Big bad Old Rag Hike

I had not done this hike since I was about 18. 45 years later I was a bit fatigued. It was a gorgeous day. In the morning it was 36 degrees. I left home to meet Matt and the boys at 5am. They planned to leave at 7am. I stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and and got some gas and still made it in a little over 2 hours from Silver Spring, MD. They had camped out over night.

If I had known how tough it would be I wouldn't have gone. I'm comfortable pushing myself on the bicycle but I never hike. This was a tough hike. We had a little trouble locating each other. This is one of those remote areas where you don't get a cell signal everywhere. Hard to imagine I know.

Old Rag is a mountain in the Shenandoah Mountain range about 2 hours west of Washington, DC where I grew up. This hike was in October 2020.

This is an old trail and you can see it in the depth of the gully the hikers have gouged in the side of the mountain. The trail is well maintained. There seem be be fairly even steps made of rough rocks. There are many spots where you could slip if you're not careful. There are occasional springs that weep from the soil across rocks. There are rocks everywhere. Some are huge rocks. At the top of the mountain is a 360 degree view above the treetops. It's about 3200 feet above sea level and my Strava app said 1750 feet above the Berry Hollow parking lot.

It is a steep climb as you can see from the pictures. 1700 feet in elevation is like going up a 170 floor building on the stairs and these stairs are challenging. It takes a lot of effort to keep from tripping. Many people use carbon fiber hiking poles for stability. There are a lot of young people on the trails.

These are a couple of photos of my son Matt and his friends who accompanied me on this adventure. These are great guys and it was a pleasure spending the day with them.

Imagine being the first person to climb to this summit. Currently the way is almost paved with so many footprints. The trail guides you even when it's a little hard to discern. At the top it's more like a sandbox than a nature area. So many feet have trod that they rope off areas that need to be protected. The hikers are well behaved in depositing trash. I can't think of any trash on the trail or parking lot. That is remarkable when I compare to Thailand, Morocco and China in particular. People in other countries seem to think the world is a big trash receptacle. It's a shame to see human debris floating off beautiful beaches and at amazing mountain overlooks.