Day 4 : Sunday, June 8

(Dwight) This is a day of good and bad. The hiking was difficult because there is no identiable foot path. Trudging thru dense leaves, over branches and down trees, while trying to scan the forest ahead for trail blazes is exausting.
We hiked about 16 miles today.

Some of the hiking was pleasant, thru mowed fire breaks. We hiked the ridge of Upper Meadow Mt. for many miles. When the thick canopy allowed, the view of the thick green adjacent rugged ridges was stunning.

At 5pm we crossed Anthony Creek, hot and stinky, I mean truely skanky, we stripped naked and swam. I'm comfortable with the fact that very few people hike this trail. Probably none, during the summer. (not worried about exposing myself to an unsuspecting hiker.) I think this trail is heavily used by hunters in the fall, as evidenced by the abundant, used shot gun shells under foot.

Back to the bright spots of the day: We saw our first black bear, a healthy looking young adult, foraging in the heat of the day, in a firebreak road, 50 yds in front of us.

We flushed 2 wild turkeys as we crossed a grassy meadow into Monongahalia National Forest and found a wonderful campsite on a mt. crest north of Bear Branch creek. It was open to wind, to keep the flying insects manageable, and lots of pine duff and moss, for soft bedding.