. Tenn. Trails Assoc. is building a trail west of this one called the Cumberland Trail and it will link up with Cumberland Gap and go Southwest to Chatanooga. It should be finished in a couple of years. All this does is give us more opportunities to hike in this area.”

“I thought Deals Gap was really close to Twentymile and not at the NE part of the park?”

“Prior to the Fontana Dam, the trail went west from Doe Knob across Gregory Bald to where CS#13 is now located, southward across Parson Bald and on down the Smoky Mountain(North Carolina-Tennessee) ridgeline.”

“You are right, I was posting at work (on break, I rarely have time off the line) and meant Davenport Gap.”

“Newly finished trail took 25 years, spans 290 miles
[ from The Charlotte Observer ]
Sun, May. 01, 2005
JACK HORAN

Hikers can make a continuous, 290-mile trip from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Springer Mountain, Ga., on the newly finished Benton MacKaye Trail.

Construction of the last 22 miles of the trail in Tennessee ended in February, and signs marking the Benton MacKaye Trail will be posted on existing trails in the park during May. Work began 25 years ago, an all-volunteer effort.

Diana Ristom, publicity director of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, said the 96 miles of trails in the Smokies, running along the park's southern tier, should be marked by June 1.

Within the park, the trail intersects the Georgia-to-Maine Appalachian Trail at two places -- Davenport Gap in the northeast corner and Twentymile Ranger Station in the southwest corner. The two trails form a figure 8 in the park.

The Benton MacKaye Trail intersects North Carolina's Mountains-to-Sea Trail and connects the Georgia Pinhoti Trail to the Appalachian Trail.

While the Appalachian Trail takes a north-south route from the Smokies to north Georgia, the Benton MacKaye Trail makes a westerly swing after it leaves the park. It passes into Tennessee through the Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock Wilderness, the Citico Creek Wilderness and the Big Frog Wilderness before entering Georgia at the Cohutta Wilderness.

The southern terminus for both the Benton MacKaye and Appalachian trails is Springer Mountain. A more remote trail than the AT, the Benton MacKaye Trail has only two shelters on its route. The trail is not signed or blazed in federal wilderness areas.

The trail is named for the late Benton MacKaye (pronounced Mac-KYE), a forester who in 1921 proposed and helped build the Appalachian Trail.

Ristom said the association plans a grand-opening July 16-17 at Mud Gap on the Cherohala Skyway between Tellico Plains, Tenn., and Robbinsville, N.C. For more information, see www.bmta.org.”

“BMT Grand Opening Celebration Weekend - July 16-17



Members, guests, and the general public are invited to join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event as we celebrate the completion and opening of the Benton MacKaye Trail.

After 25 years of all-volunteer effort, the trail is now open. This high-energy (and high-altitude) weekend is your opportunity to welcome a new long-distance trail into being and share food, fellowship, a hike, and/or a camping experience with like-minded people.

Camping will be available Friday (the 15th) and Saturday evenings at the USFS Rattler Ford Group Campground near Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. (Access is near the eastern end of the Cherohala Skyway.)

Weekend activities will kick off at 11:00 AM Saturday morning with the grand opening ceremony at Mud Gap (located on the Cherohala Skyway between Tellico Plains, Tennessee and Robbinsville, North Carolina, near the state line). After dignitaries have spoken, a biodegradable "ribbon" (a vine) cutting will take place to officially open the trail.

Two easy day hikes will go forth from there, one north and one south along the BMT. The southbound hike will be a loop to Whigg Meadow and back, the northbound, a one-way to Beech Gap. The cooler temperatures in these higher elevations should make for pleasant mid-summer outings.

Saturday evening back at Rattler Ford, there will be a Chili Supper with bonfire and entertainment following; all are welcome.

On Sunday, there are nearby hikes planned for the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Slickrock Creek Wilderness, Hooper Bald, and to Maple Springs Observation Point.

The BMTA welcomes everyone.”

“So, the Benton-McKaye connects to the Georgia Pinhoti. Now, if they could ever really get that trail built and linked to the Alabama Pinhoti... but there is a lot of private land that the Georgia Pinhoti will have to negotiate.”

“To me.. the most interesting part of that first news story.. was "The trail is not signed or blazed in federal wilderness areas."

I wonder how long before someone (like me) gets bad lost.
last edited: 5/06/05 4:28:00 PM”

“Not a bad map.. that shows you ALL of what is done..

http://www.bmta.org./BMTRouteMap.pdf”

“So TownDawg, are you thinking about leading
a through hike?”

“Has anyone hiked the southern section thru the Smokies yet”

“Yes, but before it was named the Benton MacKaye Trail. Also I have hiked several sections in the Southern District of the Cherokee National Forest. In fact I did a solo trip last weekend on the BMT around Brookshire Creek.”

““Ewk - yes. It intertwines with the AT for the first several miles of the AT. I think there are parts where the trails are one in the same.

~dayhiker


The BMT diverges left from the AT a few miles from Springer. It crosses the AT again (this section of BMT was in contention as the AT route when built). After leaving the AT once and for all, it runs with the Duncan Ridge Trail for several miles until they split - DR looping E and S to the AT at Slaughter Gap/Blood Mtn, and the BMT tracking NNW to Cohutta.

BMT and Pinhoti will someday converge in Cohutta Wilderness. Cool.

Springer to Hwy 60 on BMT was my first BPing trip.”