We hiked this section on October 21, 2011.
We met our shuttle Del at 7 am at the parking lot for the Andy Lane trail. Tea cup was all excited and looked really cute in his little sweater.
Del then drove us to the parking lot at VA 311. We started hiking at 7:22 and it was really windy and cold.
Python was really glad that Dirigo had an extra pair of gloves since she couldn’t find hers.
This is a very popular section but we were surprised to see so many bridges before the knob.
The bridges even had numbers on them – I think there were a total of 7. On the first one it has a boy scout project plate on the side.
There is also a boy scout shelter on this section, as I am sure it is over flow for the many backpackers on this popular section.
Boy Scout shelter
We reached the Catawba shelter pretty soon and took a short break.
Catawba Shelter
A little further up the trail we saw tent sites with several groups of fathers and sons.
The climb up to the knob was pretty steep. We reached the knob at about 9:15 am and we were alone.
We took the required knob photo but the wind was whipping and we got chilled really quickly.
McAfee Knob
We were glad to start descending because we wanted a break from the wind.
We stopped for another break at the Campbell shelter. It felt really good to get out of the wind!
Campbell Shelter
We met another section hiker at the shelter and got some advice on how to hike Dragon’s tooth. He also told us we could pick up I-81 if we continued down VA 311 in the car.
After this point it was sometimes hard to find the trail because it was covered by leaves.
We came to a big rock formation and got a snack.
Dirigo saw a photo of a woman’s breasts lodged in between the cracks of a rock.
We ran into Splake, Sponge, and Mike on a rocky part of the trail. They said we were making good time and asked if we could take them to the Homeplace around 4 pm. We told them that we didn’t know exactly what time we would finish so Sponge said he would send us a text message from McAfee knob. Sponge told us we were about a mile from Tinker cliffs. Liar – never trust a thru-hiker! We were probably 2.5 miles from the cliffs!
We finally saw a sign that said the cliffs were still 1.3 miles away! It felt like it took forever to reach the cliffs.
Dirigo kind of bonked on the last push to the top. Feet and toe were really throbbing, but we made it to the top.
Once we reached the cliffs, we ate lunch behind the rocks to get out the wind but we were enjoying soaking up the rays.
After lunch we followed the trail onto the cliffs and were awed by the views. We could see McAfee knob and the backbones of the surrounding mountain ranges.
Looking back toward McAfee Knob
The cliffs were actually quite long and we think they offered a better view of the landscape than McAfee knob.
Catawba Valley
We descended half a mile to Scorched Earth Gap and ran into a day hiker. We were both so happy to reach the Andy Lane trail at 1:58 pm. Only 3.1 miles to go and most of it was downhill.
We put in our ear buds and listened to our music – this helps take our mind off of our aching feet.
Fortunately, this time we did not lose the Andy Layne trail when we came to the locked gate!
We reached the parking lot around 3:45.
We weren’t sure if we were suppose to meet the boys at the Homeplace or at VA 311. So, we stopped by the restaurant to make sure they weren’t there. Since they weren’t there, we headed to 311. Unfortunately, Dirigo didn’t have any cell reception so she couldn’t get Sponge’s text message.
They boys eventually showed up around 4:30 and we all headed to the Homeplace. The food was great again and this time we didn’t feel stuffed when we left.
We then drove the boys to Bearwallow Gap where Mike’s car was parked.
We stayed at the Howard Johnson in Daleville for 8 nights with Knitting Bull and here are some issues we encountered:
1. Tub would not drain properly (Python bought Draino)
2. Sink would not drain properly (Knitting Bull bought Draino)
3. Broken latch for security lock
4. A/C never worked
5. Towels felt like sand paper
6. Wednesday we only had hot water in shower, sink, and toilet
7. Dangerous bed post (Knitting Bull kept making safety cones around the post but housekeeping kept throwing them away)
8. No forks some mornings
9. No bagels one day
Would we stay at this Howard Johnson again? Absolutely because the price was right and they are very friendly to hikers.