We three began our hike at FR106 on the Bearwallow Run Tr., hiking down to the Laurel Fork; this was downhill and easy, but we really had to be on the lookout for the blazes toward the latter part of this trail. The trail sign at the  Laurel Fork Trail was excellent as were the signs at the other two traiheads this trip. Hiking north on the Laurel Fork with bright sunlight was magnificent. We had never seen so many rhododendron only wish they could have been in bloom. We took lunch sitting on rocks in the riverbed watching the Laurel Fork with its tiny rapids and riffles. No humans were seen all day and we felt like we owned the place-God's creation in all it's glory. There are some really dicy spots along the Laurel Fork before reaching Slabcamp Run where we had to scramble on rocks at the edge of the riverbed which reminded us of caving. The evergreens especially the spruces were spectacular all day. We crossed the Laurel Fork at its first real bend not long before Christian Run came in from the right, and crossed again at the Slabcamp Run trailhead( water was just below my knees). Slamcamp was uphill, with many crossings of the small run, and many blowdowns across the trail. We saw two beautiful whitetail deer. Slamcamp is generally well marked w/ fresh  blue blazes except near the north end where sometimes they tend to be hidden. This wilderness is no place for beginners or persons who are not at a  good fitness level. It is a great place for those wanting a secluded hike with good variety.

The trip out is a long drive from most other hikes on this site but it's very scenic.  The directions were good and the turn off Rt 28 was easy enough to find.  The picnic area has an old pump and a decent latrine that was unlocked.  The pump was non-functional so it was a good thing that we brought water for the first night.  There are also some old grills and picnic tables.  The trail head was easy enough to locate just off the picnic area.  You can see the hiker icon on the old sign post.  As we moved out we found one of the new laminated plastic signs on a new post face-down in the duff next to the old trail sign.  There were some fresh blue blazes along the trail through the evergreen forest as we started out but these faded before we arrived at the next intersection.  The old trail sign was somewhat more informative than the new sign in that it had directional arrows.  We continued down the stream valley and came to the next intersection where the trail takes a jog to the right and uphill.  The plastic sign had an arrow crudely carved into it indicating that the trail went to the right but the arrow also had some carving on top of it.   There was no wooden sign in sight.  There were no blazes confirming that the trail turned so our crew debated whether to follow the arrow or not.  We chose not to turn but probably should have as we learned later.  So we continued to follow the blazes we could find along the stream and an old rail bed downhill in the hope that we'd find something more reliable.  That didn't happen and we ended up at the campsite where Locust Spring Run intersects Laurel Fork which was our ulitmate destination.  At that point we took a GPS shot to confirm our location and checked both the old wooden trail sign and the new plastic one.  We'd missed the turn alright.  The campsite was clean, beautiful, and surrounded by wild rhododendrons.  Again, the plastic sign at the campsite had no directional arrows and the old wooden one was more informative.  The plastic sign at the intersection with the Buck Run Trail about 200 yards downstream from the campsite didn't have any arrows either but at this point we'd gotten the flick.  Blazes in the area were old and faded and the old wooden sign there was more informative.  We'd planned a longer hike but the weather had turned from snow showers to steady rain in the 40 degree range so we chose to bag it.   We had scouted the area across and downstream where there were some additional campsites but they were not as nice as the one we were in.  There is a crossing at the campsite and stream was less than knee deep - but very cold.  The hike out over an old rail bed the next day was pretty easy.  Good thing we didn't have to cross Laurel Fork as it had poured rain all night and the stream was up making a crossing dicy.  Again, blazes on the way out were in need of refreshing.  When we got to the second stream coming in from our left, the blazes were a problem.  We sent out scouts to check different routes and finally found where the trail continued up a steep hill on the left with switchbacks.  So when we go back we'll know not to cross the second stream and to look for the switchbacks uphill to the left.  We followed the switchback trail to the old road along the ridge through a dark stand of old evergreens and back to the picnic area.  The lesson learned is to have compass headings ready on our map to check the trail signs and have GPS waypoints as a backup.