Justus Mountain question

[maptester]

Wondering if there is a good campsite on top of Justus Mountain? It is the mid-point on a 2 day/1 night weekend hike and seems a good place to stop--I especially like the idea of hiking down in the morning instead of up. I know the trail in that section has many informal campsite all along it--just wonder if anyone has some special knowledge of the top of Justus Mtn. Thanks for anything you care to share.

[cneill13]

No water on top of Justus. There are decent campsites though. You will have to carry water all the way from Hawk Mountain shelter which is 4.7 miles south.

You should hike over Justus down into Devil's Kitchen which 2.1 miles north where the AT crosses Justus Creek. Plenty of water and good campsites along an old logging road.

Carl

[daddytwosticks]

No water on top of Justus. There are decent campsites though. You will have to carry water all the way from Hawk Mountain shelter which is 4.7 miles south.

You should hike over Justus down into Devil's Kitchen which 2.1 miles north where the AT crosses Justus Creek. Plenty of water and good campsites along an old logging road.

Carl

Yes, I'd continue on to Justus Creek area. I don't recall it being that far north of the mountain top. I could be wrong.

[-Rush-]

There's a cool spot just before the summit at Justus Mountain that has a large rock overhang. It reminded me of an old Native American shelter or something. If you look at the Thunderforest maps it's actually marked as a campsite.

rockhouse-sassafras-mountain-at-march-10-2013.jpg

[maptester]

I was thinking of caching some water at Cooper Gap for the overnight at Justus Mtn--that way we don't have to carry it very far. Thanks for the tip on campsites and the rock outcropping--something to look for while relaxing at the top.

[Nodust]

The North side of Justus was fairly easy grade I think. The south side was somewhat steep. Plenty of camping spots in too. But Justus creek was a nice looking area also.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[greentick]

I remember that rock!

[maptester]

Our hike was a success. Nice large campsite on top of Justus Mtn--plenty of room for more than our 2 tents.
DSCN2106.JPG

We were able to cache some water at Cooper Gap--good thing because the forest is bone dry. The first water we crossed was Justus Creek.
DSCN2127.JPG

Blackwell Creek was flowing well and the water source at Gooch Mtn Shelter was also available.