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| By:
Buck and Nikki
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Sunday, January 13, 2013 |
| This trail was the second day for us we summited Dragons Tooth on 01/12/13. Arriving at the trail head parking at 1200 hours the lot was about a third full. We crossed the road and used the AT t make our ascent. The initial hill was rough as our legs were tight from the previous day hiking but they soon warmed up and we were off. This trail was more strenuous for both of us maybe it was eating fifteen minutes before hitting the trail, maybe the day before hike I am not sure what but we both had a tough time. The weather was 65 degrees and warm good day for shorts on the trail but we did not pack them. Long story short we made the summit in 2.5 hours and were much more tired than we had been at the tooth summit. This took away from the beauty we should have been able to enjoy. The view was absolutely clear without cloud or haze. Not being able to stay long because we had a 4.5 hour drive we quickly descended using the fire road. I am glad we did because neither of us had the reserves to make it on the AT back to the parking lot. Arriving there we packed and made our way home. Thanks to all those who perform trail maintenance on this great hike.
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| By:
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Tuesday, October 23, 2012 |
| Drove down from Southern Maryland specifically to take this hike. My Daughter who is currently a student at VT came along. It was good bonding time. I heard the trail can get busy so going on a Tuesday morning made it a private affair. We did cross a handful of hikers but not many. There's nothing I can say about the Knob that hasn't already been said but it was awe-inspiring to walk out into that view. It took me by surprise even after seeing all the pictures. The only downside to my trip is losing my favorite sunglasses. I left them at the first shelter and by time I realized I had forgotten them we were close to the top so I just decided to get them on the trip back. Sadly though, when I got there I discovered someone had taken them. I just knew no one would bother them especially with such a light crowd so I wan't worried. Ultimately, it was my fault for leaving them behind and they were very nice glasses, to tempting for someone to pass up. Oh well, I didn't let it take away from my day-trip with my daughter which is priceless. I highly recommend McAfee Knob!!!!
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, September 15, 2012 |
| I hiked McAfee's knob for the 1st time today w/ three other friends. It is a TOUGH hike, as this was only my 3rd hike. It is mostly uphill, very rocky w/ steep grades. The first 2/3 of the hike was pretty good, but the last 3rd of the hike after the fire road was quite tough. As you get closer to the knob the hike gets much steeper and challenging. The weather was PERFECT for hiking as it was not too hot or too cold and the sun was in and out of the clouds so the temperature was steady. There were LOTS of people hiking today, college groups, families and couples. Once we got to the knob the views were breathtaking and we had lunch and took lots of photos. Take lots of water with you esp if you sweat alot. Normally you would think the way back would be easier, but not so. Just as challenging on the return as it is on the departure. We thoroughly enjoyed this hike and met some amazing people along the way. I would definetly recommend anyone to take this hike.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, September 08, 2012 |
| My family and I have hiked this trail on several occasions and we enjoy it. It is deceivingly more difficult than you would think, especially the last trek to the top. The hardest part of the trail, in my opinion, is actually coming back down. Lots and lots of leg fatigue!! The views from the top are spectacular. We really enjoy breaking out the camp stove and enjoying lunch on the rocks.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, September 08, 2012 |
| My family and I have hiked this trail on several occasions and we enjoy it. It is deceivingly more difficult than you would think, especially the last trek to the top. The hardest part of the trail, in my opinion, is actually coming back down. Lots and lots of leg fatigue!! The views from the top are spectacular. We really enjoy breaking out the camp stove and enjoying lunch on the rocks.
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| By:
VSOP
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Thursday, August 09, 2012 |
| The Heathens crew took in the McAfee's Knob hike but added some mileage northbound to take in Tinker Cliffs and come of the trail at Rt 220 in Daleville for a little over 19mi. That made better use of our travel time from the Fredericksburg area. Starting on a Thursday afternoon helped us with parking and to gain use of shelter space. But there was no lack of other hikers to this popular spot. Water at Catawba shelter was trickling at about 1 litre every 5 minutes but was sufficient. Rain overnight added to the already high humidity. Since our routine is to get up an move in the morning we were on top in about 30-40 minutes. That probably worked against getting the best view given the weather as the summit was still partly in the clouds. But we still got in some great views and pics in between. We moved on to the next shelter (McAfees?) where we took a short break. Water wasn't flowing much better than at Catawba. From there we pushed to Tinker Cliffs for lunch where the weather had cleared and the views were also spectacular. After lunch we dropped down to Lambert Meadows shelter for the night. The spring was flowing better than the ones up higher but we had to make minor improvement in the shallow streambed to allow water to be dipped without getting a lot of floaties. Lambert is an older shelter showing its age but does have a modern moldering privy. And there are some good tent sites a short distance up the trail from the shelter. A cold front overnight improved the temps if not the humidity. From Lambert we took in the last 9 miles to Daleville via the ridge overlooking Carvins Cove reservior. Again, we got some postcard views you can only get from on top. This format would be a good alternative to a day hike for the additional views and AT section it knocks out.
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| By:
Mark and Susan
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Date of Hike: Thursday, August 02, 2012 |
| We are both over 50 and in good health, but it was still a challenge. Especially the last mile.
We loved the view!
Next time we will go when it is a little cooler, it was rather warm today.
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| By:
Peteandhisdogjordie
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Date of Hike: Thursday, July 12, 2012 |
| I hiked this hike this morning at about 930 this morning. To my shock, I was the only one there. This hike is only 3.9 miles one way, but feels long. Part of that is that you ar in the trees until you get to the top. The views are stunning. It was more than worth the drive and hike out there. Getting back is harder than going out. The last quarter of the hike is mainly uphill. I think the view was more than worth the effort. I stronly suggest you go . There are pictures there that you can get no where else...
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| By:
Marie
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Date of Hike: Thursday, May 31, 2012 |
This was overall a wonderful hike with gorgeous views, BUT: 1. My husband and I did not bring enough water. Take plenty with you. We each had 36 oz. and that was maybe a third of what I would now recommend. We both got quite dehydrated. 2. We are novice hikers, and this was a tough hike for both of us. Take that into account if you're just starting out hiking or if you are not in good hiking shape. We are both in relatively good shape, but were not prepared for the intensity of this hike.
We fully intend to do this hike again when we have built ourselves up to it maybe this fall, as I anticipate that it would be quite the view in fall colors. It is a beautiful overlook, and very much worth the effort to get there, but do keep my suggestions in mind, especially if you are like us and just getting a feel for hiking.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, May 12, 2012 |
| We have hiked over 30 hikes that Hiking Upward has posted and this is our favorite so far. It has been a long day for us but well worth it. We hit the road at 2:30 AM leaving Maryland heading to McAfee Knob. We started the hike at 7:00 AM and finished at 12:40 PM so about 5.5 hours of hiking. Starting this early is the way to do this hike, when we reached the top it was just us and two other ladies for about 20 minutes. After seeing all of the great views, we headed down to the shelter past McAfee Knob. After reaching the shelter we continued down to the water hole past the power lines and from there you can see McAfee Knob if you look up. After that we headed back up and we reached the top again, only this time it was over crowed with people so we were so happy to have done this hike early so we could take a hundred pictures with just us. Our GPS had this entire hike as 10.1 miles. I will do this hike again and again and is SO worth the early wake up!
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| By:
first timer
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Date of Hike: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 |
| This was my first time ever hiking and I must say it was very enjoyable and rewarding. At times the hike can become fairly difficult but before long the level of difficulty goes back down. Unfortuantly, when we reached McAfee Knob, we found ourselves in the middle of a cloud. It was a neat experience but it completely obstructed our view.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Saturday, April 28, 2012 |
| Hiked it with my oldest son (11 yrs old) and loved it. It was a very busy section of the AT which is to be expected but very beautiful. Grabbed the cache on the way up and had lunch on the knob. No wonder the knob is on so many calendars and pictures. It is a amazing view.
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| By:
Paul Taylor
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Date of Hike: Saturday, April 07, 2012 |
| This is a great hike to do by yourself of with others. It can be a little difficult at times, mainly dealing with the loose rocks on the path. But if you want a spectacular view this is a definite one to do.
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| By:
Tim & William
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Date of Hike: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 |
| This was the first backpacking trip for my son. This was a great trip that even the rain couldn't spoil. Luckily, when we made it to the top on Wednesday the sun broke out right as we reached the knob. We hiked on to Campbell shelter. A great night in the shelter and back out in the morning. Wonderful hike.
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| By:
Kim and Ronnie
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, March 31, 2012 |
| This was my first hike up to McAfee Knob and my longest hike. I'm starting to do these hikes with my husband. This has been by far my favorite of the ones I have done. The views at the top are amazing and breath taking!!!! The only complaint that I have is people throwing their trash down. They need to have respect for land they are walking on. I will definitely do this with my husband again and we may even do an overnighter!
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Tuesday, February 07, 2012 |
| Well marked trails. Fun, yet moderately difficult hike up. Lots of fun foot bridges and rocks. Great views along the way. Cool camping areas...someone had a book and pen in one that we got to sign. There were outhouses at each (enter if you dare). View was nothing short of phenomenal!!! Once you get up top, don't short yourself. Walk around a bit (safely). Aside from the popular views and rocks you see many pictures of online, there's a view of Roanoke you can make out the runway and downtown buildings. We took the fire road down only b/c we were running out of daylight. It's not shorter, but is a time saver! We made it down right at sundown!
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| By:
Michael Labrecque
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Friday, October 28, 2011 |
| It was raining when we left the parking lot. After passing under the power lines, it was evident there was heavy snowfall. Reached the summit and visibility was less than 100ft. Rocks were slick. Coming back down the trail was less visible and nearly a half inch of snow fell by the time we got to the fire road, which we took back. Lots of fun! I threw the first snowball of the season!!! very cool.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 |
I did McAfee Knob as my second and final hike of my trip. I did Dragon's Tooth the day before and was so impressed that I couldn't wait to get up to the peak of McAfee.
The trail is much easier than that of Dragon's Tooth. It was in the mid 90's though so I don't think I sweated any less. The view from the top had me in "aw" for 45 min. when I decided I couldn't stay up there forever. I was lucky also in that I passed lots of people up and down but I had a good 1/2 hour at the top by myself just to relax.
I can't decide if I like McAfee Knob more than Dragon's Tooth or vise verse: The views from McAfee are much better (not to take anything form DT). Dragon's tooth hike up is much more fun and interesting though. So I recommend that you do both of them.
I also took the old fire road down from McAfee. It was a nice easy walk kinda made me feel like I was cheating. I did see a deer and an owl though so I guess it was worth it.
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| By:
Gabriel Saucedo
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Date of Hike: Monday, June 06, 2011 |
| Again HikingUpward provided great hike details. If choosing between this hike or Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob though longer, is the easier hike overall. Great views, saw a lot of different wildlife just off the trails. Took the forest road on the way back down to save time, not as interesting but a time saver and there are some interest rocks to climb none the less.
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| By:
Katie D.
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Monday, May 30, 2011 |
| This was a great hike. I will admit I am over weight and this was my first long hike in a few years. However, I made it to the top!! The view was very well worth the workout!!! The heat and humidity on the way back down was a killer. We started in the morning up and came down around lunch time. The trails are clearly marked and there was a nice spring to take a break near. There were lots of hikers both young and old on this trail. Besides wishing I did this about 20lbs lighter and in cooler weather I will happily recommend this hike!!!!
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, April 24, 2011 |
After reviewing the hike on this website I decided to just do it, being a beginner hiker with just a few small hikes under my belt I was intimidated by the 8.8 miles ahead of me and the 1700' elevation increase. Well I thought it was only 8 miles so the other .8 was found out later, no wonder I was tired at the end and my dog would not talk to me anymore LOL. The hike was everything described and more. The view was definitely worth the climb. I only wish I could have shared it with someone but my dog was there so it was cool. Also out of the need for more water I drank from the spring with no treatment figuring if I got sick it would be later after I was home, but it was very good water and in just the right place and time. I also want to warn everyone about the possibility of NATS at the top. It was a warm day and the nats were overwhelming to the point that I had no desire to stay up there and take good pictures, I just snapped the pics quickly without any creative settings. So be aware of the NATS!! The trail itself was well managed, but not without a few trip hazards, just be careful. Wear good hiking boots/shoes or something comfortable cause you will feel it. You will see different areas of woods/meadows, flowers, trees, birds and so on. A very nice hike!
http://s449.photobucket.com/albums/qq213/rclccc/Mcafee%20Knob/
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| By:
Hokie Hiker
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, January 16, 2011 |
| This was a great winter hike! There was still a little bit of snow on the ground for the last mile and a half which made things look great. The most challenging part is probably the first mile to mile and a half due to all the stairs- but it is by no means challenging.
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| By:
Amit
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Sunday, July 18, 2010 |
This hike is a long walk in the park and thus I would rate the difficulty level at 2 star.
The trail is well maintained and has a spring water supply half way through the hike.
If you live around this area and have about 3.5 hrs then its worth the walk.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, July 17, 2010 |
Trail was a little washed out in places. However, when we reached the knob......WOW! The rock formations along the trail were great, huge formations with awesome samples of wind and water erosion.
You have to make this climb! My wife and two sons (9 and 10) loved it!
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| By:
IrishGrl
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Thursday, June 03, 2010 |
| I took my parents up for a nice hike. about 1/2 a mile into the hike where you hit the first wooden bridge a tree has fallen and taken out the bridge along with access to the rest of the trail. So unless you bring rope with you, we only where able to do the first little bit which was disappointing. I hope someone gets out there soon to fix up the trail. I would love to hike it again!
HU NOTE: We are not sure when the bridge will be repaired but you could always do this hike in reverse as described in the trail write up taking the leisurely fire road up with your parents to avoid the damaged bridge.
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| By:
RONNIE
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Date of Hike: Sunday, May 30, 2010 |
| Great hike, this was my first time to McAfee. The trail is very well maintained and easy to follow. Did not see any wildlife but the view from the top made up for it. Not a lot of traffic on the trail I expected more guess everyone is out of town for the holiday. I will have to bring my wife up here sometimeI think she would love the view in spite of the climb to the top
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Sunday, April 04, 2010 |
| I wanted to do something special Easter morning, so I took the hike to McAfee Knob. I was NOT disappointed. I left the Rt 311 parking lot at 5:30am, wanting to catch a glorious Easter Sunday morning sunrise, but I miscalculated my hike time and missed it. BUT.....I now know how long it takes and I will return for the sunrise..soon.!!! Secret to this hike in avoiding the crowd.......get there EARLY..!!!!! I fell in love with this place.!!!!!
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, March 20, 2010 |
| This was my first hike to McAfees knob, the view at the top was great and worth the long hike up. The only draw back i thought was there were lots of college students and other hikers on the trail so you have to deal with traffic going up and comming down. this is a hike i will definitely do again.
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| By:
IanMTB
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Sunday, September 06, 2009 |
My wife and I drove down from Richmond to hike both this and Dragon's Tooth. We got up at 5 am and left our hotel to get to this hike early to avoid the crowds and high temperatures.
Other than coming across a turkey, some deer and some turles, the hike to the summit was pleasant but unremarkable. We arrived at McAfee's Knob to find a group that had set up camp right on the rock outcropping, in the exact spot that everyone wants to take pictures of. We drove 4 hours and paid for a hotel to get a picture of some chump's tent.
Apart from the selfish people monopolizing the knob and the thick haze that obscured the view, the hike was good. It's a well-maintained trail that is not difficult, but is not totally without challenge. Though, walking over the several footbridges and up and down manufactured steps did not instill a feeling of rustic solitude.
The view was impressive, even in the haze. I look forward to hiking this again when the air is clear, and when people actually adhere to the no camping rules.
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| By:
Jeff
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, April 25, 2009 |
I hiked McAfee Knob with two friends, we found the trail to be very well maintained and easy to follow. About half way to the water pipe we found a small stream crossing the path. It was just big enough to wet our bandanas and cool off because we were hiking in the heat of the day. By the time we made it to the knob we were low on water and after taking in the awesome view, we hiked down the other side off the mountain to the other shelter to fill up with water. We had all three agreed to watch the sunset and sunrise on the knob, so we hiked back up and stealth camped in the bush on top. If anyone hikes this they are cheating themselves if they do not do the sunrise/sunset. The next morning, after the hike, we drove to an all you can eat restaurant three miles from the parking lot called The Home Place. Alot of through hikers stop here for an incredible "all you can eat" home-cooked meal.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Wednesday, March 11, 2009 |
With two unruly canine companions, it was a grueling trip...being the first hike this year and my first time on the AT. The route was easy to follow, and there was not a lot of traffic though we did meet up with a couple other travelers. VA311 is treacherous -- especially exiting the trail -- so be especially alert crossing it. The summit is awesome and made the trek worthwhile and then some! On this warm day, it took us over 5 hours of hiking round trip on the 8.3 mile loop with lots of water breaks for the dogs.
This is a hike that has to be done more than once!
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| By:
B.A.
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, February 07, 2009 |
| With temps in the low to mid 60's today, there were dozens of people on the trail. When we started off from the Rt. 311 parking lot at noon we took one of the last parking spaces available. For many parts of our hike, other hikers were visible either hiking ahead of us or on their return. Because of a recent light snow and a lot of foot traffic, portions of the trail were extremely muddy. Upon reaching the knob, there were many people taking in the scenic views which don't disappoint. On the knob there were many frozen puddles, so we had to be especially careful walking on it's many famous jutting rocks. The return hike down was a little slow going because of some slippery rocks and again the mud. For us it was 2 hours up and about 1:45 back. In summary - a great workout with rewarding views at the knob, but not much for solitude.
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| By:
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Rating: |
Date of Hike: Saturday, October 18, 2008 |
| This hike was amazing!! It seemed like it was going to be really easy at first, however the length of it really wears on the leg muscles. The hike was very long, but the payoff of the view was well worth it. I felt like I was on top of the world and could see the whole thing from the top. Take the fire road down it's much easier and faster if you are tired like we were. :)
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