일 시: 2005년 7월 31일(일요일)

산행 장소: BMT Watson Gap(왕복 8마일)

집합장소: I-575 하이웨이 Exit 1에서 좌회전 맥도날드
(575하이웨이는 75하이웨이 마리에타 지나서 woodstock방향)

집합시간:오전 8시에 출발 (시간엄수)

준비물: 산행개인장비,우천시 준비,충분한 식수 및 음료,점심

연락처:회장 노치승 (770-448-3021)
총무 홍종철 (404-931-6417)
등반 부장 장영길 (678-908-8100)

이곳은 지난 정찰 산행으로 이만호 전회장님, 홍종철 총무님, 오창선 회원님이 가셔서
미국국가와 애국가를 같이 부르고 오신 곳으로,
25년이라는 기간동안에 새롭게 등산길을 만들어서 7/16~17일에 개통식을 가진곳이며
블루리지 산에 자리를 하고 있습니다.

In 1979, the organizers of the Benton MacKaye Trail Association conceived of a footpath along the western ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This was the route originally proposed by Benton MacKaye for the Appalachian Trail (AT). The route, an alternative to the much-used AT, was chosen and flagged, and, in 1980, the BMTA was formed to make the dream a reality. Trail construction began the same year. See the map below for an overview of the route.

When completed in 2005, the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT) will extend some 275 miles through Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The trail will connect some of the finest wilderness lands in eastern America, including the Cohutta Wilderness in GA, the adjacent Big Frog Wilderness in TN, the magnificent Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock and Citico Creek Wildernesses in NC, and finally, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) which is managed as Wilderness. All but about 10 miles of the route will be located on existing public lands.

There is one shelter on the BMT located on private property which the trail traverses in Georgia. In order to preserve the primitive nature of the trail, no other shelters are planned.

The first phase of the trail, from Springer Mountain, Georgia, north and west along the Tennessee Valley Divide to the Cohutta/Big Frog Wilderness, has been complete for over a decade and is maintained by Association members.

Phase II 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 under construction by Association members. Completion is anticipated during the spring of 2005. Much of Phase II is already open to hikers. For the latest updates click on “Trail Section Descriptions” on the Home page. Phase II will add 85 miles to the trail.

Phase III of the trail will be entirely within the Great Smokey 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 Twentymile 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 158 miles entirely within the park. Signs to guide hikers along this route should be in place by the summer of 2005.

Overview Map of the Benton MacKaye Trail