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us at the summit

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I called my brother on New Years Eve to shoot the shit for a while, lets be honest, it was a drunk call.  One of the many things we talked about was getting together to do some hiking.  With his future wife pregnant, she is not able to hike like they use to.  He knows I love to hike so we made a pact to get out and do a hike before the end of the month.  We talked to Matt and he was in for a hike too.

I suggested Old Rag Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park which is a popular hike in the park.  It is a great hike to the top of a 3291′ mountain with great panoramic views of the surrounding valleys.  As you near the top you have to scramble across open rocks, down crevasses, and squeeze between cracks.  It is a challenge but certainly fun and I thought both Stephen and Matt would enjoy the experience.

We meet at Stephen’s place and got an early start for the short drive out to Sperryville and the outskirts of the park.  When we arrived I was surprised to see the parking lot pretty full for a day that was not going to reach above freezing.  We got there about 11am and headed out for the trail.

view down to the valley

The first 3/4 miles is just going from the parking lot to the park boundary.  By the time we made this small trek, Stephen and Matt already needed a break for food and water.  This was pretty much how the afternoon went, we would make some gains but take a break.  We commented frequently on all the people that started after we did and passed us on the way up the trail.  I remember this hike being difficult but not impossible.  This just goes to show how out of shape we all are.  We talked like old men, how are joints and muscles ached or old injuries coming back to haunt us.  I am the oldest and am only 33, a shame we are already talking like this.

As we made it up the mountain, things improved a little.  The trail went from being steep rocky switchbacks to not so steep rocky crawling.  The three cover opened up a little which allowed us to see the summit and that gave us encouragement to get to the top and eat lunch.  Stephen kept wanting to eat early but I kept telling him “we are almost there.”  Up this far there was permanent snow on the ground, it wasn’t much but it was there.  The temperature certainly dropped a few degrees at this elevation, down from the balmy 32 degrees when we started.  We were working so hard and dressed appropriately that the chill didn’t bother us much at all.  It was funny, one of of the rock outcroppings we stopped at over looked and got a different perspective on where we started our journey.  It was way down there, we probably climbed 2,000 feet by this point.

the rock scramble towards the summit

When we reached the summit it was pretty full with people enjoying a break and the panoramic view of the valley.  We tried to find a covered spot to escape the bitter wind but on the open rocks, it was rather difficult.  By now all the heat we built up walking up the mountain was gone and things started to get rather cold.  Soon after lunch we headed down the mountain and continued the loop back to the car.

Going down the mountain along the fire road I think is a little easier, it is longer, but there are much fewer rocks and the fire road is not to steep.  Just like going up the mountain, we got a different perspective on the summit.  From the fire road we could clearly see the summit and how high it really was.  We stopped at the Byrd’s Nest and Old Rag shelters for our mandatory breaks.  Matt and Stephen got their first look at a pit toilet at the Old Rag shelter and that experience was pretty funny.  I don’t know how they would do camping at False Cape State Park as you will only find pit toilets.

As we neared the end of the hike everyone was rather tired and the sun was setting fast.  The temperature dropped what seemed a degree or two every 15 minutes as the sun set behind the mountains and we lost day light.  A few stragglers like our self were the only ones left on the mountain by the time we reached the parking lot.  The ride back was not very long, but it certainly was quite as we were all to tired and soar to even talk.

After dropping everyone off I quickly drove home to shower and meet Nancy at Pan Vino in Lorton for a birthday dinner my dad and Pat were throwing.  I was pretty zoned out all night as I was to tired to do anything and Nancy could see it on my face.  The food was good and I couldn’t get enough water.

It was a great hike and I am looking forward to doing some more hiking with Stephen and Matt.  Both are eager to get outside and explore nature.  I am pretty certain the next time we hike it won’t be such a strenuous hike up a 3300′ mountain.  Two days later and I still feeling a little stiff in these old bones.  Maybe next time we will do one of the shorter waterfall hikes in the Shenandoah or maybe I will take them to Prince William Forest for a hike.

summit of Old Rag

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So it’s the weekend after Christmas and the weather outside was perfect.  The sun was shinning, no rain in the forecast, and the temperatures was in the low 60′s.  What a perfect opportunity to get one last hike in before the end of the year and one last use out of my 2008 National Park Pass.  So I packed my hiking bag and headed out to my local stomping ground, Old Rag Mountain, for a day hike.

I was able to arrive at the overflow lot around 10am.  By this time all the early morning fog had burned off, but the trail was still very muddy.  For several days it had rained on and off.  I could deal with the muddy trail, that’s what hiking boots are for.  What I was concerned about was the wet rocks.  I didn’t think there would be any ice since the temperatures had not fallen below freezing for almost a week.  Nevertheless it would still be a dicey hike up the mountain.

