ChinMusic
05-02-2014, 22:06
I'm just doing some interesting sections prior to Trail Days, not thruhiking. Is Walker Gap a reasonably easy road to navigate with a small SUV? The stretch after Walker Gap looks less interesting but I still want to see God's Thumbprint again.
Alligator
05-03-2014, 01:08
As long as you have AWD you should be fine. Sometimes that road gets a little gullied though until it gets graded but if it is really bad you can park at the bottom. It's not a far walk up.
I haven't been to the Davis Farm Campsite in a good many years, but it is nice at night to look into the bowl. It's a little bit down off the rim though and you want to watch out for the cows, they're pesky.
Alleghanian Orogeny
05-03-2014, 06:58
Chin Music, Decent access to the AT a little north of Walker Gap can be had via VA 623 off of VA 42 at Sharon Springs. Rt 623 is graded gravel, crossing an intermediate ridge, the valley between there and Garden Mtn, then switchbacking up Garden, cresting at the AT crossing (lots of parking), before descending into "God's Thumbprint", as the collapsed anticline of Burkes Garden is called. I used 623 to access the AT in late April 2013 and it had been graded just days before, so it was in the best of condition. I was in a 2wd Mazda pickup with street tires, and no problem whatsoever. I can envision, however, difficulty with a low-clearance auto and ungraded status on 623. Enjoy Trail Days 2014! AO