McAfee Knob in Full Splendor

I contributed greatly to the most photographed spot on the AT

So, there have been some notable changes to my days recently. First, I’ve listened to the entire corpus of Taylor Swift’s music at least six or seven times. Second, I’ve gone into much longer discussions than ever before. Third, I’ve had to keep up with some swift-moving pink trail runners. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I have a new hiking partner: Bougie.

As you’ve learned, the southbound trail can be very arduous and lifeless. This section has included curious, unafraid bears on trail and some bizarre encounters off trail— oh, I can’t tell you the stories here. For example, I warned Bougie not to return to one hostel when I first met her. It’s been great to have someone around for all of it.

This section had another wonderful surprise: Nick and Cassandra drove to see me after they summited Katahdin, and the four of us went to dinner. Since I was the common denominator, they enjoyed preparing Bougie for hiking with me — gee, thanks, guys. Nick made up for it, though, by sharing a touching story about his fear of dying while descending Katahdin. He had been persuaded to wait on and aid some highly inexperienced hikers in the freezing rain, and he started to fear they would be too slow for the terrain. He said to God, “Hey God, Nick here, I need to call in a favor. Do you remember that time I helped your boy look for his phone in the rain for hours? Yes, I want to call in that favor to ensure that we don’t freeze to death in the rain. So, please help!” He credits it as important for his successful descent. It was a joy to see them and a wonderful night.

Then we were on our way to the spectacular triple crown of Virginia, some of the greatest views on trail. We crossed Tinker cliffs and even made to McAfee Knob for sunset! Be prepared for the AT at full splendor.

All the hard work paid off for we were able to get both a sunset and a sunrise at McAfee Knob:

After McAfee Knob, the Dragon’s tooth loses its edge:

We have had the joy of overlapping with No Joke and Reset at some hostels, and they are trailing us by a day or so.

Finally, there is a new harrowing experience to add to the list: difficult shuttle rides. During one such ride, the car sickness, probably compounded by norovirus, left us seeking refuge at the nearest footbridge — and many other locations.