tony has taken a fabulous job there and i will be moving out there to join him in the land of orcas and salmon. but before i take that leap, there are several "must-do's" on this side of the country. so over the next several weeks i will be knocking things off of my "east coast bucket list".
one of the first (and scariest) things on my list was to FINALLY hike old rag. considered by many to be the best, and one of the most difficult hikes in virginia. it's a sort of right-of-passage for anyone who claims to be an outdoor enthusiast. 9 miles of moderate hiking that becomes a challenging rock scramble for an entire mile at the summit. if you haven't hiked old rag? you haven't "hiked" in virginia....
my wonderful friends kate and shanda had agreed to be my guides on this hike. they've done it several times before, so knew the route well. and they are about the most supportive people you could ask to have around. plus, they are like me, and pack heavy on the snacks!!!
it was a little dicey leading up to the date we had chosen. the forecast was for some serious rain and cold weather. and it was pretty much a monsoon the three days leading up to may 13. so we had made alternate plans to visit wineries and breweries that day. but the gods smiled upon us, and the weather passed by on that saturday morning!! the weather was still chilly, which turned out to be a blessing. it kept the crowds away and kept me from over heating! (i was still a sweaty mess on the trail, but way more comfortable than if it had been sunny and 80 degrees).
and bonus, we didn't have to wait for parking! this lot is usually so overcrowded you have to wait up to an hour to park on a saturday. but we drove right in! and you can even see the smallest patches of blue starting to peek through the clouds....
here we are at the trail head! it's almost a mile from the parking lot. bonus steps!
the first part of the trail was a gorgeous wooded. it was a well marked path that switched back about 8 or 9 times as it wound up the mountain. it's a fairly steep climb, but relatively easy. at least...at this point....
here you can see how much standing water was left from the downpours of the previous days. this was our "extra credit" park of the hike. trying to stay on the trail without getting our boots wet.
only 1/3 a way up the mountain, and already the views are stunning! i can see why they call this part of the appalachians the "blue ridge". between the mist and the pines, everything has a bluish tint to it.
nearing the summit of old rag, the trees very quickly give way to giant boulders. this is what makes hiking here such a unique (and challenging) experience. the whole top mile is a rock scramble. not technically rock climbing, no equipment is required, but there is a lot of shimmying up and down crevices using foot hold and hand holds in the rocks. some scrambles as high as 12 feet (which seems like a lot when all you have your foot on is a 2 inch rock ledge). this is where things go from "moderate" to "difficult".
this....is the trail. no kidding. to get to the summit? you got figure your way up craziness like this. i was lucky that i have long legs that could reach far off ledges. and a little extra cushion in my backside to help balance against the rock walls. you can sort of see the blue blazes trail markers on the boulders. i know i made the face of "seriously? that way? but....huh????"
here we are making our way up one of the crevices. it wasn't easy....but it was actually really fun! way more fun that i would've expected. and it was good to feel a challenge. my body definitely knew it was doing something new! you can get a good idea of how crazy steep these rock scrambles are by seeing how far down shanda is....and then eric behind her. that's all one big scramble!
here we are all lined up along a "rock staircase"!
this is one of the iconic rocks that everyone who does old rag must take their picture by!! it wasn't too far past this that we stopped for our picnic. sandwiches of salami, ham and cheese. fresh fruits and nuts. mini cakes. and a flask of whiskey!! like i said, this is why i like hiking with these guys. they do it RIGHT!
all our hard work and all our scrambles paid off in a gorgeous view of the shenendoah valley! i was so happy the clouds cleared up enough that we got the panoramic vista old rag is known for!
once we were off the more difficult part of the trail, shanda brought out her "reward" for our hard work. airplane bottles of fireball!! a little cinnamon whiskey to keep us warm as we hiked the last 3 miles (a straight and easy fire road) down the mountain back to the car.
and then there was this little guy waiting for us at the end!
after a hike like that? you have liberty to eat pretty much anything you want. so as a group we opted for pizza!!! eating the holy shiitake pie at mellow mushroom one more time was on my list as well, so i got to cross two items off my east coast bucket list today!
pizza toast. cheers!!