On my way up I quickly shed my light jacket I was wearing, never having to put it back on.  The temperatures quickly rose and the wind never became a problem.  At one point on the trail up there was a noticeable temperature change.  The wind was blowing hard down the mountain and was about 15 degrees warmer.  If I stepped back just 10′ it got cooler again, very bizarre.

fellow hikers

After a short hike in the mud it was time for the rock scramble to the summit.  I was a little worried about slick rocks, this is not a place you want to slip and fall.  You could literally fall off the mountain to a not so soft landing.  But the chance of death certainly added to the thrill of climbing up the mountain this time.  With a more perraless hike I got a few more cuts and my camera took a few good knocks from slipping.  But never once did I completely loose my balance.  I even lost a lens cap at one point crawling around the rocks.  Fortunately when I was about to leave the summit a guys comes walking up with it in hand.  I couldn’t thank that guy enough for finding it and returning it.

When I reached the summit this time there were a lot of people, so finding some solitude would be pretty hard this time around.  I am starting to think I have to come up in a rain or snow storm for no one to be here.  Thankfully there were far fewer people this time around and I could find a spot to rest and eat lunch.  I took a spot on the rocks facing towards Robertson Mountain which I hiked just a few weeks earlier.  For what it was it was a peaceful lunch on a perfect day for hiking.  I spent a long time at the summit exploring and taking as many pictures as I could.  This was my first opportunity to use my 75-300mm lens on this mountain.  Even though the scenery was the same, I was getting a completely different perspective with my new lens.

rotten tree

I spent enough time on the summit so I headed down the fire road back to the parking lot.  I love this part of the hike.  It might be longer this way back to the car, but certainly easier.  There are no rocks to climb over or squeeze through and the grade is very manageable.  Certainly easier on my knees going this way.  I also like the walk through the forest once you have reached the valley.  You are surrounded by a ton of trees that just envelope you in nature, even more so in summer and fall.

Once I got back to my truck it was off to home.  A short drive back with a stop at the grocery store for dinner that night and my day was complete.  I love hiking that section of the Shenandoah, it’s just beautiful.

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I decided early November to hike Old Rag Mountain again.  The last time I did this it was summer and much hotter.  When I was finished the mountain totally kicked my ass.  I promised myself I would come back another time and do the full circuit hike of the mountain.  The cool weather of fall was reason enough to try the hike again.

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I was hoping to get another shot at the fall colors but the closer I got to the park the fewer leaves I saw.  I was hiking another trail earlier in fall and got a pretty good show.  If I had waited another week or two the trees would have been at peak.  If I couldn’t get the color at least I got cooler temperatures.  This time around it was about 50 degrees in the mountain.  Not all that bad in the grand scheme of things, but up there it was pretty windy and that made things pretty cold.

I got an early start that day but I still arrived about 10:30 in the morning.  I knew I needed about 4 hours to do the whole circuit so I wanted to get started early.  With the days getting shorter it was even more important to get hiking early.  So when I arrived I didn’t expect to see many people.  Very much like the first time I hiked the trail.  However this time when I arrived the parking lot was filled to capacity, a ranger had to direct cars to there spot.

This time around the hike up the mountain was not nearly as bad.  This time around I knew what I was getting into and was more prepared for the hike.  With the cooler temperatures it made things much more comfortable and I sweated out less fluids.  Getting up the mountain took no time at all.  When I did make it to the summit you could see clear across several valleys.  Most of the trees were bare except for small grooves of maple trees and their bright yellow leaves.

hiking trail in fall

After a few minutes at the summit, and with light fading fast it was time to hike down the mountain.  This time I would take the fire road.  It was a more steady slop and easier surface to walk down.  Even though it was longer it was still faster than hiking down the mountain via the previous path.  This way takes you down a perfect path in the forest, eventually meeting up with a creek flowing down to the parking lot.

Another thing that was strange this time around was the amount of people.  Even with the lot packed I never thought I would see so many people walking the trail.  There was rarely a moment when I was alone on the trial.  Mostly that happened on the way up the mountain.  At one point everyone was actually stopped on the trail.  There were probably 20 people in front of me waiting to get past one particular rock climb.

At the summit is were i saw the most people, just sprawled across several large rock groupings.  It was a great place to take a break and have some food.  The back drop while you ate lunch was spectacular.  It made me wonder what it would look like in the middle of winter with some snow on the ground.  Not only would the valley appear to have a wool blanket covering everything up, it would probably be a very deserted place that time of year.

It is a great place to hike and I look forward to the next time I can get out there.

summit of Old Rag