Old Rag Mountain Stewards Final 2013 Weekend

Michael and I spent the weekend out with Old Rag Mountain Stewards, doing our normal trail patrol and having a little fun, too. Saturday's group of volunteers met up at the Berry Hollow parking lot and got the very last three spaces there. The volunteers who stopped at the fee station to pick up a backcountry permit spoke of flying monkeys, crazy large groups, and full parking lots on the other side of the mountain. This is what passes for a normal fall Saturday on Old Rag.

The mountain was just as crowded as was observed in the parking lot. After setting up camp, we walked up the Saddle Trail. Multiple groups of 20 or more people passed us on their way down. The summit was pandemonium. There was a dull roar from all of the people talking over the wind. We picked up trash in the area, which was a little maddening. There is a small ravine that leads off of the north side of the summit that, I swear, had nearly as much trash as a back alley in downtown Washington, DC. Some of it, like the energy bar wrappers, probably just blew there, but the water bottles and bricks, yes, bricks, were almost certainly thrown. Around an hour before sunset, we started asking people if they had lights for the walk down (which takes most people 2-2.5 hours). Some do, many don't. Did I mention the guy in a union suit? At this point, anyone who goes into the woods to get away from people is probably crossing Old Rag off of their list of hikes they want to do. I don't blame you. Fall Saturdays are Old Rag at its worst and most crowded. 

But, Old Rag is beautiful and amazing in the fall, too. At some point, the crowd thinned and I realized the dull roar was just wind. I wandered around taking pictures, watching the ravens play on the wind, and enjoying what was left of the fall colors. As the sun dropped below the horizon, we headed down to Old Rag Shelter. The six of us camping out had a nice cookout at the shelter. We shared the fire with another group camping nearby. That night, all of us listened to the wind scream above us, happy to be camping below it.

Sunday couldn't have been more different than the day before for Old Rag Mountain Stewards. Like Saturday morning, we hiked up the Saddle Trail, but there we turned off on a climbers path and bushwhacked to a completely different adventure. We repeated an ascent that we had done three years ago. We spent the whole day making our way up slabs on the west face of the mountain, an area that few people other than a handful of climbers ever see. This year it was cold and crazy windy. Three years ago, we hung out on the last slab waiting for the rappel rope to be set. This year, those of us who arrived on that slab first tucked ourselves into a nook to get out of the wind. The sun was nearly set by the time we reached the Saddle Trail and our group had spent the day on the busiest mountain in the mid-Atlantic in solitude. A great end to another season with Old Rag Mountain Stewards.

Pictures:

The view down below the Ravine of Trash. The wind took care of a lot of the leaves this weekend.

I'm not sure why anyone would haul bricks up the mountain, but throwing them into a ravine off of the summit makes even less sense. This was just one of more than a dozen.

Did I mention the guy in the union suit? It turns out that he did have pants with him. He just stripped down to his long johns on the summit. Whatever floats his boat.

Fall colors from the summit.

One of my favorite things about fall on Old Rag is watching the ravens play on the wind near sunset. There was plenty of wind for them this weekend. They are hard to photograph clearly, but once in a while I get a few good shots.

Another raven riding a thermal.

This group of ravens were diving and soaring south of the summit.

The spot where I always take a photo. Three weeks ago, there were many more leaves on the trees. Winter has arrived at the summit.

The shadow of Old Rag in the valley.

As we got ready to leave the summit, I happened to look down the Saddle Trail and, just for a minute, all of the trees were bathed in red light from the sunset. A few seconds after I took this picture, it was all gone.

 We spent Sunday coming up the mountain the hard way: on ropes. We didn't really climb so much as use the ropes to assist walking up steep slabs and as safety lines. I didn't get many pictures, but this one is at the top of the ascent.

Sunset from a boulder in the ravine we climbed to get back to the trail. 

Return to Fall: Hannah Run and Hot Short Mountain Trails

After last weekend's hike through the blowing snow, this weekend was like turning the clock back one season.  The leaves were still on the trees in the valley and the air was chilly, but a few patches of snow high on the ridges were the only evidence of winter's presence just a week ago.

