Virginia’s Triple Crown along the Appalachian Trail

Last Updated on November 3, 2023 by

Virginia’s Triple Crown is a section of the Appalachian Trail near Roanoke, Virginia comprised of three fantastic ‘payoff’ spots – Tinker Cliffs, McAfee Knob, and Dragons Tooth. While any of the three are worth a day hike, we decided to tackle them as a multi-day day hike.
Partly to embrace the challenge and partly to see if four days on the trail was something we were willing and able to do should we decide to conquer the AT in its entirety. We elected to follow the trail north to south rather than the more traditional south to north because I had read several accounts that the north south route was more uphill (and consequently less punishing to Angela’s knees). Let’s just say more on that later…. We also originally planned on a four day hike, but our friends had to work on Monday, so I rerouted us for a three day hike of eight, eight, and six miles respectively, but still covering each of the highlights.
The distances seemed reasonable, particularly as this was our first overnight hike, and more to the point, camping is only allowed at the shelters along this specific section of the AT, so we were constrained by where they were along the trail. Let me be clear here, I consulted multiple AT based websites as well as Google maps to verify the distances and needless to say, also more on that later…

A Note on Proper Planning
Before we even got started, our trip nearly ended in failure. The plan was to drop a car off at the Dragon’s Tooth parking lot on Thursday night and then carpool out on Friday morning to begin our hike from the Andy Layne trailhead. Thursday night I took the lead and Tim and Sue followed behind with the drop off car. I made the turn into the parking lot, but somehow Tim did not. Now, it was nearly ten o’clock at night on a pitch black two lane road, but I honestly thought he was right behind me. After 20 minutes and no Tim and Sue, I started calling – first Sue, and then Angela – repeatedly. Turns out Sue did not have her phone on her and they were just aimlessly driving the mountains of Roanoke in the hopes of divine intervention. Angela offered super helpful advice after she stopped laughing – just wait, they’ll have to find you eventually. And eventually, at nearly 11PM, they did. Crisis averted and back to the hotel for a good nights rest and to prepare for the hike the next day.

Day One – Andy Lane trail to Campbell Shelter via Tinker Cliffs.

We arrived at the Andy Layne trail parking lot early Friday morning to temperatures in the low 40’s, but sunny and dry. You can see the frost still on the ground. A little chilly, but frankly pretty ideal for hiking.

We hiked half of our expected distance to arrive at Tinker Cliffs. The elevation gain was gradual but there were two sections of a few hundred stairs that were definitely a cardio burn. We stopped at a rock outcropping overlooking the valley, admired the view and had a little lunch.

Once lunch was done, we packed up and walked about 100 yards to discover we had missed the absolutely epic view of the valley by just that much. No matter, we had nowhere to go and all day to get there, so we stopped and admired for a bit and then soldiered on. As we arrived at, and then passed, mile eight, we did not seem to be anywhere close to a shelter and had been steadily going uphill since departing Tinker’s Cliffs. I broke out the trusty AllTrails app to see what was what and discovered we had nearly 2 miles to go.

Apparently all of my research was done in some sort of alternative mileage calculation. I called out to Angela (who was in the lead) that we had a half mile to go, but go ahead and take a rest if she wanted. About a mile and a half later, Angela declared ‘no mas’, but I could actually see the shelter at this point (Thank God, or we likely would have just slept right there on the side of the hill). At least we arrived with plenty of daylight and a ready water source close by (not to mention a privy).

Since we were the only ones at the shelter, we decided to make use of the structure rather than set up our tents. We also decided seeing McAfee Knob at sunrise tomorrow just wasn’t all that critical and we would get there when we got there. We were followed by a couple of women our age and then by a couple of girls in their twenties, all four of whom looked at the shelter and immediately went to work setting up their tents. Just before nightfall, a couple of good ol’ boys showed up and asked if we could make room in the shelter. Fair enough – it is designed for eight occupants after all. Could have done without the snoring, but that would just be the pot calling the kettle black.

About that nearby water….There is a sign at the shelter pointing to a path that leads to water. About 200 yards away is another sign that simply says water. Not seeing any in the immediate area, I continued down the path for about a quarter mile before giving up and turning around. I came back to the water sign and decided to follow the streambed downhill until I could find something usable. I finally found a tiny trickle about a half mile down the mountain, but it was enough to fill a 16oz. bottle over 5-7 minutes. Having filled my 64 oz. bladder over the course of half an hour, I trudged my butt all the way back up the mountain only to discover a hose 10 feet from the water sign just pouring right on out. Trained observer.

Day one complete – 9.8 miles, 2,720 feet of elevation gain.

Day Two – Campbell Shelter to Dragon’s Tooth parking lot via McAfee Knob and Sawtooth Ridge

What I REALLY could have done without to start my day, was the 4:30AM conversation the good ol’ boys had at concert volume while they packed up and got ready to head out. By 5:30AM, our friend was ready to go and started poking her husband. Once he was up, Angela and I grudgingly also got up and determined we would be seeing McAfee Knob for sunrise after all. I have to admit, I was a little excited. Aside from Katahdin, McAfee Knob shows up in nearly every single through-hikers photograph collection, and it may be one of the most iconic spots on the entire trail. From Campbell shelter, the Knob is about a mile away and we started up just after daybreak. Unfortunately, along with so many other iconic locations in our tabletop book, McAfee Knob was a picture of fog when we arrived.

