The short review of the backpacking trip is this... I love getting outdoors and being a part of nature. It's even better with a friend group. I love tackling a challenge... we did 37 miles in 3 days. Check, check, check. But our party got rained on! Literally. It rained every day.
The first day it poured and soaked us through. My rain jacket kept my upper body dry, but that wasn't enough, I needed a full rain suit! My boots were soaked. We were all completely soaked. Day two, we woke up, I put on wet boots and socks, ready to get rained on, again... the majority of the day. Day three, we finally had a break in the rain! We hiked all day, and then got down-poured on just before we made it back to the van.
I felt a little cheated because these awesome views we worked so hard to hike to were clouded over, just a big sea of white. Day three Sarah and I separated from the group to add on a few extra miles to the last viewpoint. We hiked past weary to make it to Dragon's Tooth, and finally we got our big view! It was a gorgeous vista! It was also thundering so we took a fast picture, and hiked down as fast as our worn out legs could take us, and then ran the last half mile in the rain. Oh, what fun.
Despite the rain, we did it! We stuck it out, we put up hammocks and tents, slept, ate, and hiked, hiked, hiked and finally accomplished what we had set out to do. It was hard and tiring. But Amy told the best stories! Star was a great motivator and had a funny moment, which gave me a good laugh, when she accidentally flipped out of her hammock but since she was still zipped in her bug net she was totally stuck! She did survive that to tell the tale. We had phone service the first night, Sarah called Brandon and told him "she pooped!" at least that is what Star overheard, not so small accomplishment when it happens in the woods. Actually she told him she "was pooped". That gave us a good laugh too. Bruce did actually roll in a cow pie, covering his pack with poop... that was not one of the good parts of the trip. Once we were all prepared to take on a moose with my bear spray... We could hear its call and we were going toward it! Or maybe, Katie thought, was it a chainsaw? No, I thought, it is definitely a moose! It turned out to be a momma cow protecting her calf from the scary hikers. (You listen to a moose call on YouTube, this cow sounded just like it!) Good conversation, funny moments, finally a good view, and Katie bought me a milkshake afterward. The trip was a success!
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The Triple Crown! On the Catawba mountain, three peaks, three awesome views along the Appalachian Trail. This is what we were going for! McAfee Knob is the most photographed spot on the Appalachian trail. It sounded awesome! And, we were going to make it into a loop. Even better because now we could all drive together in the same van. No dropping off another vehicle beforehand and having to drive an extra hour to go back and pick it up after, this was perfect!
I researched it. Since McAfee Knob is so widely popular it came up on any top ten list of best views or best section/day hikes that I internet searched. It is fairly close to home but still new territory we hadn't yet covered. I knew it was going to be hard, every blog I read warned me of that, but they also assured me of big payoffs in views. This was the hike I wanted to do. I made an itinerary, planned it out as best I could, invited anyone along who would like to join me, and hoped for the best!
Itinerary
Thursday
Meet at 5:45AM, drive 3 hrs. 30 min. to Dragon's Tooth Parking.
Hike North Mountain Trail
Mid day break
DIY Campsite
Day total ~10 Miles
Friday
Wake early, breakfast, pack up camp
Hike along Andy Layne Trail (3.8 miles)
to Tinker Cliffs (5.5 miles) for big view and lunch break
Find water at Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Pig Farm Campsite (5 Miles from Tinker Cliffs)
Day Total ~11.5 (depending on where we camp the night before)
Saturday
Watch Sunrise at McAfee Knob
Breakfast, clean up camp
Hike back to car (10.6 Miles)
View Dragon's Tooth (2.2 Miles from Parking)
Day Total ~10.6- 15 Miles
(Option to wait it out at the cars instead of going to final view point at Dragon's Tooth)
Trip Total: Between 31-36 Miles
Milkshakes!
