The story below is from our March/April 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Tim Lewis spends his days chasing sunrises and sunsets–literally.
Courtesy Tim Lewis
Tim Lewis
The Salem ultrarunner’s mission is to visit the region’s most well-known mountain peaks several days a week– in particular McAfee Knob, one of the most photographed spots on the Appalachian Trail. Since 2015, he has made at least 389 McAfee summits (as of mid-January).
But Lewis isn’t only running mountainous trails to train for long distance races. He snaps oodles of colorful panoramic photographs of sunrises and sunsets, mostly at McAfee, that have been featured on social media channels and television networks across the Roanoke region. He even produces a calendar of his McAfee images each year.
With Lewis’ growing notoriety, some have coined him “King of McAfee Knob.”
In January, Diana Christopulos, archivist for the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club, showed a video by Lewis at McAfee Knob during a historical talk at the Salem Museum about the Triple Crown, a series of three Roanoke area hiking trails — McAfee, Dragon’s Tooth and Tinker Cliffs.
“He [Lewis] is an incredible athlete and a beautiful photographer but also a really nice guy who’s a good citizen,” says Christopulos, adding that Lewis often reports unusual activity or disrepair at McAfee to the club. “He’s our eyes on the trail.”
Procrastination led to Lewis’ discovery of the beauty of sunsets, though he admits that sunrises are his favorite. When he began trail running, he ended up on a trail past sundown, because he waited later in the day to start his run.
Afterwards he asked himself, “Why don’t I always do that?”
His job gives him flexibility to fit in sunrise or sunset runs. Lewis is a sorter for United Parcel Service. His shift begins between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. and ends by 3 a.m. He can catch the sunrise after his morning shift ends or he chases the sunset later in the day.
“I can do sunrise or sunset all year round,” Lewis says.
He’s not afraid of cold temperatures either. In January, he climbed McAfee Knob a day after the region’s first snowfall, when temperatures were 24 degrees and the wind chill felt like 10 degrees. He uses rechargeable hand warmers for extra cold days.
“When record breaking cold temperatures come through, I am actually kind of motivated by the challenge,” he says. “It’s a mental adjustment. It’s a matter of dressing properly.”
With primarily weekday summits, he avoids throngs of weekend hikers at McAfee Knob.
The trailhead for the 8.3-mile round trip trek is about 10 minutes from his home.
“It is literally the closest trailhead to my house,” he says. “People travel all over the country for that. I keep telling myself not to take it for granted.”
Formerly a high school baseball player, Lewis began running seriously about 10 years ago, when he trained for Roanoke’s Blue Ridge Marathon with his father. Since then, the two have aimed to run a marathon in all 50 U.S. states.
Lewis has 28 states under his belt. He also has taken up ultra running, notably 100-mile treks. His goal is to qualify for the Western States 100-mile endurance run in California, the world’s oldest 100-mile trail run.
His photography has progressed alongside his running. Lewis uses his iPhoneXR camera for taking photos. He says it’s easier to carry than a heavy camera and allows for spontaneous photography moments.
“When spring comes around and flowers start blooming, I’m running down the trail, and I see a flower,” Lewis says. “I stop dead in my tracks, take a picture of it and keep going.”
He has taught himself how to find the best photo angles, editing and other tricks.
“I feel more like an endurance photographer than an endurance runner,” Lewis says. “It becomes more of an addiction. It gets me looking for more photo ideas. My mind’s always racing for a better photo angle.”
The story above is from our March/April 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!