8.9 Mile AT hike in the Garden Mountain Wilderness

Two of us did this hike. Much of the hike was along a ridge line. We had some nice rock formations early in the hike. This section of the trail had a full tree canopy.

It was a very muggy day as we challenged the rain gods all day. But the rain held off until our post hike beers.

This will be an 8.9 mile one-way hike on the Appalachian Trail between VA 623 and VA 615. This hike should be considered a moderate hike. It is mostly a down hill hike with one short uphill segment of 600 feet vertical. The hike, in the Garden Mountain Wilderness of the George Washington Jefferson National Forest, will begin at an elevation of about 4000 feet and dip to 2450 feet before rising to 3000 feet and leveling off.

The hike will begin on Garden Mountain and will quickly leave the the Tennessee River watershed and enter the New River watershed and a descent of about 1500 feet.

At 4.5 miles into the hike we will reach Jenkins Shelter, which would be a nice place to have a restful lunch. Just past the shelter we will cross Hunting Camp Creek, low lowest point of the hike at 2450 feet. From there we'll begin an ascent to Brushy Mtn.The ridgeline is reached at 5.8 miles into the hike.

The hike will end at VA 615.  Plan on spending 5 to 6 hours on the trail for this hike.