1. McAfee Knob Task Force Patrolling “Virginia’s Triple Crown”
How many have heard of McAfee Knob?
Of Virginia’s Triple Crown?
Diana Christopulos
President, Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club

2. “Triple Crown” named by others

3. Groups and individuals from all over
Organizer of Washington DC Meetup group claims he originated the term a decade ago

4. “VIRGINIA’S TRIPLE CROWN” RATC’s busiest section
TOTAL RATC SECTION OF AT
120+ miles
Rt 611 (Giles County) to Blackhorse Gap (Blue Ridge Parkway)
THE “TRIPLE CROWN”
About 28 miles
Dragon’s Tooth
McAfee Knob
Tinker Cliffs

5. Dragon’s Tooth
McAfee Knob
Tinker Cliffs

6. Seasonal visitors: 2011-2015 Catawba = McAfee Knob/Triple Crown
Pre-Task Force
Total seen over 7 fall weekends = <2,400

7. Roanoke metro area = >300,000

8. Virginia Tech/Blacksburg = >30,000 students + MSA >162,000

9. Within 250 miles… Washington, DC Philadelphia Charlotte Raleigh-Durham
Include: Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland, Charlotte, Atlanta
Within 500 miles…
New York
Philadelphia
Cleveland
Indianapolis
Atlanta

10. McAfee Knob Anonymous star of “A Walk in the Woods”
8-mile round trip
Ridgerunner counts: 55% more hikers each year
>600 visitors per day on busy fall weekends
Driven by Virginia Tech (spring and fall) and spreading fame (year-round)
Of course McAfee Knob is the primary draw, with a recent assist from Hollywood. Very grateful to ATC for getting a premier in Roanoke at the Grandin Theater and helping raise funds to start the McAfee Knob Task Force

11. DRAGON’S TOOTH = US Forest Service
McAFEE AND TINKER CLIFFS = NPS stand-alone
A complicated place to manage

12. RATC Special rules for McAfee and Tinker Cliffs (Va 625 to US 220)
Maximum group size, backpacking/camping: 10
Maximum group size, day hikes: 25
No camping or campfires outside of 7 designated areas (see map)
No camping or campfires on McAfee Knob or Tinker Cliffs
No alcohol
Dogs must be kept on leash at all times

13. 2015-16: McAfee Knob Task Force 30 trained volunteer ridgerunners
Training led by
Appalachian Trail Conservancy (Kathryn Herndon)
National Park Service (Todd Remaley)
US Forest Service (Pete Irvine)
Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
Roanoke County Fire and Rescue
Of course McAfee Knob is the primary draw, with a recent assist from Hollywood. Very grateful to ATC for getting a premier in Roanoke at the Grandin Theater and helping raise funds to start the McAfee Knob Task Force
Attracts new volunteers:
All ages
Often highly educated
Many never before active in club

14. 2015 totals: McAfee Knob Task Force (18 trained volunteers – additional 12 trained in 2016 )
May 29-October 25, 2015 (Fri-Sat-Sun)
522 volunteer hours
9,300 visitors seen
Direct contact with >5,000 visitors
154 gallons of trash removed
34 fire rings dismantled
Includes distinguished regional environmental leaders, middle school faculty and administrator, Virginia Tech student/faculty/staff

15. What we learned on the ground
Virginia Tech students drive heaviest usage (spring and fall)
Illegal camping is a significant issue
Food left in shelters leads to bear problems
Parking and road safety are important concerns

16. And… social media can help deliver our messages
APRIL 1: ALERT: McAfee Knob closed for repairs in April. Maintainers for the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club report that the AT to McAfee Knob has been closed for repairs due to heavy overuse, including repeated jumping on the iconic undercut rock slab of the Knob itself. "We'll do the best we can," said a club leader in an April 1 press release, "but we may need to call in the US Army Corps of Engineers for this work, and that could be time-consuming." Northbound hikers are advised to take the North Mountain trail after they descend from Dragon's Tooth and return to the AT at Tinker Cliffs.
APRIL 2: UPDATE: Great news! At 12:01 AM on April 2, thanks to the efforts of hundreds of volunteers - and the end of April Fools Day - RATC announced the reopening of the AT around McAfee Knob. Please treasure it and leave no trace. Special restrictions on camping, campfires, group size, etc may be found on our website 
Idea from Roanoke City’s Olympics hoax
Posted Leave No Trace trainers jumping on McAfee Knob with April Fool’s message
Shared on AT Section Hikers (about 20k members)
Went viral by our standards – reached almost 9,000 people, with many shares
April 2 posted update directs people to our website with map and regulations for section; uptick
On recent backpack of our section, thru hiker still thought it was closed; others corrected him, and I told the story

17. Facebook drives traffic to website

18. We celebrate by hiking Tinker Cliffs

19. Visit us At our website http://www.ratc.org/ On Facebook
On our RATC Meetup page
On our McAfee Knob Task Force Meetup page