I hiked this section last week, and I have to think that when ATC reorganized the Virginia maps and printed new ones in 2011, they didn't actually update the maps themselves.

In several places, the elevation profiles didn't seem to reflect what we were experiencing. I've used these for years for estimating how far I've walked, and this time my estimates were off. Either I'm off my game, or the profiles were not redrawn to account for relocations.

Davis Farm Campsite is still shown on the map, but a note a Chestnut Knob Shelter and graffiti on the sign pointing to it indicate that the spring is now dry, and that the campsite is overgrown with nettles. I'd planned to camp there, but opted to hike an extra 3 miles to Jenkins Shelter instead of taking a chance on finding water and a campsite half a mile down over a steep, rocky mountainside. It would not have been a fun side trip.

Last but not least, the map shows the "Low Water Trail" (the former AT route) to the east of the current AT route and paralleling it for a couple of miles along Little Wolf Creek. With its multiple stream crossings, this would be a fun midsummer day hike, but as far as I can tell, this trail has been abandoned. I couldn't locate either end of it. It seems to have been replaced by another blue blazed trail that goes from VA Rt. 615 about a quarter mile west of the parking lot to a knob at the end of the ridge top, where it joins the AT from the west.

Here's a photo of the map with my notes:
2012-10-09 001.jpg

And a photo of the sign at the trailhead on Rt. 615:
2012-10-7 040.jpg

If anyone has been to Davis Farm Campsite, I'd be curious to know what you found there.