- Miles 696.7-705.4 (8.7 mi.)
- Total ascent 1470’; descent 1175’
In Virginia, the “Triple Crown” refers not to the three U.S. long distance hiking trails or the horse racing triumph, but to three of the state’s top natural attractions.
We summited the southernmost, Dragon’s Tooth, today. We expect to hit the other two, McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, tomorrow afternoon and evening. Traditionally, hikers spend a day doing each.
Dragon’s Tooth is a jutting rock formation from which three-plus layers of the range, carpeted with green, are visible. The climb up the south face was steep in a steady, sandy way, but not unusually so. Around us were pink rhododendron puffs that looked like pompoms, and ornate white mountain laurel blooms.
All of the talk we’d heard about Dragon’s Tooth was about the north side of it. One hiker we met this morning, Heartbreaker, called it NOBOs’ hardest mile yet.
I’m not sure about that (see: Clingmans Dome to Newfound Gap), but it’s been the only one with climbing bars drilled into the rock so far. Most of the unpleasantry involved skirting rock ledges, dropping one or both poles, and then scrambling down. It was over in just half a mile, but more than an hour’s time on trail.
I managed to get a photo of Rachel looking dangerous at my last opportunity, after which we came to a sign warning southbound hikers (including many day hikers from a nearby parking lot) of the steep cliffs. From there, the rocks were painful to cross but not harrowing, allowing our minds to return to our resupply.
Because of the terrain, it was nearly 2 pm and we still had 1.5 miles to the grocery–which we’d hoped to be at by noon. We understood, finally, why the plan we’re loosely following had us doing just 6.7 miles today.
Catawba Grocery was a little country store smashed together with a hiker pantry and hardware store. Before we got our groceries, we, smartly, bought a pizza, a pint of ice cream, and some tea. A hungry brain doesn’t make good decisions, we have learned.
While we were eating, a man pulled up in a gold Chrysler van. He threw open the doors, out of which stepped two other hikers, and put a tub full of every hiker food imaginable on the curb and told us to take what we needed.
The man, whose name sounded like “Grey,” then asked if anyone needed a ride and gestured at his van. Two of the four hikes beside us outside the gas station jumped in and asked to go to Four Pines, a donation-based hostel that’s basically a garage with a bathroom.
Despite most everyone we know in this section staying at Four Pines, we chose to hike on. We stepped back into the gas station, our list shorter by two meals’ worth of grits and two packs of protein thanks to “Grey”. We bought two days’ worth of calories–largely in bars, cheese, and crackers–and stepped back out to sort and de-box our kill.
We bought and hiked on as we did because 26 miles ahead is a town large enough to have a Kroger and a Super 8, where we have a room Sunday night. Also in Daleville is an outfitter. In addition to the insolves I’ve mentioned, I’d also like to get a second pair of summer socks, as I only have one pair that isn’t thick wool.
Where we are now is just under 25 miles from Daleville, at a brook site where we aren’t technically supposed to camp. This relatively flat, lowland stretch belongs to the National Park Service, unlike the Forest Service-managed ridgeline containing Dragon’s Tooth.
Dispersed camping is allowed by the Forest Service but not the NPS, which claims it’s too disruptive to the natural environment. But for some reason (the influence of moneyed interests), the NPS is OK with farmers grazing cattle and utilities running long-range transmission lines in the park.
I’m not going to lose sleep over camping here, but I will pick up some extra trash tomorrow in order to fix my forest karma.
Rachel and I split a pizza today, and we’ll see some of the best sights of Virginia tomorrow. I want the kid driving the old Malibu who stopped to tell us hiking the AT is his dream to know that it’s absolutely worth it.
