Tinker Cliffs to McAffe's Knob (Intermediate)

This Trip Ranking (https://www.meetup.com/OCBackpackers/pages/Member_and_Trip_Rankings): Intermediate: This trip will require about 12.5 miles between Friday night and Sunday.

The Trip: This trip has a night hike to campsite along a creek, amazing views from Tinker Cliffs, and one of the most photographed spots on the entire AT. A great spot to get your photo taken.

The Plan:

Day 1 (Friday): We will use our usual carpooling points (https://www.meetup.com/OCBackpackers/pages/Carpooling) with the Virginia Beach one being at 6pm and the Newport News one being at 7 pm. Once we are loaded we will drive to Everyday Cafe in Charlottesville for something to eat and to pick up any last minute supplies. We will then proceed to the McAfee Knob parking lot to drop of one vehicle. This trip will require shuttling. We will then drive to the Andy Layne Trailhead, grab our packs, switch on our headlamps, and hike to our campsite for the night. We will be next to Catawba Creek, so we will have water for Friday night. This will be our last water source until we get to the Campbell Shelter late Saturday.

Day 2 (Saturday): We will break camp and hike about 3 miles, with an elevation gain of 1400', up the Andy Layne trail until we meet up with the AT. We will continue on the AT until we reach Tinker Cliffs. We will take a break for refueling and some awesome photo ops. We will then continue on the AT for about 4 miles to the Campbell Shelter. There will be a privy and a water source there. We can decide if we want to camp there for the night, or continue up the mountain to McAfee Knob and then down the other side to the Catawba Mountain Shelter. We will play it by ear with regards to how much daylight we have and how we feel. Either way, we will be staying at a shelter. Do not assume we will have a spot in the shelter.

Day 3 (Sunday): We will break camp and either head up towards McAfee Knob, or down towards the parking lot, depending on where we camped Saturday night. Once we make it to the parking lot we will shuttle the drivers to the remaining vehicles back at the Andy Layne Trail parking lot. We will then load up and head home with a stop for lunch. For what it's worth, there is an excellent place for lunch called the Homeplace right up the road from the parking lot. A very tasty and neat place that is a popular stopping point for AT thru-hikers. We can discuss it on the trail.

What To Bring: Nothing is provided for you. You are responsible for all gear (https://www.meetup.com/OCBackpackers/pages/What_To_Bring) and food you need for the weekend. If you have questions on what to bring feel free to email me. If you do not have the needed gear contact me. I do have some spare gear and I would not mind letting you borrow something so that you could go. Do not forget your camera. Great opportunities for photos.

Water: You will be able to fill up Friday night where we will be camping, however, the only other water sources along this route will be at the two shelters. Plan accordingly and treat all water sources.

Weather: We go regardless of weather. Check the weather for Buena Vista, VA

Dogs: Sorry, no dogs.

Carpool: Carpools are always organized in advance, if you have RSVP'ed yes you will receive an email a week in advance to help us organize rides. Please keep an eye out for this email.

Medical: Please remember to print off a copy of the medical form, fill it out, and place it in a ziplock and put it in your pack. I will only need to access your information in the event of an emergency. If you have questions about it please contact me.

RSVPing (https://www.meetup.com/OCBackpackers/pages/RSVPing): There is a waitlist set up if we do exceed the max number of hikers allowed on this trip. (To Date) We have NEVER had a qualified person be turned away from a trip because they were on the waitlist. So please don't get discouraged if you're on the waitlist, no matter how far down the list you are.

No Shows/Last Minute Cancellations: We do keep track of no-shows (https://www.meetup.com/OCBackpackers/pages/No_Shows) and last minute cancellations. If you make this a habit we will start removing you from trips to allow waitlisters your spot.

Questions: Send me an email or post your question below.