We decided to have a cup of tea and wait it out for a bit, and were rewarded with the iconic views so many before have photographed.

From there, we began the gradual descent towards McAfee Knob parking lot and then along Sawtooth Ridge to arrive at our second campsite for the night. Imagine my surprise when, after four miles, we finally reached the trailhead near the parking lot to stop and have a little lunch. Now remember, the plan was for an eight mile day today and we had already covered five. After lunch, we crossed over the road and into the parking lot in search of the trail. We found it, along with a sign clearly stating ‘Rte. 624 – 5.9 miles’. I also knew the campsite for the night was an additional mile beyond the road. Doing some quick public school math led me to a total of just under thirteen miles.

Unfortunately, at this point we were committed – either seven miles along a ridge or fives miles up a mountain. Choosing the ridge proved to be far more challenging that I had anticipated with a steady stream of dips and rises and very little flat along the actual ridge.

A pretty hike to be sure, but there comes a point when the scenery has no sway over the simple need to put one foot in front of the other.

Perhaps Chaucer (from A Knight’s Tale) says it best: “To trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on.“

Somewhere around mile ten, Angela reached the point of no return but we were still in the middle of nowhere. We rested up and fought through for another mile until we reached Rte. 785, about a mile before Rte. 624. At that point, Angela lay down in the meadow and called it a day.

Tim and I dropped our packs and continued on for the final two miles to retrieve the car and then come back for the girls. The campsite was about a quarter mile from the Dragon’s tooth parking lot, so we thought it would be reasonable to drive back to the parking lot and hike the final bit in. Once we got to the car, Tim floated the idea of not camping out for the night but getting a hotel room and coming back in the morning to pick up the trail where we left off. Initially, I was against it, but as we trudged along toward the car, it started sounding better and better. We got to the car, came back for the girls and were met with no objections to getting a hotel for the night.

Day two complete – 12.85 miles, 2,336 feet of elevation gain.

Day Three – Dragon’s Tooth Parking lot to Dragon’s Tooth

Before we left the hotel to finish up our hike, our friends let us know they were out. Apparently yesterday had taken a little more out of them than I thought, so it was down to me and Angela. We got to the parking lot, grabbed our water and left the packs behind. There is a section of this hike requiring the use of rungs and it seemed silly to carry the packs for no reason other than pride.

It’s a fairly short five mile loop, but after our previous 20 miles I was a little apprehensive. It turns out our fears were unfounded. Most of the hike is a gradual uphill with the last half mile (and it’s ALWAYS the last half mile) of some gentle rock scramble.

Once you get to the top, there is a nice flat patch of ground perfect for a snack or to sit a moment waiting for other hikers to come down off of the huge rock formation comprising the Tooth. A short scramble later and you are nearly at the top of the tooth with a view of the valley and surrounding area for miles.

It was worth every drop of sweat and every twinge of the knee to finish this three day hike here. For the truly adventurous, there is about a 25 foot spire you can climb up to stand right at the very top of the tooth. Not for me, but Google it, pictures are easy to find.

We spent some quality time at the top contemplating our accomplishment before heading back down to round out mile twenty-eight of our twenty-two mile hike.

Day three complete – 5.14 miles, 1230 feet of elevation gain

I definitely learned a few things over the course of this three day adventure. First and foremost, I would ABSOLUTELY do it again. There were trials and tribulations to be sure, but just having three or four days with nothing to think about but enjoying the journey made the experience totally worth it for me. I was also surprised my pack was manageable, although it does make a HUGE difference from simply going for a hike with some water and snacks. Not having overnighted since I was in the Army, I was concerned I would either grossly over or under pack but I think I hit it pretty much spot on. From a practical perspective, I think the key takeaway here is if you are limited on time, do not pick a hike requiring you to be at a specific point before bedding down. If we had been able to stop in the meadow (or even sooner) on day two, rather than being forced to try and make the campsite, things would have been much different. Also on that note, picking the right distance is CRITICAL. If we had been able to stick to the originally planned distances, the hike would have ended each day with a smile and some time to enjoy the meal and maybe a fire rather than bone crushing weariness. Our limitations were correctly accounted for during planning, unfortunately our execution wasn’t so great. That being said, I now know what we are capable of (without making it completely unenjoyable) and am super excited when the weather comes back around to take a look at some more distance hikes!

Three day total – 27.79 miles, 6,286 feet of elevation gain

Always Remember the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace

Plan Ahead and Prepare, Stay on Designated Trails, Dispose of Waste Properly, Don’t Take Anything You Didn’t Bring with You, Minimize Campfire Impacts, Respect Wildlife, Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Courtesy: Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics