5/29/08-2 McAfee Knob

Here's one description of McAfee Knob:

Hiking McAfee Knob Loop on the Appalachian Trail
by David Lillard and Gwyn Hicks

One of the most famous points along the southern AT, especially among photography buffs, McAfee Knob (pronounced MAC-a-fee by locals) deserves a day hike of its own. Approaching from the south, the 3.5-mi. ascent of Catawba Mountain, gaining 1200 ft., is strenuous, but the views from the knob are worth the effort and are quite possibly the best Virginia has to offer.

And that's just what we did! It was a strenuous climb, but we got up early and were on the trail by 7am. The weather was cool for the season but that just meant it was perfect hiking weather. We were glad we hadn't done this hike in the gloomy misty rain of the afternoon before. We arrived at 9:17am.

Judy had described it as, "Whenever you see a brochure or literature about the Appalachian Trail, if there's more than one photograph in it, one of them is bound to be of McAfee Knob." Here's Cathy who took the lead and set the pace most of the time:

Here's Betsey with her hiking stick. She typically followed Cathy and the two of them were patient to wait on me (and Judy who could've set an even faster pace but who was incredibly patient and stayed back with me):

That's me with crossed hiking sticks. Oh how I love those sticks. I'd heard of them but had never used them. Judy brought me an extra pair. I'm not sure I would've made it without them.

And here's our fearless leader and organizer, Judy. She was my constant companion and motivator. Good thing she had done all that hiking as director of Hollins' Outdoor Program--she had lots of experience with out-of-shape hikers. And good thing she and her husband Larry were such avid hikers and took their children out at a very young age. All that experience hiking at the pace of a 4-year-old probably paid off as well.

Betsey figured out how to use the timer feature on her camera. I'm SOOOO glad she brought her camera. Her goal was to take photos until the battery wore out on the camera but that battery never wore out. At one point Cathy compared it to the miracle of the oil in the Hannakuh menorah.

And here's our friend Burf. Betsey emailed these photos to him when she got home. He didn't have a camera but he did have a cool GPS device called SPOT that he could turn on that would send out one of four signals to the company's server: send emergency rescue, tell family and friends you need their help, tell family and friends that I'm okay and here's where I am, and track my position on Googlemaps. For someone hiking the entire trail on his own, that sure made more sense than having a camera if you had to choose.