About the Course
9.4 mile ovenight hike
Part of the National Park Service, McAfee Knob is one of the most photographed spots on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) as it winds its way through Virginia. Roanoke.com states: “In Virginia, McAfee Knob is the Appalachian Trail's poster and postcard image. Pick up an Appalachian Trail calendar and there's a good chance it's there.” The Knob has an almost 270 degree panorama of the Catawba Valley and North Mountain to the West, Tinker Cliffs to the North and the Roanoke Valley to the East. If you are going to do this as a backpack and plan on camping at the Pig Farm campsite or Campbell Shelter the total distance will be 9.4 miles
Your Instructor
Richard Garyantes
Upon retiring from a long career in the military and law enforcement, I found myself wondering what I would do with my time moving forward.
I began hiking in 2007 and became more serious about it over the years. I have sectioned hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to New Jersey, and am excited to begin to tackle the northern sections as time allows.
Many people that I have met have expressed interest in backpacking but admit that they are afraid about going out on their own, or don't have the proper equipment to start. This helped me to form the idea of starting a business to provide the basic backpacking essentials for people who are interested, as well as to guide them on backpacking trips that can be tailored to various abilities and skillsets.
Helping people become more comfortable with overnight backpacking trips will allow them to decide if they truly enjoy backpacking and will give them a baseline of what supplies they will need to purchase for their own personal backpacking adventures.
Allowing people to explore nature brings me joy, and will also, hopefully, bring them joy as well, for many trips to come.