MCAFEE
Back
in April, I received emails from two friends interested in backpacking over
Memorial Day weekend. One of them,
Kevin, had recently moved from Chicago to Washington D.C. Kevin was eager to get away, as his wife is 7
months pregnant – with twins! I hadn’t
seen Kevin in several years, so I immediately began considering options for a
trip up in Virginia. Bob was eager to go
backpacking, and was ready for almost anything up that way.
The
first place that came to mind was the Catawba Mountain area outside of Roanoke. The Appalachian Trail passes through that
area, connecting highlights such as the Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker’s
Cliffs, and Hay Rock. I’ve visited most
of those places on dayhikes over the years.
Back when I lived in Greensboro, that area was easier to get to. Since moving to Charlotte though, I haven’t
ventured up that way.
That
section of the A.T. is extremely popular though, and camping is only allowed at
shelters and designated sites. We were
afraid that it would be too crowded over the holiday weekend. Ultimately we selected a different stretch of
the A.T., from Pearisburg, VA., to the Mountain Lake Wilderness, for our
backpacking trip.
Bob
and I both had off on the Friday before the holiday weekend. As our trip grew closer, I began to plot how
we could best use that extra day. Our
tentative plan was to meet Kevin (who had to work on Friday) that evening at
the White Rocks campground in the mountains beyond Blacksburg. However, we knew that Kevin wouldn’t arrive
until sometime Friday night. Bob and I
would have Friday at our disposal.
I
suggested to Bob that we dayhike McAfee Knob.
It would be a little out of the way, but I knew McAfee was a mountain
that Bob would enjoy. Bob was
enthusiastic, and we met early Friday morning in south Charlotte for the long
drive to Roanoke.
The
holiday rush started early on this weekend.
Traffic was heavy the whole way, even though we’d gotten an early
start. To top it off, it seemed like
every Virginia Highway Patrolman was working on I-81. Between the congested road and the numerous
speed traps, we made lousy time. We
finally reached the trailhead on highway 311 around 11am. We hit the ground running, eager to reach the
summit before the thunderstorms that were forecasted for that afternoon
arrived.
From
the parking area, we dashed across highway 311 to reach the A.T. This was probably the second most dangerous
part of the hike, as highway 311 is a busy, curvy mountain road. The most dangerous part of the hike was
probably crossing the same road at the end of the hike, when we were
tired. Either that,
or the thunderstorms. Or
the rattlesnake. But now I’m
getting ahead of myself.
I
unleashed Boone on the far side, and we started up the mountain. We reached the crest of the ridge quickly,
and passed an information kiosk. We also
passed some interesting electronic devices affixed to trees on either side of
the trail. The devices had infrared
sensors, and it appears that they may have been some sort of high-tech device
to count the number of hikers passing by.
In all my years of hiking I’ve never seen anything like it.
After
a short stroll along the ridge we dropped down onto the east side of the
mountain. For the next couple of miles,
we hiked along the base of some impressive cliffs, occasionally on boardwalks. We reached an A.T. shelter early on. It was a decent shelter, but the sound of
traffic on the highway below was still noticeable. Also, the spring downhill from the shelter
was no more than a mud puddle. After
another mile on the trail we reached another shelter. This was in a prettier spot, and the water
source was much better. There were also
some nice campsites nearby, complete with fire grates and grills.
From
there we began the climb to McAfee Knob in earnest. A bit later we crossed an old dirt road, and
later we passed under some high tension powerlines. The powerlines were
a distraction from the wilderness experience, but they did offer one nice
feature. The hillside just above us,
which was fully exposed to the sun, was completely pink. It was covered in blooming Mountain
Laurel. The shrubs were dense, and all
of the flowers seemed to have bloomed at the same time. It was a beautiful, yet ironic, sight there
under the buzzing powerlines.
We
climbed on from there. A few minutes
later we passed two guys heading the other way.
Apparently they had been bouldering, as one was carrying a large
mattress in a huge backpack. We reached
their bouldering spot a few minutes later.