Drive Home Happy 
What I was mostly nervous about was the connecting portion called the "North Mountain Trail" which would turn our AT hike into a nice loop. Where I have maps, exact in showing water sources, shelters, connecting trails, mileage, etc. for the whole of the Appalachian Trail, on the NMT I had none of that. I did my best with the internet sources I could find, but no where could I find the exact mileage from our starting point on the North Mountain Trail to where we would turn off. Then the Andy Lane Trail would connect the NMT to the AT. Except then I read that there might be another trail in there too called the Catawba Valley Trail. So now there are three trails that I had very little description of and I was just hoping it would all match up right, and the mileage would be estimated close enough, and we would pass through happy hunky dory. Whew! What I did know, is that there are no water sources along the North Mountain Trail so we would have to carry all of our water for the first day and the following morning with us. And water is heavy. And we didn't know exactly how far we were hiking that day...
The unknowns of that first day made me nervous... Was the trail going to be maintained very well? On further research we found that it's a popular mountain biking trail, and there are several shoots off it to a fire road in case of emergency. That made us feel a bit better. Where to camp? Anywhere. We knew we'd be hiking along a ridge line and there are no set campsites. DIY campsite it is, whenever we get too tired, sometime before dark. It was a good plan...
Maybe I should take this opportunity to apologize to everyone I dragged along on this crazy hike. Thanks for talking to me still! With me you often get more than you bargain for, I hope it turned out in your favor.
We decided the Appalachian Trail in general is just hard. Last year we did the roller-coaster, and this year the three peaks and it was all hard. But it was all an adventure too. And, remember, we did it! We were successful! We survived and we have the pictures to prove we were there and to remember it by... happy as we reflect in our warm, dry houses. We would have killed for a nice bed and breakfast right there along the trail, instead of huddling, chilled, in our sleeping bags. We dreamed of a warm shower, hot chocolate, and a soft pillow... Mmm... in those moments, it would have seemed divine. Oh, but remember our accomplishment, and now you all know that we are super tough women!
The AT is well marked and maintained (except for where its not). Like I said, I really was only worried about the portion leading up to the AT. Once we got back to the Appalachian Trail I figured we'd come to the smooth sailing portion. With so many hikers going through every year, and volunteer crews to build and maintain the trail, it had to be better than the North Mountain Trail.
And actually overall, the NMT turned out to be not so bad. After we ascended a long way up to the Ridge line, the going was not bad! There were a few times we thought we were done going up, and then we'd look up and be baffled to see another hill, some of us must have thought the climbs would never end! But, thanks to Amy's stories, we got through that too. The good news: We never lost the trail! It actually turned out to be pretty decent, some rocks in the trail, but not bad. As we neared the end that hooked up with the Catawba Valley Trail, it did get pretty narrow, but still it was there. We had estimated the mileage correctly. And it turned out to be a trail that gave back! I found a lost or abandoned selfie stick that came in super handy for group pictures the rest of the time.
So onto the AT... we were ready for things to smooth out. Our feet tingled in our boots anticipating the sweetly groomed trail ahead. From the NMT, onto the CVT, finding the Andy Lane Trail right where it should be, and finally seeing those white blazes painted on the trees we knew we had made it! Talk about shattered hopes! In some places the AT turned out to be way worse than those trails previous. We took an unplanned detour once, got lost once, and several times had to split up as we searched for where the trail picked up again. It was just as rocky as the previous trails and I was a bit unimpressed. Especially since I had talked it up so much to our newbies to the trail. Hiking became a bit dreary here, as the unending rain drizzled down on us.
Our first view: Tinker Cliffs.
Almost there! We were ready for the boost that would come from a breathtaking view. There was a break in the clouds. Only a mile away! A couple of day hikers passed us and assured us that it was well worth the hike! Unfortunately, when we got there, the clouds had again moved in, the rain poured, and we could only guess what was hidden under those clouds.
Bummer.
No worries. Its only the first of three spectacular views. Onward!
We trudged on to Pig Farm Campsite, what a name. It was within a half mile of McAfee Knob, and when planning it out, I figured we could set up camp, drop our packs and check it out before bed! But after hiking 21.5 miles for the first two days, adding on that extra mile was not appealing. It had already taken most of the day to complete what we had. Time to rest! We actually ended up staying at Campbell Shelter rather than Pig Farm (0.1 miles between them) as it was a bit larger and closer to water.
My bug net. Easy to make, but I was pretty proud of myself for following a pattern and having it actually turn out! I tested it out at home. The kids thought it was awesome.