When we arrived at the Old Rag parking lot at 9:15 a.m., we had to park on the back fence because it was already 95% full.  We got ready to go as quickly as possible and wished the fee station rangers well on what was going to be a very, very busy day on Old Rag.  Where we were going, however, was as quiet as it gets in Shenandoah National Park in the fall.  We walked up the road towards Old Rag amidst the crowds for about half a mile before turning off onto the Nicholson Hollow Trail where we left the madness behind.  It was shaping up to be a perfect day.  The morning started out quite chilly, but was warming up as the sun rose.  The trail was lined with red and gold leaves shining in the morning sun. 

The Hughes River was quite a bit higher than when we hiked the Nicholson Hollow Trail in July and all of the side runs and streams were full.  We hiked past the junction with the Hot Short Mountain Trail and the Hannah Run Trail to a nice waterfall on the Hughes River.  While I was taking pictures a relatively large group passed us and crossed the river.  One of the party messed up the rock hop and wound up in the river, but fortunately, he appeared to be ok.

We returned down the Nicholson Hollow Trail to the Hannah Run Trail.  The Hannah Run Trail has a reputation as one of the steeper trails in Shenandoah.  Since this was our first time on it, we were interested in comparing it to some of the other steeper ones like Sam's Ridge or Robertson Mountain.  The first mile or so climbs fairly gently - a pleasant walk through the woods along Hannah Run.  Then the trail turns away from the run and gets a little steeper, but still nothing outlandish.  We passed some interesting old farm terraces and chimneys along the way.  Then we turned a corner and the trail descended quickly back to the stream.  As we got closer to the bottom, we could see the trail on the other side of the stream.  It basically went straight up the side of the ridge.  It didn't take too long to get to the top of it, but it was definitely a thigh-burner.  I would say it is definitely steeper than Sam's Ridge, but the steep part isn't quite as long. 

Near the top of the ridge, we made a Boy Scout Leader very happy.  At the bottom of the Hannah Run Trail, something caught my eye and I found a compass, knife, whistle, a light, and some safety pins.  It looked like someone had everything fall out of their pocket.  We knew a Boy Scout Troop had gone up the Hannah Run Trail before us while we were at the waterfall, so we picked everything up, hoping that we would catch them.  When we had nearly reached the top of the ridge, we found them and asked if they had lost anything.  Their leader was very happy to get the contents of his lanyard back.

At the top of the ridge, we turned right on the Catlett Mountain Trail for a pleasant mile's walk to the Hazel Mountain Trail.  There were patches of snow on the ground from last week's storm and no leaves on the trees at that elevation.  We turned right again on the Hazel Mountain Trail and then again on the Hot Short Mountain Trail.  At a couple of spots on the way down, we had a nice view of the valley and Old Rag to the south.  Further down, we walked between two well-built stone walls from before the area was a park.  By the time we reached the Nicholson Hollow Trail again, the sun had gone behind the ridge, even though it was only 3:45.  We stopped a few more times to take pictures of the river and then finished the easy walk back to the car.  It was an incredibly nice, quiet fall day on trail.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Red and gold leaves on the Hannah Run Trail

Aster sp.  (Aster).  This one was not, apparently, bothered by last weekend's snow very much.

This shot does not even do justice to the steepest part of the Hannah Run Trail. 

 An old saw blade in front of a chimney.

One of the signposts along the way.

Maple leaves.

A maple leaf on the snow on the Catlett Mountain Trail.

Old Rag from the Hot Short Mountain Trail.

The lower part of the Hot Short Mountain Trail.

A small waterfall on the Hughes River

Our canine escort (a neighbor's dog that we took care of for the weekend).  She was very, very disappointed to not be allowed to chase a deer on the other side of the river.

Another view of the Hughes River.

The Old Rag parking lot at 4:30 p.m.  It was still 3/4 full and the neighbor's lot was nearly full.

Old Rag Mountain Stewards: Weekend on the Ropes

This weekend was the last scheduled weekend of the year for Old Rag Mountain Stewards (ORMS).  Once the leaves and the temperatures drop, visitation to the mountain usually drops off precipitously.  This weekend, however, the temperatures were in the high 50s to low 60s, so the crowds did not get the memo that the busy season is nearly over. 

