The morning view of Burke’s Garden Valley was epic. We walked along the ridge around the valley for a few miles. There was at least a 50 ft straight drop over the edge. It was also a really rocky trail that made for slow going.
After only 6 miles we got a ride to an Amish general store for lunch. The burgers were delicious, but we lost 3 hours in the whole adventure. It seems that there is no such thing as a quick off and back onto the trail.
After lunch we hiked to Laurel Creek, there was some debate to stop there for the night. El Dorado had been ahead of us for a few days, he was doing nearly zero miles in order for us to catch up to him and we’d been letting him down. I got tired of the debate and decided to hike on myself and let the others sort out what they wanted to do. There’s no doubt that spring is in full force now, the visibility is drastically reduced for all the leaves on the trees.
I succeeded in catching up to El Dorado and the rest of the group arrived a couple of hours later. Prairie Dog caught a ride from town to Laurel Creek to meet the group. He skipped a few miles for his extra zero in Marion but he seems ok with giving those up to be back with the group. The only one we’re missing now is Peanut, who is rushing ahead to try and meet her boyfriend in Harper’s Ferry on June 1 – I hope she makes it.
The sunset and the green/blue valley of trees at dusk was quite mesmerizing tonight.
Day 55 Mileage: 19.5 mi [Chestnut Knob Shelter -> USFS 282]
Total Mileage: 597.7 mi