Hiking (Day Hikes)
Corner of Echols (or wherever you want to be picked up)
also corner of echols (or wherever your heart desires)
Dragons Tooth Trail Head Parking, Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Catawba, VA, USA
Hey y’all!
About a year ago, Finn and I led this trip. Was it fun? Mostly. Were there times we regretted our life choices? Yeah. Are we stoked to do it again? Fuck yeah. For those who don’t know, the Triple Crown is normally a three-day backpacking loop that hits three big viewpoints (Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs) along its 38 miles. But because we love type 2 fun, we’re sending it all in one day, starting before sunrise and finishing hopefully before midnight.
The plan is to have at least two cars going out on Friday, setting up one as a bailout point/resupply stop ~2/3rds of the way through, and dropping off a water cache at the 12 mile point. We’ll cowboy/car camp that night at the Dragon Tooth trailhead, hit the sunrise on top of Dragon’s Tooth, and send it from there. Weather’s looking in the mid 50s with a little breeze, so pretty much perfect hiking conditions.
DISCLAIMER: While I believe that everybody is capable of hiking a lot more than they think they are, 38 miles is still a very, very long distance to finish in a day (think of it as 1.5 marathons). Before signing up for this trip, you are required to have done at least a 10 mile day hike at a decent pace (~2 mph on average) before.
Weather forecast: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/catawba/24577/daily-weather-forecast/2173406?day=7
AllTrails: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/virginias-triple-crown-loop
What to bring:
* Maybe change of clothes
* Comfortable hiking shoes
* At least 5-6 L of water capacity
* A hiking bag
* Food (>= 4000 calories, don’t have to carry all of it)
* Headlamp
* Sleeping bag/mat if you don’t wanna sleep in a car backseat
* Money for waffle house
What I’ll bring:
* Plenty of extra water
* First aid kit
Rough schedule:
6:30 PM leave echols
8:30 PM get to trailhead, set up bail car
9:30 PM go to sleep
3:30/4:00 AM early wakeup
5:30 AM dragon’s tooth, only another 35 miles to go!
8:30 AM hit water cache 12 miles in
3/4 PM reach bailout car 26 miles in
10 PM-1AM get back to the car
12-3 AM back to cville, waffle house stop somewhere
Drivers are needed and will be reimbursed gas + 50% tip (up to $20). Text me at 804-513-6101 if you have any questions