DAY 1-- Pictures
Thursday, June 15
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| Ready, set, go! |
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| We actually did the loop backwards, so we parked off the Appalachian Trail, then crossed the road to find the NMT. |
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| A sober warning. |
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| I took a lot of back-shots along the trail. I always stand in awe of the gorgeous scenery. |
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| Bruce in his pack. He got to carry his own food this year! |
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| The distance we had to travel that day. Along that whole trail we didn't pass a soul. |
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| Look at all these happy faces starting out! |
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| We saw a lot of these orange lizards. They were tiny. |
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| First selfie shots with cool find. |
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| Bring on the rain! |
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| We learned that ponchos have double function. Rain jacket/ Pack Cover |
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| Poor Bruce hates thunder. He was a bit skittish, but still did his job keeping us together on the trail. |
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| Camp! |
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| So proud of our bear bagging! |
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| Haha ha! The new way of sleeping in a hammock. |
June 16, 2017
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| "Oh how lovely was the morning"♫ |
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| On to the next trail, marked by blue diamonds. |
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| Whahoo! 3rd trail so far. Watching for yellow blazes. |
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| Added a rock to the pile! |
This is the field where Bruce rolled in the cow pie. Gross.
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| I think these gates must have been to keep the cows in, but boy, they were a tight squeeze with our backpacks! |
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| Another hill to climb. |
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| White blazes mean we are on the AT! |
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| The trail zig-zags along many switchbacks, we ended up on top of this rock. |
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| Tinker Cliffs! What a view... |
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| The white blazes continue along the rocks. |
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| What was meant to be our awesome view. |
Blackberries! Honestly, these little berries may have been my favorite thing about the trail. Growing wild, every time we'd come upon a bush I'd snack for a while. Each time I found another blackberry bush I also found my happy place!
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| Following the blazes over the rocks. |
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| Best view of the day. |
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| Finally! A hot meal. |
Bruce is an awesome trail dog, I love taking him because he so naturally takes to the trail. He knows his job is to keep us safe and so he runs ahead, and then doubles back and checks on us at the end of the line, shepherding us. All those miles in the rain, he was tuckered out too. I tied him up that night, so he wouldn't bother other hikers; I didn't realize how mean that was until I woke up in the middle of the night hearing the rain pounding down on my tarp, that's when it occurred to me... Bruce was out in the open, whimpering and getting drenched. Poor Booey. I dried him off with my dirty pants and he slept under my hammock the rest of the night.
DAY 3-- Saturday
June 17, 2017
Big Views coming up: McAfee Knob & Dragon's Tooth
Our third day on the trail was our longest in terms of miles. To complete the loop and add in Dragon's Tooth it was somewhere around 15 miles. I was determined to complete the set. So Sarah and I woke before Sunrise so we could get a head start on the day. We breakfasted at McAfee Knob. As we ate we watched the clouds move in.
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| Breakfast of champions. Not as appetizing as it looks. |
Campbell shelter to the parking lot was 4.4 miles, and it felt like we must have covered over half the U.S. by then, but we had done less than a 3rd of what our day total would be. Miracles do happen though, and some trail angel left behind a cooler of cold drinks! Crystal clear water! Ice-cold! The water I was carrying at that point was brown (from the purifying tablet) and warm. So it was a happy find for me!
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| Happy are we! |
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| Sawtooth Ridge (0.5 mile from parking lot), looking into Mason's Cove. |
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| The majority of the trail looked like this. A narrow trail winding through tall trees. |
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| I'm still alive! |
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| New scenery! Whahoo!! |
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| Only we didn't know we'd just be hiking back up on the opposite side of the fence. We must have been traversing someone's property line. It was getting hot in this open field. We must be hard to please. Finally we get some sun, and then we wish for shade. |
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| This stream looked beyond heavenly. The trail ran alongside it. How we wished we could take a break and soak our feet in it, but we had a long way to go that day so we just looked and wished. |
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| And then we came to the blessed spot where we had to cross over. We had no choice. It was the best part of the day, at least, up to that point. |
There definitely came a point where we were still hiking, and according to my map we should have been to the next point. It seems there was an extra mile that just sneaked it's way in there. There is an additional trail called the "Scout Trail" which connects the AT to Dragon's Tooth trail. I'm not sure we were mentally prepared for that. When we crossed over a main road, we did consider hitch hiking.