The Devil’s Kitchen is a maze of large boulders on the south and east
sides of McAfee Knob. We followed the
trail as it twisted its way through the boulder garden. On the far side we finally regained the
ridge, and enjoyed our first view of Catawba Valley to the north. We didn’t
linger long though, as the summit beckoned.
We
reached the top around 1pm. The summit
of McAfee Knob features a broad, overhanging cliff well over 1000’ above the
valley below. Although it was a hazy,
cloudy day, the view was still fantastic.
We gazed out over Catawba Valley, and traced the route of the A.T. along
the crest of Catawba Mountain as far as the Tinker’s Cliffs and Hay Rock. Back to the east, we could clearly see the
Roanoke airport on the edge of town. On
a clear day all of Roanoke is visible from here, but today, the rest of the
city was lost in the haze.
We
had a late lunch there, and Bob found a perfectly shaped rock to nap on. There were two other groups of hikers up there
with us, but the cliffs are expansive, and there was plenty of space to spread
out without disturbing each other. While
Bob was napping, I did some exploring.
First I explored the cliffs to the west.
Early on I found some blooming Mountain Laurel and more cliffs. I stopped at one shrub to photograph the
blooms when the bush began to buzz!
Alarmed, I quickly jumped back.
There was an agitated Timber Rattlesnake coiled around the base of the shrub. Yikes!
I quickly grabbed Boone to keep him from investigating and steered him
back towards our lunch spot.
The
funny thing about rattlesnakes is that the sound they make is indescribable,
yet, even if you’ve never heard one before, you immediately know what it is. That rattle isn’t a sound that inspires
curiosity – only alarm, if not outright fear.
Next
I explored the west side of the mountain.
The single cliff eventually gave way to an interesting area of fractured
boulders. Initially I was able to make
progress by leaping across the chasms separating the boulders. I knew from previous experience though that
the really interesting aspect of this part of the mountain lies in exploring
the passageways that wind among the boulders.
I eventually found a safe route to descend, and before long Boone and I
were squeezing our way through a rock maze.
This was reminiscent of exploring slot canyons in the southwest, even if
these passageways were formed in a completely different way.
I
eventually found a spot where I could’ve accessed another entire section of
passage by crawling underneath a large boulder.
I decided to pass on that this time though. Instead I headed back, intent on finding
Bob. On the way, I spooked a pair of
Buzzards that may have been nesting at the base of one of the boulders.
I
found Bob, and we took the obligatory photos of each other on the summit. Then we returned to the maze so Bob could see
it. Finally, it was time to head back
down the mountain. First though, I
wanted to find the “moon rock”. The moon
rock is an unusual honeycombed boulder not far from the summit. Unfortunately my memory failed me, and I
couldn’t find it. This was the only
disappointment from an otherwise fantastic hike.
We
finally started down when we heard the first rumbles of thunder in the
distance. McAfee Knob certainly wouldn’t
be a good place to be caught in a storm.
We hustled back down the mountain, but took a few minutes to explore the
display of Mountain Laurel we’d seen earlier under the powerlines. We didn’t linger long though, as the storm
seemed to be getting closer.
We
made a fast hike back, hurrying past a number of other hikers heading the other
way. Despite all of the thunder, we
somehow managed to dodge the rain.
From
the trailhead we drove into Roanoke to the Holiday Inn. Because of the weather forecast, we had
changed our plans for Friday night.
Instead of car camping, I got us a free night at a hotel in
Roanoke. We would meet Kevin there,
where we wouldn’t have to worry about packing up a bunch of wet gear right at
the beginning of the hike.
We
were about to leave for dinner when the weather finally caught up to us. It rained so hard we couldn’t see out the
windows of the hotel. Finally the storm
passed, and we ate at an upscale Mexican restaurant near the Roanoke mall. Kevin arrived an hour or so later, and we
spent the rest of the evening catching up and packing for our trip. We all went to bed early, tired from a long
day and eager to get an early start the next morning.
Back to Virginia
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!