I gathered information for this mountain/ridge in advance, with the intention of posting the page for it right after returning home from my East Coast trip last night. You beat me to it, by only a few hours. Oh, well. :-)
Anyway, here is why the Walker Mountain Trail gets little use: The Walker Mountain Trail (including a section that overlaps the Monster Rock Trail) was once a part of the original Appalachian Trail. However, the Walker Mountain section of the Appalachian Trail was bypassed starting in 1977, due to lack of water sources along the Walker Mountain ridgeline. The Appalachian Trail was instead redirected through Rich Valley to Garden Mountain and along the southern edge of Burke's Garden, where multiple water sources are available during that stretch of the trail. However, the Walker Mountain Trail/ Monster Rock Trail can still be followed to the redirection point at Crawfish Valley. The Walker Mountain Trail does not get much use, but is still easy to find the route and some hiking groups occasionally try to maintain it. I also provided this explanation on the "Monster Rock" SummitPost page.
Redwic - May 26, 2009 4:11 pm - Hasn't voted
Regarding the little use of the trail...I gathered information for this mountain/ridge in advance, with the intention of posting the page for it right after returning home from my East Coast trip last night. You beat me to it, by only a few hours. Oh, well. :-)
Anyway, here is why the Walker Mountain Trail gets little use: The Walker Mountain Trail (including a section that overlaps the Monster Rock Trail) was once a part of the original Appalachian Trail. However, the Walker Mountain section of the Appalachian Trail was bypassed starting in 1977, due to lack of water sources along the Walker Mountain ridgeline. The Appalachian Trail was instead redirected through Rich Valley to Garden Mountain and along the southern edge of Burke's Garden, where multiple water sources are available during that stretch of the trail. However, the Walker Mountain Trail/ Monster Rock Trail can still be followed to the redirection point at Crawfish Valley. The Walker Mountain Trail does not get much use, but is still easy to find the route and some hiking groups occasionally try to maintain it. I also provided this explanation on the "Monster Rock" SummitPost page.