"To be or not to be, that is the question."
To continue to hike, or to end the loop without Dragon's Tooth. That was the question!
Sarah and I debated for a while, but I have such an ego as will not let me leave without completing what I set out to do, so we determined to go on. We hiked back toward the car to find a spot to stash our packs so we could hike unencumbered. We were practically speed walking up the mountain, or so we thought, until we continued to get passed by other fresh, sweet smelling, day hikers. I kept feeling the need to apologize for my stink and ragged appearance, and explain for my tiredness... Since we weren't wearing our packs, it wasn't obvious that we had been backpacking and covered over 30 miles already in our three days... So rude of them to judge us! Okay, probably no one paid us any mind. But each time we were passed Sarah and I looked at each other "Do you think we're moving slow?"... (panting) "No, do you?"... (more panting) "I thought we were hiking fast."
A few hikers coming down the mountain tried to encourage us... We'd ask "How much farther? Are we almost there?!"... "You're probably about half way." ... "That's it?!?" ... "Don't worry, you can do it!" "If I could do it," said an older lady, eyeing us suspiciously, "then you can do it".
The trail to Dragon's Tooth was crazy! I don't know if it can even be called a trail. We were scrambling up the rock face, on all fours. Many people voiced their concerns about Bruce making it, suggesting we might have to carry him up. What they didn't know is Bruce is part mountain goat. He did it, no problem! I, on the other hand, would have appreciated being carried piggy back. It was gnarly! It would have been impossible, I thought, to hike that with a backpack.
As we hiked we could hear the ominous sound of thunder in the distance. We quickened our pace. Sarah suggested we might turn around, but on the other hand, we had to be so close! Each step was laborious. Finally, we saw a sign indicating we were close! I'm telling you, I had no idea the trail would be so difficult. We made it to the lookout, took a fast glance and, seeing the dark clouds moving in, we hurriedly asked someone to take our picture and headed back down the mountain. We were somewhat puzzled that no one else seemed to feel the same pressure to climb back down those rocks before they became slippery from the rain. We booked it down the mountain. Still, we were passed several times as we came down, and once it was by a guy with a toddler on his shoulders (I really didn't think that was safe, what if he slipped!? I mean, I was sliding on my backside down a lot of it. How is it possible that he's not using his hands?)
Maybe we weren't moving as quickly as we thought, but our pace surely doubled coming back down. We grabbed our packs, slung them around our shoulders, and hurried on. Just then the downpour started. We ran until we saw the van.
The rest of our group had smartly hitched a ride from McAfee Knob parking lot to Dragon's Tooth parking lot, where they had hung their hammocks and enjoyed their afternoon.
Seeing us coming they popped the trunk, and flung open the doors, rescuing us!
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| This is one view we caught on the way up. We almost called it good and turned here. This was the best view we'd seen so far. |
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| WE MADE IT! Dragon's Tooth was hairy but it couldn't beat us. |
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| This is how smart people hang. |
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| I think... we may have killed him. |
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| Victory meal! |
I think any one of those hikes: Tinker Cliffs, McAfee Knob, Dragon's Tooth, would have been a challenging yet rewarding day hike. I would really like to go back sometime and try Dragon's Tooth again and find out if it is really all that hard when I'm on fresh legs. I'd love to go back to Tinker Cliffs, one man we talked to said it was his favorite out of the three views, he and his sons have a tradition of hiking it every year. That's a view I'd like to see. I'd like to try McAfee Knob again on a day we knew there was only sunshine in the forecast and take Devin with me then. Attempting to do all three together was not for the faint of heart. Other hikers were noticeably impressed when we told them we did that loop in three days. Maybe if we did in in four we could have taken it more leisurely.
Next year I'm going to have to change this streak. I think I might be gaining a bad reputation. So maybe we can flip the way we do things... Possibly less hiking and more hanging with the smart people.
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