Date: 2022-09-22
From: Burkes Garden Dirt Rd established campsite Mile 572.4

To: Reed Creek Established Site Mile 553.7
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: clear sky

Having gone to bed early, I woke up around 5 and noticed headlamps down by the road we were camped at. Through the tent it looked like two lights and they looked around for a while and then one headed towards camp. At this point I¢m thinking they are some southbound hikers looking for the water source on the other side of camp. However they stopped for a while and then I heard a tent zipper by Coaches tent. After a little while of silence and no light I stuck my head out and looked around and didn¢t see anyone. Found out later it was Coach getting up early and starting to pack up and he hit the trail about 6:15 with headlight. I¢m still not sure why it looked like two lights. At that point I was up and did some journaling. Started packing up at 5:45 and we hit the trail at 7 and it was still pretty dark, just barely light enough not to need a light. We started up just after a local guy and his dog who parked at the lot by camp. The dog wasn¢t real happy to have people behind and eventually we passed him and he dropped off our pace. About 2/3 of the way up the climb to the shelter we started seeing sunrise colors in the sky behind us and shortly after that the sun briefly peaked out before clouds rolled in. The area by the shelter offered the first (and last) good views of Burke¢s Garden. Took advantage of the privy which looked through the trees into the valley. Leaving the shelter we came to a woods road which we started following. It had a bunch of tire tracks which is unusual for the AT. Just as the woods road came out into some meadows we saw an ATV and truck heading our way. Turns out they were doing some wilderness maintenance (wasn¢t clear for ATC or someone else) and had been using a skid steer with a mowing attachment to open up paths through the meadows. Bonus for us was the AT corridor had been cut about 5 mower widths wide for close to a mile so didn¢t have bushwhack today. They were getting the truck out before the ¢storm¢. We caught Coach just after the trail entered the woods again and hiked together until Orchid and I stopped for water. The bridge over Lick Creek had been washed away. Orchid and I crossed in camp shoes, but we found out later that Coach and Bloom managed a dry crossing with there shoes as there were enough rocks just submerged to cross without getting the socks wet. Brief shower as we were getting our camp shoes on but otherwise after two good climbs we made it to the next shelter for lunch where we met Coach. Shortly after we arrived we got some longer showers which didn¢t amount to much but we were still glad to be in the shelter. The three of us left the shelter and hiked together for a while until I stopped to pee.We had a couple of pasture walks today that clearly have cows in them but we only saw one cow across a stream. Bloom caught Orchid and I after she popped into the Bear Garden Hiker Hostel for a while. The three of us hiked the last 5 miles together until we got to camp where Coach was waiting. The four of us are camping together in a nice Rhododendron Glen which is sheltered from the wind blowing up in the tree tops. We did a little dance where nobody wants to pick the first tent site and we¢re all trying to defer to the others. Eventually we got settled in and ate dinner and finished the camp chores. Although it¢s sheltered from the big winds it¢s still windy and cooling off so we retreated into tents before dark. With the low expected temperature I put on extra clothes tonight. I¢ve got my sleeping clothes plus my hiking clothes on and two pairs of socks. Hopefully will be enough to keep me warm but I can also add the rain gear for an extra layer. Steps 40000Weather Forecast: 72/42 with chance of rain