Hiking, thru-hiking, long distance backpacking, and a little travel in between.
When I turned 40 I decided I needed to live more and work less, so I quit my job and set about thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. I was given the trail name Hungry Cat, and I later realized that in becoming Hungry Cat I was discovering myself, reconnecting with nature, learning to do more with less, wanting fewer things and craving more adventurous experiences. I wanted to live lighter, unfettered by consumerism and workaholic culture. I completed my thru-hike of the AT and decided that for future adventures I would use this RU-vid channel to document those experiences and hopefully to inspire others who may be wanting to make changes in their own lives. Subscribe and follow me as I adventure forward into an unfettered life! --Hungry Cat
An aquaintenance of mine just finished his BMT thruhike. He loved the trail, but was dissappointed that he only ran into 2 dayhikers. There were no other backpackers. He was very dissappointed after all the hoopla he heard about the BMT, he could only find one store that offered stickers. As he said, I didn't even get the t-shirt. So yes, if solitude is your conquest, definately the trail for you.
I just tossed my Sawyer filter. It failed spectacularly on me on a hike. Can't remember whether I backwashed after I used it last time. But I do remember that I didn't filter very much water with it. I pulled it out to filter some water on my hike and NOTHING would go through. Not a drop. I've never had that happen with any of the other filters I've used. This thing is not reliable enough for me to risk my life and health on.
What about a smell from Sawyer squeeze... I use bleach water combo after hiking to clean and let the filter dry out for weeks... Just pulled it out to use on my upcoming hike and it smells bad tastes bad... But I've had it for about 9yrs. Does anybody have this issue?
I have not had that issue before, but I would suggest contacting Sawyer for advice to be safe. You probably already tried this but maybe give it a good back flush with water and let it dry out and see if the smell dissipates. Good luck!
It’s been a while now, so while I know it was in June, I can’t remember exactly. If you look at my blog I’m sure I have it there - unfetteredfootsteps.com. Guessing June 5 to 15th….
Hi. Recently completed watching your series on the BMT. Used to live in Cumming, GA (Feb. 1999 - May 2021) and while there, day-hiked the BMT in GA (by myself, up and back each time). Your series gave me the chance to see what the rest of the trail looks like. Nicely done on your filming, composition, and the narration at the end of each video. I've been section-hiking the AT since 1992, and am now at Caledonia State Park in PA. However, I'll probably do one more hike and call it quits with respect to new AT miles. But, you have inspired me to walk trails closer to home (we retired to my wife's home area, Laurel, Mississippi in May, 2021). One Idea I got from your series was to walk the BMT through the Smokies. A bigger/stretch idea was: Hike the BMT from Fontana Dam to the northern end, then the AT from Davenport Gap to Fontana Dam. Basically, a circle of this wonderful national park. When I section hiked the AT in the Smokies, it was south to north. So, my plan mentioned above would give me a different view of the AT in the Smokies. Just an idea... Have subscribed and will look at other hike series on your channel. By the way - was great your wife would help with the logistics. Does she hike with you? God Bless!
Either of those plans sounds great! Any time spent in the Smokies is worthwhile, in my opinion. My wife is not fond of backpacking. She likes car camping, but the longer walks and backpacking trips are my thing. If you liked the BMT series and are looking for shorter hikes, I highly recommend the Foothills Trail . The Bartram Trail is another good and lesser traveled southeast hike. Whatever you end up doing, enjoy!
In your video it seems like the beginning of this trail is at the top of springer mountain? Or does this trail start with the approach trail of the AT?
It starts at the top of Springer. So does the AT, but you can hike the approach trail to add a little extra bonus hike to the beginning. The AT and BMT are the same trail until the BMT splits off a mile or so after Three Forks.
I thoughtly enjoy your series on the BMT and have subscribed so I can go along on whatever other trips you've vlogged. Thanks for sharing your trip with us!
For regular city water you can probably filter fluoride with a brita or one of those types of filters you get at Walmart or Home Depot type stores. Where I live the water quality is bad, so we use a filter that mounts under the sink and filters the tap - it’s called Hydroviv. It works well if you have good water pressure but is painful if your water pressure is low. It filters out PSAs and things like that, but it doesn’t strip the water of valuable minerals (or so they say). It’s more expensive than Brita but because of the water quality here, we use it.
