Virginia Triple Crown — AT section

The Appalachian Trail's most famous mile-for-mile stretch — the corridor that strings together McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs, two-thirds of Virginia's 'Triple Crown'. From the VA 311 trailhead (~545m) the white-blazed AT crosses the new pedestrian bridge over the highway (opened March 2025, ending decades of hikers sprinting across a blind crest) and climbs Catawba Mountain past the Johns Spring and Catawba Mountain shelters to McAfee Knob at 974m — the overhanging diving-board ledge that is the most-photographed spot on the entire 2,190-mile AT, with a 270° panorama over the Catawba Valley, Tinker Cliffs and North Mountain. The trail then drops past the Pig Farm Campsite and Campbell Shelter and runs the ridge of Tinker Mountain north for 8km to Tinker Cliffs, a half-mile of sheer Tuscarora-sandstone rim walking at ~914m where the AT follows the very edge. Day hikers do the Knob and turn around; strong parties push the full section; backpackers close the 35-mile Triple Crown loop (with Dragon's Tooth) over 2–3 days. No permits, no fees — but the Knob at sunrise is a pilgrimage, and the parking pressure on VA 311 is real.