Garden Mt via Thompson Valley

Getting there

On my climb I approached from the west, off VA 16. This area is called Thompson Valley and I bushwhacked due east up Garden Mountain (see my TR on the cohp website above). This route was steep and the summit plateau is an expansive nasty thicket of blueberries and laurel that took me 1 hour to go 1/3 mile. The trail from Hutchinson Rock is obvious and seems cleared by someone, providing easy access but this is not been hiked past Hutchinson Rock. This trail climbs to BM Maiden but no further.

Red tape

My access point was down in Thompson valley. I parked along the road and got permission to ascend via the landowner

Warning

The summit plateau, at the intersection of Garden and Clinch mountains is a morass of Mt Laurel and blueberry thickets, sphagnum bog, Rododendron hells and high elevation hardwood forest. It is a beautiful and remote area with no evidence of human use, other than some scattered trails. This should not be a problem if staying on the trail via Hutchinson Rock.