virginia triple crown

may 15th - may 26th — burke garden, va to daleville, va

10 days marked by sunsets, sunrises, friends, and the VA triple crown!

it’s taken me a while to write this blog because there is so much to write about and I know I can’t include it all. this week was one of my favorites so buckle up!

we left burke’s garden hostel on wednesday the 15th and headed back on trail. we knew we would be staying in pearisburg after only 4 days of hiking so it was easy to get back on trail. those days were honestly pretty uneventful so I’m not going to spend much time on them. we are officially in the “green tunnel” aka the leaves on the trees are all grown in making the ridge line views harder to see. highlights of those few days include hitting 600 miles, trail side burgers, and a beautiful vista after many viewless days. it’s getting hotter and I’m a SWEATY girl but my friends and family will be proud to know I’m drinking lots of water! after 3 higher mileage days (19, 21, 19), we made it to angel’s rest hostel in pearisburg, va! and that night it rained. there is truly nothing like being under a roof during a rainstorm. we were thankful for the shelter and the chance to take a zero day to resupply and rest before going another week with practically no resupply options. we spent our time in pearisburg eating lots of good food (tacos, pancakes, subs, and roasted veggies) and catching up with friends and family. we left angel’s rest on monday afternoon feeling recovered and ready for a big week: the VA triple crown!

monday night we camped at the top of a ridge, right on the border of virginia and west virginia. we were so excited to see the sunset and sunrise and our tents were perfectly placed on the edge of the ridge providing us amazing views. but then the wind started. as we were going to bed our tents were smacked with all the wind that virginia could muster up. I just laid there and stared as my tent poles bent and fought to stay standing. I was a) not going to be able to sleep and b) convinced I would need to be ordering a new tent by the morning. what happened next is an event that I wish I had documentation of but I guess I’ll just have to ask God to replay it when I get to heaven. sporting our super chic pjs and headlamps, MG and I picked up our tents (bottoms sagging from the weight of our sleeping gear inside), we fought the wind and carried our tents down the hill to a more sheltered spot. it was pretty iconic and a moment I will laugh about for a while.

after that chaotic night, we woke up and hiked 20 miles. with 6 days of food (probably close to 12 lbs), my pack was feeling very heavy, making the easier climbs feel harder. but that’s the beauty of backpacking: you just push through. giving up in the middle of a climb isn’t an option, you just gotta keep hiking. yes it’s hard but I know that my body is capable of finishing a climb, no matter how tired I may feel. we made it to our campsite for the night next to wind rock. we were greeted with cute baby bunnies, pretty flat camp sites, and STUNNING views of the VA/WVA mountains. the sunset was beautiful and I was so thankful to experience it. as the sun disappeared I was reminded of the lyrics to taps: “day is done, gone the sun, from the lakes from the hills from the sky. all is well, safely rest. god is nye.” it was comforting to know that those lyrics are true in every season and in every place I am in. whether that’s in the woods in the middle of nowhere or in my bed in orlando.

the next few days felt like a lead up to the big event (the VA triple crown) so there isn’t much to report. some highlights of those days: we were anticipating rain and it held off! we were greeted with trail magic after a hard climb, rock face scrambling, new friends (birdie, snail mail, and crease), more trail magic, and cute campsites.

then the long awaited day arrived: entering the VA triple crown. the triple crown includes three iconic views in southern virginia: dragon’s tooth, mcafee’s knob, and tinker cliffs. these hikes were so popular when I was a student at liberty but I actually never did any of them because of the crowds. and I’m so glad I saved them for now. friday morning we started our climb to dragon’s tooth after a brief rain storm soaking us and our gear. nothing like a 20 minute downpour to get you warmed up to hike. at the top of dragon’s tooth we were greeted by FRIENDS! my dear friend gwen’s group of college besties happened to be hiking the triple crown loop the same weekend as we were! although I knew they would be there, I wasn’t sure when we would run into them so seeing them at the top of dragon’s tooth was such a fun surprise. having familiar faces out here is such a comfort and it’s so fun to share in the adventure with them. we were gifted with conversation and candy (thank you gwen and tyler <3) and the feeling of having a trail family. we hiked with them for a little and then parted ways to get a small resupply at a gas station off trail. we then started the climb up to mcafee’s knob to catch the sunset. the pictures of mcafee’s knob don’t do it justice but I completely understand why it’s the most photographed spot on the AT. it was beautiful. we practically had the whole knob to ourselves for sunset and because our service was so great, we both facetimed our families to share the view with them. after the amazing sunset, we hiked down to our campsite for the night, setting up in the dark and getting to bed much later than usual.

the next morning we woke up at 4:45 to hike back up to mcafee’s to see the sunrise. this was my favorite experience on trail so far. sitting watching the sky change color as the new day started, rising above the mountains, silent as I took in the glory of our artistic God. it was a moment I won’t forget. and knowing that I had walked over 700 miles to get here added to the awe of the moment. we spent a few hours at the top taking in the beauty, enjoying breakfast and a cup of coffee, and taking photos on the knob. we eventually hiked back down to our tents to pack up and start hiking. we made it to tinker cliffs around 10:30 and enjoyed a snack at the top, taking a long break because we only had 10 more miles to hike. it was up on tinker that we realized the VA triple crown camping restriction stretched all the way to daleville, making the spot we intended to camp at illegal and we would be at risk of being fined $100 if caught. so we started thinking of all our options for lodging that night. after much scrambling, we landed on catching the 4:30 train to lynchburg to spend the night with my sister Jordan. with it being only 11:45, we knew we could get to the road in time to catch the train. so we got to hiking, a new adventure waiting for us. but then we accidentally took a lunch break that was a tad too long and we realized we had 2.5 hours to hike 8 miles. in that moment of realization we morphed into elite trail runners. we were booking it up and down the mountain. I mean I literally blacked out and don’t remember that section of trail because of the sheer adrenaline. if you know me, you know my dad raised me to be chronically early to EVERYTHING so my mind was racing trying to calculate our current pace with the required miles and how much time we had left. a little math on trail never hurt nobody. in the end, our efforts were worth it and we made it to our uber and caught the train to lynchburg! an hour later, we were greeted by Jordan at the lyh train station! we got cava and took showers and hung out for a long time before sleeping in a cozy bed. a very (and I mean very) unexpected end to the day but I’m so glad it happened that way.

today we dropped jordan off at work and then spent some time in a coffee shop writing blogs (everyone in there definitely thought we were antisocial and just some youths glued to our phones). we then headed to jordan’s work to get bagel sandwiches and a ride back to the train station. we will be in lynchburg again in a few weeks so it was much easier to say goodbye. we took the train back to roanoke and hung out in a coffee shop until MG’s sister picked us up! an unexpected sister day! we spent the day in roanoke with emily and caroline (MG’s sister and niece) and emily’s college best friend and her family. it was a sweet day and much needed rest after a very fun week.

this week felt monumental. hitting the va triple crown was a much anticipated milestone. I’m so proud to say I was able to walk 700 miles to reach it! the next few weeks are filled with the places I would hike and camp at in college. I can’t wait to return to my favorite spots and reflect on how the Lord has brought me back stronger, more confident in who he has made me to be, and even more reliant on Him!