Hi Cody. Occasionally that plugin seems to fail, or things get stuck in the junk folder. I found your email in the download logs and went ahead and emailed you a zip file with the GPX files in it. Have a great hike!
@@recklessvolk Hi. If you drop me a note via the contact form on my website with the files you need I’ll email them to you. I am not sure why the plugin isn’t working sometimes.
Wow, Episode 3 and already as far north as Grants! Nice photography, I'm glad you have a decent camera. I would like to have seen a bit of the lava fields.
Glad you enjoyed it. The lava fields are one of those things that are less interesting in video. Really need to see those in person. Not my favorite part of the trail but I do enjoy them for what they are!
It was kind of perfect. Had the obligatory torrential rain day common in the Appalachians, but otherwise I hiked in May (I believe late May) so it was cool and not hot, but not too cold at night. The wildflowers were coming up. Late May is a great time for it
Pretty sure I started in May, but it’s been years. I might have given the date in the logistics video but it’s hard to remember. It’s been too long to remember the temps but I know my gear worked fine so it couldn’t have gotten too cold. Check the logistics video. I also wrote about that hike in my blog: unfetteredfootsteps.com so I may have included some details there.
I have enjoyed your VLog. Thank you for creating it. I am in year 12 (1553 miles) of my AT Section Hike. I have hiked the Alabama Pinhoti (don't like long roadwalks 15+ miles) for fun and practice 3 times. I expect to finish the AT in the next couple of years and was looking for 200-300 mile trails to hike. This Vlog has pointed out a trail to hike. BCM
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them and highly recommend the trail! The FarOut app (previously guthook) now offers a cheap foothills trail map option that was not available when I put this series together, if you are looking at map options.
Hi. Enjoyed this series on the Bartram Trail. I lived in the Cumming, GA area for 22 years before retiring and moving. As an avid hiker, I enjoyed doing day hikes on the Bartram, Benton Mackaye, and AT (I'm also section-hiking the AT, made it to PA). I always enjoyed the this trail because it was well marked, and had nice views (Rabun Bald, Pinacle Mtn, Fishhawk Mtns, Cheoah Mtn, etc.), and there wasn't the crowds as on the AT. RE: Your Pack Sorry to hear about your pack belt breaking. At 71, I typically go for comfort vs. weight, which is why I use an Osprey Aether 70 when backpacking. I want something that is comfortable and will hold up. For a 5-6 day hike, I typically carry around 38-41 pounds. After the first day, I'm normally good with that. Will look at your channel for more hiking videos. You did a good job in filming and narration afterwards! Thanks, and God Bless..
I saw this video while planning a trip for this upcoming summer (2023). Your videos are great, and I subscribed. I retire in two years and I'm working/learning about backpacking to do the AT in 2025. Thanks for the detailed information.
Glad you found it helpful! I have thru hiked the AT (2018), but didn’t do a video series on it at the time. I kept a trail journal which you can read at unfetteredfootsteps.com if that is helpful. My latest video on how much a thru hike costs may be helpful from a budgeting perspective. I hope you have a great hike and what a great retirement gift!
You did a great analysis tracking your expenses. I have to take to heart walking an extra 2 miles a day plan. I thought CDT was 3K not the 28++ u used.
People generally refer to the CDT as 3000 miles, but it depends on the routes you choose or have to take (due to fires, etc). I tracked my actual mileage on my hike and used that for purposes of my data to make sure it was all accurate and the metrics hung together. Glad you found it useful!
Sawyer also recommends you soak the filter in hot water (Less than 140°F) to get the same result you achieved here. And for mineral heavy water to use vinegar instead.🤙
If you were to do the Grand Loop again ... what would you do differently? What combination of trails did you take (especially in the northeastern quadrant around Gingercake)? Awesome video!
If I did it again I would do it over 3 days instead of two, or maybe even spend 4 days in the gorge checking out other trails. I would also camp the first night on the eastern gorge rim for sunset. It has been a while since I did the hike, but check out my follow on logistics video for more info and logistics on the trails I strung together, including the Gingercake section where it was largely “social” trails: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8eEw-lM-Prc.htmlsi=fvlGfG8CqZnqHqeY. This should give you what you need.
@@UnfetteredFootsteps thank you - yea I found the logistics video shortly after I'd commented - very helpful! Right now, I'm just in the idea stage - trying to figure out what's the best direction and all that to go! Happy trails!
