Virginia’s Triple Crown

Acknowledgements

While spending time in Rochester, a former co-worker and friend asked if I wanted to go hiking. Mary and her husband, Keith, have been hiking the Finger Lakes trail and met me there to do a section of about 12 miles. I wore my pack to try to keep as much of my trail legs as possible. We also did another smaller hike in Mendon Ponds the day before I returned to the trail. I’m sure these excursions helped me as I returned to the trail but that wasn’t the biggest favor Mary did for me.

Mary’s cousins, B & Betty, live in the Roanoke area and, through Mary, graciously offered to help me out. They picked me at the rental car return location, took me to their house and bought me dinner. The next morning they took me to the trail head where Amy and kI got picked up two weeks earlier. They then invited me to return three days later when I would be hiking near their home. Needless to say, the hospitality was more than welcomed and greatly appreciate.

I’m going to try something new by creating a daily video montage of footage taken during the day. The hope is to spend less time editing the blog. That part hasn’t yet panned out but let me know what you think of the videos.

Day 75 (61) – VA 621 to Boy Scout Tent site: mile 689.3 to mile 704.2

Beautiful morning to resume my hike. As soon as I entered the trail, about 300 yards in, I had a challenging stream crossing. Welcome back!  It was a very good and eventful return to the trail. I did pretty good on the first climb of the day. From mile 1 to mile 3, or so, I climbed about 1400 feet. Felt good at the top and I had a sub 30 minute pace.

Just before mile 4 for the day was the Audie Murphy memorial. Pretty impressive. Shortly after visiting the memorial, a met my first reptile of the day – a turtle. He cooperated and posed nicely while I took pictures. Later in the afternoon I had a similar experience with a lizard.

Todays primary attraction, and the first of Virginia’s triple crown, was the Dragon’s Tooth, a large rock formation coming out of the cliff edge that resembles a giant incisor. Some people climb up on it. Not me!

Today’s biggest concern was the descent from Dragon’s Tooth. We were originally taking a zero before Amy got hurt to avoid this section when wet. I actually delayed my return to the trail, in part,due to rain in the forecast. I also wanted to see how Amy was after a couple days post surgery. As for the descent, it was not fun. I managed ok but the going was really slow. My pace for the first 10 miles of the day was 28. I ended the day near 40.

I was concerned that the 2 weeks off the trail would be prime flowering time and I would miss a lot of the interesting blooms. Not the case! After Amy’s injury I saw my first lady slipper. Today I saw well over a dozen.  The big bonus that became prominent during the descent from Dragon’s Tooth was the rhododendrons are in bloom. All those green tunnels of rhododendron that we hiked through are now quite colorful and simply gorgeous.

Day 76 (62) – Boy Scout Tent site to Pig Farm Campsite: mile 704.2 to mile 714.8

I took my time getting up because I had planned a relatively short day of about 12 miles. I still got up before 6 and was hiking before 7:30.

I got to the parking lot for McAfee Knob and received trail magic. I met a few hikers while enjoying the free food. I was familiar with the next 4 miles that took me from the parking lot to McAfee Knob, having hiked it twice before.

I got to the knob around 2:00 and hung around snacking and watching all the hikers. My planned stop for the day was a short half mile downhill from the iconic location.  I got my tent setup by 4:00 pm and relaxed a bit. I cooked and ate my dinner and then walked back up to the knob for sunset pictures. I also planned to get up early and do sunrise pictures the next morning.

Day 77 (63) – Pig Farm Campsite to I-81: mile 714.8 to mile 731.4

Got up at 4:30 to pack up most of my stuff before heading up to McAfee knob for sunrise.  This was a 0.6 mile hike south from my location with about 400 feet of elevation gain. Because I was coming right back down the same trail, I left my tent up with my mostly packed backpack inside. 

The knob was crowded with lots of people hoping to catch sunrise. I found a relatively quiet spot to setup for a Timelapse of the daily event. After that was over, several folks were getting pictures taken on the famous ledge. Once I saw what the shot would look like, I asked a nice young lady to take my picture. She seemed more than willing. Now I have a sunrise picture of me on McAfee knob!

I returned to my tent and finished packing for the 5 mile hike to Tinker Cliffs, the third and final crown in Virginia’s triple crown. The hike was pretty easy for the first couple miles and then became more difficult as the elevation gain grew. The payoff, however, was fantastic.

The views from Tinker Cliffs were breathtaking and surpassed those of McAfee knob. The AT kept you close to the cliffs and the views continued for a quarter mile or more. I stopped here for a rest and a snack before continuing the next 9+miles to Daleville.  

The ten miles were not too difficult and I made good time. I was picked up just after walking under I-81 by Betty. I was able to take a shower and get laundry started before heading to the store for resupply. When I was ready to go, Betty just handed me her keys and made sure I knew where to go.

For dinner, Betty & B., along with Bobby, all went to Fred’s place for a cookout. Fred’s place is located right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and the views from his house rival anything we’ve seen on the trail.

Update on Amy (Craftygirl)

Written by Amy

We returned to Rochester, NY so that I could see an orthopedic surgeon while recuperating at my daughter’s home. Fortunately, the fracture was in the distal radius and none of the tiny bones in the wrist itself were affected.  I had surgery on May 11th to reset the broken bones and put in a plate & screws. The post-surgical bandage is more comfortable than the splint that was applied in ER as it allows me to flex my elbow and move my fingers a bit more freely. I have a follow-up appointment on May 25th. I must admit, though, I still have “OMG, I can’t believe I fell and broke my wrist” moments.

Meanwhile, there is not much I can do. I can’t cook dinner or do the dishes but I can do some light housework and laundry (it takes me FOREVER to fold it one-handed) to help out my daughter and son-in-law. Obviously, no crafts for this Craftygirl!

We purchased non-tying laces for my hiking shoes so that l can put them on and take them off by myself. So, from my daughter’s house, I can walk to the Erie Canal path in about 45 minutes. From there, it takes about another 55 minutes or so along the canal and connecting foot paths to walk to a local farm dairy for ice cream or a major shopping plaza or even the local REI. So, I plan to do a lot of walking over the next several weeks so I don’t loose all the conditioning I gained on the trail.

Data

Day	Miles	Total Asc	Total Desc	Steps
75	14.9	4383	4086	49812
76	10.6	3333	2460	40019
77	16.6	2998	4315	52395