1 post tagged “hike”
This past weekend I took my sister hiking on Old Rag. Itz a mountain in central VA thatz about 10 milies long. The exciting part is that once you get near the top there are a bunch of rocks/boulders that you have to climb over/down,jump across.
We drove about 2 hours to Madison county. There is a large parking lot with a ranger station that I parked at. By 10am it was over 1/2 way full....old rag is a very popular hike.
The trail starts off about a mile from the large parking lot by a tinny one. The path is fairly flat for a while, then it starts to wind up the mountain . The blue blazes tell that you are on the trail. Two of them mean that the trail is about to curve.
(Right) At other points the trail went up the rocks. If you look closely you will see a boy being lifted up to a waiting helper. When Rachel and I were at this point i poshed her up and there was a nice man who helped her and me up. There is typically a wait to go up the rock because it takes a bit of time.
There are a few pretty overlooks before you get to the top. If you look way into the distance you can see people at the top.
(Left) A tight squeeze between the two rocks. Itz a bit more difficult with a backpack on.
(Right) The only way to get from the higher rock to the lower one is to jump. Itz not hard to do, once you get over the fear that you will fall onto the ground below. Rachel & I had not difficulty this time since we jumped over the rocks the last time we were here....after searching for and failing to find an alternate rote. There was a mother behind us who was not at all certain that she would make it across. After much hesitation she finally made it
Woooo, finally at the top.
Once we were at the top Rachel wanted to climb up one more rock, so we got up just a bit higher to get the best view. When we were at the top of the mountain we saw a helicopter flying around. I suppose that is what a portion of the entrance fee goes to....very useful if anyone gets hurt. There were some rain clouds in the sky so we headed back down the mountain.
A warning for those comming up the other side of the mountain. The way down was relativity easy. A bit longer, but all downhill and no climbing over anything. Partway down the fire road we saw two horses coming up the road. A little while latter we heard some clomping and saw them racing down the hill.
There are a few pretty overlooks before you get to the top. If you look way into the distance you can see people at the top.
(Right) The only way to get from the higher rock to the lower one is to jump. Itz not hard to do, once you get over the fear that you will fall onto the ground below. Rachel & I had not difficulty this time since we jumped over the rocks the last time we were here....after searching for and failing to find an alternate rote. There was a mother behind us who was not at all certain that she would make it across. After much hesitation she finally made it
A few streams later, and we were at the end of our hike. All and all a very fun day.
