Words and Photos by Carl "Professor" Stanfield @prof_carl
I’d always thought of the Benton MacKaye Trail as the little, forgotten brother of the Pinhoti Trail. It’s shorter, generally less known, and has less community access. From the few folks I’ve chatted with who have completed it, I’d heard it was just as difficult as the rest of the southern Appalachian Trail but less scenic. In my quest to thoroughly explore the trails of my Southeastern homeland, the BMT was relatively high up on my list. And so, with three weeks of time at my disposal, I embarked north from Springer Mountain, heading a slightly different direction than I had before.
A few odds and ends notes before getting into my rundown:
-I began this Northbound thru hike on Saturday, September 13, 2025.
-I split the BMT into three sections, taking time off between each. After the first 94 miles, I took off about 10 days before getting back on to complete the trail on Sunday, September 28. I hiked another 102.6 miles and got off at Fontana Dam for a single Zero Day with my family before getting back on to complete the trail on October 10.
-The BMT is listed on FarOut as 289.7 miles. With the bonus miles from the Springer Mountain approach trail and hiking beyond the northern terminus to meet my ride, my total mileage was right around 300.
-Though this was mostly a fall hike, the weather was consistently hot. I poured sweat every day except for the last one, when I woke up at 5,400 feet and descended all morning to complete the trail. I was comfortable using my summer kit (including a 40-Degree Quilt) for the entirety of my time on trail.
PART 1: SPRINGER MOUNTAIN TO OCOEE RIVER CROSSING (100 MILES)
I began my thru hike in early September, on a crowded day at the newly renovated Amicalola Falls visitor center. I’d visited in some capacity half a dozen times before, but I had the pleasure of sharing this visit with my Dad, who’d kindly agreed to make the drive to drop me off. I’d given myself five days for this first leg of the trail, with a pickup setup on Wednesday evening.
I wasn’t in great shape getting on the trail, and I felt that 18 miles a day would be right at the edge of my comfort threshold. In my planning, I’d assumed that it would be a quick enough drive from Amicalola Falls up to Springer Mountain. Seeing that it would be more than another hour for my Dad, who had already made the long drive, I switched up plans and decided to hop on at the last easy road crossing of the Springer Mountain approach trail, adding about six miles to my day. (Instead of pushing closer to my out-of-shape limits, I decided to simply take a shortcut to make up for the extra miles. I road walked from mile 18.7 to 30.3, a 4.4-mile roadwalk that ultimately shaved off about eight miles. In an effort to stay pure to the BMT, I would come back the following week during my 10 days “off” to day hike the section I missed.)
I saw quite a few folks on the approach trail, including one thru hiker finishing her Appalachian Trail trek. I stopped for lunch at Springer Mountain Shelter with a scout troop, and shortly after, left the populated corridor of the AT for the relatively deserted Benton MacKaye. And on that little-traveled road, I quickly discovered the greatest nuisance of such a scant-traveled trail: constant spiderwebs. I’d go on to walk through dozens every single day.
As my silk blazing experience set in, I was pleasantly surprised that my biggest concern of the trail ended up not being much of an issue: trail maintenance. There were a few splotchy patches of a mile or so over the course of the entire trail that were uncomfortably overgrown, but for the most part, the trail was well taken care of. The “worst” mile of the trail was ascending Big Frog Mountain (mile 84.2), which, in addition to being a steep climb, was covered in thorn bushes and humming with bees on wildflowers. I collected multiple stings and properly tore up my legs.
In the middle of this first section, I came across one of the most hiker-friendly spots on the trail right around Shallowford Bridge (mile 38.0). I arrived on a day the store was closed, but there was enough in the hiker box trail SOBO of the resupply spot that I had plenty of food to finish out my stretch. The owner of the Iron Bridge General Store was around and even opened the store just for me to supplement.
This section also featured a top-tier shelter (Indian Creek Shelter, mile 52.4) in the middle of a quaint cabin community, one of two on the entirety of the trail.
I rolled into Thunder Rock Campground (mile 93.8) within minutes of my ride pulling up and headed out to regroup for the rest of the trail.
PART 2: OCOEE RIVER CROSSING TO FONTANA DAM (102.6 MILES)
It was a humid, sweaty re-entry to the trail, and in search of a less muggy campsite, I hiked past dark. I intentionally underpacked my food just a bit for this section, knowing I would cross a grocery store on my second morning out.
