Ed Talbott | profile | all galleries >> Appalachian Hikes >> Beartown Wilderness - June 20, 2008 | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
Michelle, Chazzy and I decided to scout a new route to the top of Beartown Tazewell (4,710 feet) - Virginia's 4th highest mountain. We started at Walker's Gap near Burke's Garden and followed the Appalachian Trail up to the Chestnut Knob Shelter. Then we were off-trail for the next 3 miles to the top of the mountain, skirting the National Forest property along the edge of Burke's Garden. There are no trails up Beartown so a good map, compass, and/or GPS is needed. We found some high altitude birds that included Veery, Common Raven, Black-throated Green Warblers, Black-throated Blue Warblers (great looks), Juncos and others but our best find was a Black Bear at the summit of the aptly named Beartown Mountain. The weather was perfect and the views of Burke's Garden amazing, but after nine miles of mostly off-trail exploring we were ready for a pizza and a good night's sleep at the end of the day.
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Edward Woolf | 08-Jun-2010 03:08 | |
Guest | 29-Nov-2008 12:43 | |