We arrived Saturday morning at 9:30 and the parking lot was already nearly full.  There were lots of big groups and several parties with dogs (no dogs are allowed on Old Rag).  Several of us were scheduled to work and we had two new volunteers join us.  By the time we had gear and people organized, it was almost 11 a.m.  The new volunteers headed up the Ridge Trail with a more experienced Steward.  The rest of us got a ride to Post Office Junction to set up camp for that night and to return the rescue gear to the first aid cache after the previous weekend's carry-out.  Once we had pitched tents and hung bear bags, we loaded the rescue litter with gear and began pushing it up the Saddle Trail to the cache.  It is only two miles from PO Junction to the cache, but we were all ready to be done by the time we got there. 

After dropping off the gear, we proceeded to the summit, where we met up with the rest of the group.  We spent the rest of the afternoon setting anchors and practicing rappelling and ascending.  It was a good review.  We finished just as the sun went down.  Old Rag Patrols generously brought steaks and portabellos for the group for dinner.  We spent the evening at the Old Rag Shelter eating a fantastic dinner and enjoying a warm fire in the fire pit.  It was a little chilly camping that night at Post Office Junction, but nothing like what it could be in the second week of November. 

Sunday morning, several more Stewards met us at camp.  We headed up the mountain to one of the many climbing spots where two of the lead stewards had a challenge in store for all of us.  They had set fixed ropes on three pitches for us to ascend.  The first part was tough.  The rock was partly covered in pine needles, which made it tough to get good footing.  My calves burned when I had to stand for a long time at certain angles while trying to figure out the next move. After that, though, it got easier for a while.  I was able to walk and push the prussiks ahead of me.  At the first anchor, I moved my prussiks above it and waited for the next person so I could explain what to do before I continued.

The next few stretches were pretty straightforward except for some aggressive mountain laurel.  Then I reached a section that was vertical.  Another rope with knots had been hung there, but I had trouble getting up off of the rock I was standing on.  After a while, I realized I could tie knots in the second rope and use it as a step to push off.  After doing that a couple of times, I managed to get a foothold and get over the lip of rock.  The rest of the ascent went smoothly.  One we reached a relatively level slab of rock, we were able to unclip and eat some lunch while we waited for a rope to be set for rappelling. 

While we were waiting, a few falcons put on quite a show.  They soared above the valley next to us, diving down and landing in trees briefly before taking off again.  Every now and then they would fill the valley with their calls.  At one point, two of them drove a raven out of the valley, diving and darting at it while screeching.  Falcons are not common in Shenandoah, so it was a treat to see them.  In five years of hiking in the area, this is the first time we have ever seen them.

After we rappelled down into the ravine, we bushwhacked up to a climbers path that took us back to the Saddle Trail just below the summit.  It was slow going to get to the climbers path.  The entire valley seemed to be covered in blackberries and greenbriar.  By the time we reached the climbers path, it was nearly dark.  We made our way up to the Saddle Trail, pushing through one last section of mountain laurel, just as the light completely gave way to night.  We dropped our packs, put on our headlamps and went back down to the base of the climbers path to light the way for the others coming up.

At the summit, the wind had picked up and we could feel the weather system moving in.  No one else was up there, which is a rare, rare thing on Old Rag.  We stayed for a short while before making our way down. It was an incredible day.  There were some difficult spots, but it was an amazing way to go up the mountain.  The best part of the day was working together to solve the problems.  There is honestly no other group I would rather work with.

I want to thank Rudy's Pizza in Sperryville for staying open late so all of us could have dinner together before driving home.  It was a fantastic way to end the 2010 ORMS season.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 

Sunset from a small wall at the summit.

A fire near Graves Mountain.

Saxifraga michauxii (Michaux's Saxifrage) turning red before it goes dormant for winter.

Sunset on Saturday.

The ropes on one of the slabs on Sunday.

Hanging from the rope taking pictures.  Weakley Hollow is in the background. 

 Robertson Mountain.

A falcon soaring above us (click to enlarge).

Two Stewards waiting for the rappelling rope to be brought up.

Rappelling down into the ravine.