Did the Virginia Triple Crown loop last weekend over 2 1/2 days. Was a lot warmer than I was expecting, but was certainly glad that I had a summer pack load instead of winter gear being that the loop turned out to be almost 39 miles. My base weight was just under the 10 pound mark (gear list attached).
Started at Dragon's Tooth parking area and Dragon's Tooth Trail. After about ten minutes, I cut over to the AT on the Boy Scout Connector Trail and headed north on the AT crossing Newport Rd, Blacksburg Rd, and Catawba Valley Dr (and the McAfee knob parking area). Fairly reasonable hike with a couple of water sources for the first 7 miles until starting the climb up to McAfees Knob. Stayed on the AT nobo past John's Spring shelter and Catawba shelter to McAfee Knob (11.2 miles) where I stopped and had lunch. I have heard that McAfee Knob is the most photographed point on the AT and the views didn't disappoint. Keeping north on the AT past Campbell shelter to Tinker Cliffs (16.4 miles) where I stopped for a snack break. Was surprised that nobody was up there, but it was a Friday afternoon. Stayed on the AT down to Lamberts Meadow Shelter and camped for night 1 (18.2 miles for day 1). Elevation gain was about what I expected going up and over the 2 peaks.
I got my first night out in my new Dream Hammock Darien and got a great night sleep under a Warbonnet Mountainfly. I appreciated the weight savings over some of my other hammocks since it is a little lighter than my Blackbird XLC, Chameleons, or bridges, but I did miss a couple features that I have gotten used to from my other hammocks. One being the peak loft on my Chameleons. I did have a gear sling on the Darien on the head end, but the peak lofts are just so easy. Another feature that I missed was having a place to stuff my topquilt out of the way. The saddle bags of the RidgeRunner, the shelf on my XLC, and the sidecar on the Chameleons all are an easy place to stuff a topquilt. Might be something to figure out with the Darien. In the end, though, the grams that I saved with the Darien were worth it and I had no problem sleeping. Went to bed with my underquilt hanging to the side, but woke up when the temperature got down to around 65 and pulled it underneath. There were no other hammockers in camp that night, but there were several tents around the meadows and stream.
Had a pop tart for breakfast and started day 2 backtracking on the AT (sobo) to the Andy Layne Trail and turned right heading north. This section was mostly downhill and had several opportunites to pick up some water. Crossed Catawba Rd and got on Catawba Valley Trail headed west (22 miles). Hiked along a stream for the first 1/2 - 3/4 mile until really starting the climb up North Mountain. Made it up to the North Mountain Trail and headed south (24.3 miles). Continued south past Turkey Trail, Grouse Trail, and Deere Trail until coming down the south side of North Mountain to Catawba Valley Drive and the Dragon's Tooth Parking area (34.2 miles). Hiking along the North Mountain ridge looks harmless on the map, but the elevation is constantly going up and down. Took the Boy Scout Connector (where I loaded up on a 3 liters of water) to the AT again and headed sobo up to towards Dragon's Tooth and camped for night 2 (35.9 miles). There are a couple of camp sites along the AT before getting to Dragon's Tooth and several places to stealth hang a hammock.
Again, had a great night sleep in the Darien. After the North Mountain hike, I was even more happy that I shaved every gram that I could (even though I walked right past my truck at the parking area and could have picked up anything that I wanted). I didn't really have a good view looking back toward McAfee Knob, but there was a nice cool breeze that made for a relaxing evening.
Summited Dragon's Tooth on the morning of day 3 and headed back to the parking area via the Dragon's Tooth Trail totaling 38.9 miles.
Notes: Camping is only allows at selected sites (4) on the AT in the section between Newport Rd and Lambert Meadows even though there were stealth campers at each of the peaks, but there is room at the shelters for tents and hammocks and a water source at each. There is no camping allowed on the Andy Layne Trail as it is private property. There is no water on the North Mountain Trail from about .5 miles in on the Catawba Valley Trail (The water source marked at mile 23 is the last water source until the Boy Scout Camp at 34.4 - over 11 miles). I tried to mark most camp sites (tent or hammock) and water sources as waypoints on my AllTrails map (link below).
In the end, it was a great loop to do if you want to pound out some miles. There were really no views on the entire North Mountain trail on the west side of the valley, though. I'm glad that I did it, but it reminded me why I love Linville Gorge so much - the miles are harder, but incredible views everywhere you look. Hope this helps somebody looking to do the loop.
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map--3458
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