My gear was pretty wet after a night in the heavy humidity, but despite being closed for the season, the Hiawassee Outfitter I crossed the next morning was a great spot to set up shop to dry out gear and recharge my batteries. The gas station market just ahead on trail was fortunately still open, so I easily stocked up and marched on.
I hit a personal low point just a couple of days into this section. Even in the first few days of October, even as a native southerner, the humidity totally wrecked me. I spent constant full days sweaty and salty with no escape at night. I continued to see few to no people throughout the days, even when I passed by the Tallico Trout Hatchery and picnic area (mile 155.4).
Smokemount Campground and Tapoco Lodge
One of my favorite trail run-ins is always a conveniently placed food stop, and I hit the motherlode at the end of this section just before Fontana. I finished my penultimate day of this stretch with a huge dinner at Tapoco Lodge (mile 181.9), a busy restaurant and gorgeous hotel right on trail overlooking the Little Tennessee River. After having my fill, I hiked out into the dark with an ice cream bar in hand, ascending 1.8 miles to the first available campsite, where I promptly set up camp and crashed as content and full as ever.
On my final morning of this stretch, I began climbing several miles before descending into familiar territory, weaving around Fontana. The BMT actually goes much more into the little mountain village than the AT does, making it much more convenient to dip in for supplies and a meal. My ride out for the weekend was only a few hours away, so I didn’t have any real need to stock up, but being the hungry and curious hiker I always am, I dipped into the village to see how it compared to my last experience there in 2018. I was pleased to see that prices hadn’t increased much in those seven years, and the selection had pleasantly improved.
I arrived at the Fontana Visitor Center a bit early and actually met another active thru hiker there whom I chatted with a bit before being scooped up and heading out to regroup one final time before the section of the trail I was most excited about: the Smoky Mountains.
PART 3: FONTANA DAM TO BAXTER CREEK TRAILHEAD (93.1 MILES)
I’ll cut right to the chase: this was my favorite section by far. The temperatures cooled down a smidge, the trail was the smoothest yet, and all of the campsites were well kept next to flowing water. There is an online permitting system necessary to camp in the National Park, but it was easy enough to navigate just a week ahead of time. There were virtually no competing reservations, even that close to my being out there.
There were many more consistent views through this section, as the trail wound around Fontana Lake for the first 35 miles. The section culminates in hitting its high point of 5,829 feet on Mount Sterling (mile 283.5) before descending to the northern terminus.
Laurel Gap Shelter and The Mount Sterling Firetower
Throughout the smooth jaunt through the National Park I grew up near, I was surprised (probably naively) at how often the trail weaved in and out of civilization access. The trail passed several parking spots of seemingly popular day hike destinations, and the busiest moment of the entire trail was snagging a quick dinner at Smokemont Campground, where I took up one of a very few vacant picnic tables to cook a quick meal.
My only real taste of fall weather came during my final night and subsequent morning on trail when I camped at Laurel Gap Shelter (mile 277.7). At 5,400 feet, I definitely pushed my 40-Degree quilt to its limit. I also had the pleasure of meeting another thru hiker here, Masochist, who I’d talked to online and shared trail with for years before meeting in person on opposing nights of our thru hikes (the beginning of his) at this cozy Smoky Mountain shelter.
I hit both my emotional and physical high points in the same moment as I celebrated the last few miles and hours of my hike with a victorious “Woohoo!” from the top of Mount Sterling fire tower. I thoroughly enjoyed every step of my chilly descent to the road to meet up with my sister to head back to her home in Knoxville for a hot shower and celebratory meal.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Now, a month removed from my time on the BMT, I feel like I carry a mixed bag of feelings towards my time on this trail. The first two-thirds of the trail were a combination of tough climbs, inescapable dampness, and little reward. I enjoyed the few stops conveniently directly on trail, but I felt much more tested than anything after 200 miles.
Despite having high expectations for the Smokies, I was highly pleased and impressed with this final stretch of the BMT. I loved the cozy waterside campsites, the well-maintained trail, and even running into other folks from time to time. The view from the fire tower at the end felt like the reward I’d been waiting on for 300 miles. I’d even be happy to re-hike that final stretch any time.
And so, while I can certainly see why the trail has the reputation that I’d picked up on over the years, I was pleased with the finale of my time out there in the southern Appalachians, and that character I experienced makes it a trail worth hiking and loving, grumbles, sweat, and all.
