Leaving Pearisburg is a little weird because you start off in the woods but then pop out on a highway to cross the New River and go past some big chemical plant. There was a trail magic 22 miles ahead so I planned to make a mad dash to make it before they ran out-of food but about 0.5 into the trail I hit a waterfall...so I took some photos.
I resumed my fast pace to make it the 22 miles in just over eight hours and ran into some old buddies at the magic as well as chatted with some of the hosts which were members of a local hiking club. I learned that McAfee Knob is a must see for sunrise which would mean I'd have to rearrange my food allotment for this section. After enjoying burgers, candy, and salad we helped the angels pack up and move their tables and leftovers across the foot bridge. Then we decided to camp at the trail magic site since there was already a campfire going and we didn't feel like doing the 1300ft incline with full stomachs. I took off the next morning where the trail followed a ridge for a few miles and then descended down into Sinking Creek Valley, which had a very fitting name as it was all marshland, and had a collection of decaying barn structures. I also noticed that Pearisburg seemed to be the boundary line between rhododendrons with pink flowers and mountain laurels with white flowers.
Sinking Creek Valley
This barn has seen better days
Mountain Laurel's in full bloom
There was an 11 mile stretch without water with the next source being the Sarver Hallow Shelter which sits on top of yet another ridgeline. I made it to the shelter turn-off right as night was falling and was infuriated to find it was 0.4 off trail AND a note was left saying that the water source was dry. The next source was 4.5 miles down the trail and I'd rather night hike that distance than gamble on a 0.8 side trail with a possibly dry water source. Luckily, I found an unlisted spring only about 3.5 away and then I camped nearby. The next day was mostly just a gently sloping climb up and over Brush Mountain where I was last hiker to hit another memorial day trail magic which had tons of leftovers. My pack was pretty full volume-wise but I had some extra paracord so I elected to pack out a whole pizza in the box and take it to share at the next shelter.... six miles away.
After delivering the pizza pie to some astonished hikers I pushed on hoping to make it to the Dragon's Tooth for sunset. Unfortunately, I missed it but still climbed up the tooth at dusk... and again for sunrise, and again to show a hiker the route, and again to pose for photos. It is a sketchy climb along a two-foot wide ridge with a 40ft drop on either side but it has a 360 degree view at the pinnacle. The climb, plus the surrounding scrambles, have unseated the Firescald Ridge as my favorite section of the trail so far.
Light painting at night, no stars though :(
Let there be light!
Let there be Space Jam!
I planned for a short 12 mile day in order to hit McAfee's Knob for sunset, camp nearby, and then see sunrise the following morning so I took my sweet time the next day. The scrambles descending down from the tooth were pretty tricky and even had ladder rungs bolted into the rock in a few places. I definitely want to repeat this section sometime but go southbound instead so I can climb up the scrambles. The trail then goes through more farm land down in the valley where I passed some cascades next to an old watermill and also got a great shot of a lizard.
An old mill between Dragon's Tooth and McAfee Knob
After hanging out in the McAfee Knob parking lot for a bit and scoring a lift to a Subway shop down the road, we began the hike to perhaps the most iconic spot on the entire Appalachian Trail. I arrived around 4pm and met a continually growing group of thru-hikers who all waited around for the sunset while intermittently posing for the cliche photo sitting or standing on the edge. We all had the same idea to pack out some beers to enjoy at the overlook and it was an overall fantastic time. Some descended down to a designated camp site and a few of us camped up top in order to catch the sunrise. It was all simply amazing.
Life is good
Hiker Trash chillin
McAfee Knob sunrise