Benton MacKaye Trail   Feb 6-8, 2009
	1   2
Day 1	Mud Gap to Whigg Meadow	Daily mileage:   1.6	Trip mileage:   1.6
Day 2	Whigg Meadow to Unicoi Gap	Daily mileage: 31.2	Trip mileage: 32.8
Day 3	Unicoi Gap to Appalachia Powerhouse	Daily mileage: 12.7	Trip mileage: 45.5
Day 1
Egads and I have decided to hike sections 14-17 of the Benton MacKaye trail. We met in Blue Ridge, GA after work and headed up to drop off a vehicle at the Appalachia Powerhouse and start our hike at Beech Gap. The drive to Beech Gap was uneventful and it was dark when we arrived. There was a lot of snow and ice on the ground, and combined with the darkness, we were unable to locate where the trail continued south from Beech Gap. So we consulted a map and decided to start at Mud Gap instead. The weather was nice given the snow and ice in the area. We grabbed our gear and planned to camp at Whigg Meadow, a short 1.6 mile hike. This was the only time I've been able to hike in the snow this year and I was really enjoying it. There was a full moon and we were able to hike without headlamps. Just us and the crunching of the snow beneath our feet. We arrived at Whigg Meadow and quickly figured out the best place to set up camp. The wind was picking up, so we walked around and found a nice area with no snow and protection from the wind. The weather was calling for clear skies and no chance of rain, so we 'cowboy camped'. We threw down our Tyvek ground cloths and sleeping bags, and went to sleep.
Day 2
We awoke to a beautiful sunrise at Whigg Meadow. It was a little cool (28 degrees) and I didn't want to exit my sleeping bag. We decided to wait until the sun peaked over the mountains and then we'd break camp. We had plans to make today a higher mileage day and leave a short distance to finish tomorrow. These sections of the BMT seemed to be a little less maintained and not as well marked as some of the other sections. There were a ton of blowdowns and long stretches with little or no trail markers. The early part of today were hiking several substantial climbs, one of which seemed like it would never end. We eventually reached the bridge over the Tellico River and the Pheasant Fields Picnic Area. It's a very nice spot to take a break, as there are picnic tables and modern restroom facilities. Once we left the picnic area, we encountered a hunter a short distance up the trail. Turns out it is squirrel season, tho I didn't notice many squirrels along this section of trail. There were a ton of water sources during the first 15 miles or so of this hike. I stopped to top of my water reservoir at the Brookshire Creek crossing at Bald River. This was a smart decision but more on that later in the journal. We encountered two day hikers a few miles later. They were coming from Sandy Gap and were attempting to get to where I had topped off my water reservoir It was already mid-afternoon and I couldn't imagine them getting there and back to Sandy Gap for many hours to come. As we continued on the trail, the water sources became non-existent. Not even seeps... simply no water anywhere. A short distance from Sandy Gap, we came across another day hiker and his Golden Retriever. We stopped and spoke and he asked about the day hikers we had passed several hours ago. Apparently there was a group of five day hikers and the other two were knocking out some extra mileage. We asked the man if there was a water source at Sandy Gap, which he responded 'no'. Unsure of how much water we had between us, this was a big concern for me. We continued on the Sandy Gap and found the other members of the day hiking group and another Golden Retriever. We checked our water levels and I was down to about 3/4 of liter and I can't remember how much Egads had left. Upon seeing us checking our water, the other hikers generously offered us their remaining water. They gave us roughly 2-2.5 liters of water, which I believed would be sufficient to get us to Tate Gap, our planned campsite for the night. We thanked the group for the water and continued on our hike. We had 3.9 miles to hike to get to Tate Gap and it was late in the afternoon. We were hoping to make it before it got dark, so we could more easily find the water sources. We took a wrong turn at Sled Runner Gap and wound up at Beaverdam Bald. Luckily, it was only 1.0 mile roundtrip out of our way, so no biggie. We backtracked and found the correct trail and continued. We hiked for what seemed like hours and it certainly felt like we should have arrived at Tate Gap by now. We checked the map but didn't have any landmark to reference on the map. So kept trudging on. We eventually arrived at a trail head with an information board. Somehow, we had walked right through Tate Gap and continued for an additional 4.5 miles and were at Unicoi Gap. We dropped out packs and checked our water situation. I was down to only a few ounces and Egads was out. We followed the information we had about a water source a short distance across the state line. My filter was getting clogged by the silt and sand in the water source, and I had to clean it several times in order to fill both of our reservoirs. While I was filtering water, Egads grabbed our packs and proceeded up the trail to find us a campsite for the night. The trail splits a short distance from the information board, and we took the trail to the right a short distance to a flat area on the trail. As with last night, we decided to 'cowboy camp' again. The forecast called for mild temperatures and no chance of rain, so I saw no reason to set up a shelter. It was after 10pm when I set up camp and I simply didn't feel like cooking dinner. I ate a Powerbar while Egads made some Mountain House Chili Mac meal. He generously shared it with me, and we definitely needed the calories. After consulting the trail guide, we realized we had covered over 31 miles today. We were up for a higher mileage day and neither of us were expecting to hike this far. After dinner, I turned in and read by the moonlight for a short period of time. I took some sleep medicine and was zonked out a short time later.
Day 3
I slept soundly last night. Unfortunately, Egads didn't fare as well. He was up all night with bad things coming out all parts of his body. I was feeling a little nauseous this morning but he simply looked like 'death warmed over'. I don't know if it was the water source, the filter, the Chili Mac or ??? I talked it over with Egads to determine if he thought he could make it the 12+ miles to his vehicle at the Appalachia Powerhouse. We knew the next stretch had a lot of descents on it but we weren't sure about the ascents and type of terrain. We had decided to hike together to TN Hwy 68, which was a short distance down the trail. There we would see how we felt and figure out a game plan to complete this hike. Only a few minutes into the hike, I stopped to shed some layers and Egads came around a bend in the trail. He handed me the key to his vehicle, and we agreed I'd hike to the car and come back to pick him up where the trail crosses TN Hwy 68. Needless to say, I simply hiked as fast as I could to reach the car. I didn't want Egads being alone with as sick as he was last night. This last stretch of trail was very well maintained and marked, and the miles flew by. A few hours later I finally arrived at the Appalachia Powerhouse. I jumped in his vehicle and made my way over to the rendezvous spot. Egads was crashed in his sleeping bag when I pulled up to the trail at TN Hwy 68.