Burgess Point

[marti038]

I'm going to be hiking the section between Porter's Gap and Adam's Gap soon and it appears the trail wraps around Burgess Point as opposed to going over the top of it.

I was curious if any of you had been to the top and if it's worth the side trip?

Also, any good campsites not listed on the guides would be useful too.

[dhagan]

I did Porters to Cheaha a few weeks ago. I really wanted to make it to Burgess the first night, because there were storms coming the next day and I wanted to get set up earlier than usual. When I got to the dirt road, I could look back and see the old road bed heading up to Burgess. I started up...no trail...and I was just too damn tired to keep going. I stopped about 3/4 of the way up and set up my hammock. It is 12.5 miles to Burgess. That was a long haul for me. I knew there would be no oohing and ahhing at the scenery so I found a relatively clear spot to hang. I set up...washed up...ate...slept. I wish I had stopped about a half mile or so sooner. There was a really nice site, on the right side of the trail, that would have had a beautiful sunrise view. Great hammock or tent campsite. Had fire ring also.

So, I guess I really cant tell you if it would be worth it to you or not. I wanted to reach the top...but not bad enough to keep going.

[dhagan]

I did Porters to Cheaha a few weeks ago. I really wanted to make it to Burgess the first night, because there were storms coming the next day and I wanted to get set up earlier than usual. When I got to the dirt road, I could look back and see the old road bed heading up to Burgess. I started up...no trail...and I was just too damn tired to keep going. I stopped about 3/4 of the way up and set up my hammock. It is 12.5 miles to Burgess. That was a long haul for me. I knew there would be no oohing and ahhing at the scenery so I found a relatively clear spot to hang. I set up...washed up...ate...slept. I wish I had stopped about a half mile or so sooner. There was a really nice site, on the right side of the trail, that would have had a beautiful sunrise view. Great hammock or tent campsite. Had fire ring also. I think that one is on the guide.

So, I guess I really cant tell you if it would be worth it to you or not. I wanted to reach the top...but not bad enough to keep going. When I went, there were no ticks. I'm betting they might be bad going up there, with no trail.

[marti038]

We did this section over the weekend. We elected not to hike up to Burgess since the road bed was overgrown, with no discernible trail. We assumed the top of the mountain would be pretty covered up too and hiked on to double springs instead.

This section of trail wasn’t the most scenic or fun (boooohhh rock gardens), but we had a good time nonetheless. We have been trying to get this section in for weeks, but kept having to push it back because of rain. As a result of all that rain, the trail is heavily bordered with vegetation. None of it was over knee high, but it was annoying to have 15.5 miles of underbrush rubbing against your legs. Lots of opportunities to pick up passengers like ticks.
The trail is basically in good shape. There were a few blowdowns, but nothing we couldn’t work around. Saw one snake in the rock gardens that I’ve yet to identify.
The campsite at double springs was great; mostly flat with plenty of water. There’s also a fire ring if you want one.

[dhagan]

Yeah...why do they call it a garden? Or even Stairway to Heaven? If it has a name like those...watch out! I figured the same thing you did about being overgrown. Marti038 did you see the campsite I was talking about right before Burgess?

[marti038]

Yes, I did. Maybe a half mile or so before the trail meets the FS road again. As I recall it appeared to be more hammock friendly than tent friendly, but it was a good looking spot.

[blisterbob]

John Calhoun has info on Burgess Point, the fire tower, and plane crash.
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