Old Rag: Crowds and Ravens

We spent Saturday on Old Rag volunteering with Old Rag Mountain Stewards. It was a beautiful fall Saturday in October, which meant the parking lot was already full when we arrived to start our day. We got to spend a good part of our day with one of the park rangers, which was a rare treat. Fall is in full swing: the leaves are changing and the forest is shutting down for the coming winter.

 Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) blooming along the Saddle Trail

 A Woolly Worm caterpillar.

This is pretty representative of the crowds all over the summit most of the afternoon. There were so.many.people.

Around 4:30, Michael and I were talking about wrapping up for the day. The crowds were starting to thin and we were thinking of dinner. At that moment, a group came over and asked if we could help a member of their party who had an abrasion on their head. We patched the person up (it wasn't serious) and chatted with them for a bit. In the meantime, a thin layer of clouds had rolled in and we realized that we were nearly the last people on the summit of the mountain. It was quiet, the light was stunningly beautiful, and ravens soared and played on the wind. We stayed for another half an hour or so, just enjoying it. Old Rag can be magical under the right conditions and this was one of those times.

 Ravens taking a break on some rocks.

 The sun streaming through the clouds to the west of the mountain.

 A raven landing on a rock

 Soaring over the valley.

 This raven had picked up a bit of food left by a hiker on the summit.

 Looking west.

 Looking northwest towards Hot Short Mountain

 Looking south.

Leaves turning on the Saddle Trail on the way down.

Peak Color on Old Rag

Our schedule just worked out that we volunteered on Old Rag two weekends in a row, so we got to see a nice progression of the leaf colors. We were up there two weekends ago. It was predictably nutty up there, but it was also beautiful and much warmer than the weekend before.

 The first high water bridge on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road.

Changing leaves on the fire road.

 A little toad in the leaves

The summit of Old Rag through the trees.

 Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel): The last flowers of the year.

 Looking towards Skyline Drive and Hawksbill Mountain from the summit.

 Looking northeast from the summit.

Changing trees in the valley.

A raven soaring over Weakley Hollow.

The view from the first false summit on our way down the mountain.

How to Make a Hike Last All Day: Three Ridges and the Mau-Har Trail

I hiked the Mau-Har Trail in Central Virginia in 2002 as part of a five day backpacking trip.  The friend I was with and I decided to skip what looked like a more difficult section of the Appalachian Trail in favor a pretty waterfalls and a little less climbing.  Since then, I have wanted to go back there and hike the Three Ridges section of the Appalachian Trail, which we missed.  Starting at Reed's Gap, the Appalachian Trail and the Mau-Har Trail make a 14.4 mile loop that is considered to be one of the more difficult dayhikes in Virginia, with nearly 3,900 feet of climbing.

We spent the night before the hike in a condo at Wintergreen Resort thanks to a friend who rented it for the weekend for another event.  The hike had been on her list for a while, too, so it was the perfect opportunity to get it done.  Reed's Gap is just about 15 minutes from Wintergreen.  It felt a bit strange not to drive two hours before a hike, but I think I could adjust to it if I had to.  It was chilly enough for hats and gloves when the four of us started hiking at 8 a.m.  The early morning sunlight streamed through the changing leaves as we began climbing out of the gap.

We made pretty good time, at first.  We quickly reached Maupin Field Shelter and continued up Bee Mountain, the first serious climb of the day.  As we continued walking, however, we kept noticing more and more interesting things to photograph.  All four of us enjoy photography, so the pauses were frequent.  At Hanging Rock, we had a great view of The Priest to the south and all of the fall colors at their peak.  The sun warmed us up after a chilly hike in the shade to get there.  We must have spent 45 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the view. 

From Hanging Rock, the trail crosses the Three Ridges, which give the hike its name.  We reached the top thinking that for a hike that is reputed to be so difficult, the climbing wasn't difficult at all.  We would pay for our smugness later.  The descent off of the ridge was relatively well-switchbacked and the leaves were just amazing colors.  We stopped for lunch on a rock outcrop with a good view.  We also stopped at Chimney Rock and took more pictures.  For a few minutes, we had a good view of two turkey vultures sunning themselves on a rock.  Then they tired of the attention and flew off.  As we descended, the leaves became brighter and late asters bloomed along the trail. 

We took another long break at Harper's Creek Shelter.  At that point, it was 2:30.  We had hiked about 8 miles.  In 6.5 hours.  We still had 6.5 to go and about four hours of daylight.  We resolved to stop only twice more to take pictures.  When we reached the first spot, where the trail crossed the main part of Harper's Creek, it didn't turn out that the waterfall was quickly accessible.

At the next trail junction, we paused a moment before turning onto the much less well-traveled Mau-Har Trail.  I remembered the trail being difficult because I was carrying a heavy pack in 2002 and because I was not in terribly good shape then.  Well, it turned out that the trail was difficult because it is pretty steep, both going up and down. Going down was more challenging this time because fallen leaves covered the trail, hiding rocks and making the trail slippery.  We reached Campbell Creek and spent a little while exploring the waterfalls.  The climb out of Campbell Creek is steep, rocky, and spectacular.  The rhododendron-lined trail follows the creek for about a mile and passes countless cascades.  At this point, though, we were running out of daylight and tired, so we pressed on to the top of the ridge.  We took a break at the Maupin Field Shelter and made it back to the car at 6 p.m., just before sunset.

This is one of the toughest hikes I've done in the Mid-Atlantic (part of it was self-induced with the slow pace).  It is also one of the most spectacular.  Between the fall colors, beautiful waterfalls, and great views, it is in a class by itself.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Sunrise from Wintergreen Resort

 A turning maple leaf

 A fern along the trail.

 Bootshot from Hanging Rock with the Priest in the distance.

 Turning leaves from Hanging Rock

 Turning maple leaves

 Lunch.  We do like to "rough" it on trail with good cheese, salami, and chocolate.

 Club moss.

 A small cascade on Campbell Creek.

 Golden leaves.

 A turning sassafras leaf.

 The view from Harper's Creek Shelter

 Campbell Creek Falls

Sunset at Reed's Gap.

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.

Halloween with Old Rag Mountain Stewards

We worked with Old Rag Mountain Stewards (ORMS) both days this weekend.  The fall colors, while past their peak on the summit of the mountain, were at their peak anywhere they were sheltered from the strongest gusts of wind.  Saturday was a bit windy and chilly.  It was a busy day, but not excessively crowded for an October Saturday and six of us were out with ORMS.  Since it was Halloween weekend, several of us showed up with some costume elements to celebrate the occasion.

We headed up the Weakley Hollow Fire road.  Another volunteer drove around to Berry Hollow and also went up the Saddle Trail.  The rest of the volunteers hiked up the Ridge Trail.  The trees on the fire road were spectacular.  Bright yellow mixed with red maples and other trees to make a beautiful hike up to the Saddle Trail.  We made it up to the summit in record time without even trying.  At the summit, most of the leaves have been blown off of the trees already. It was windy and cool, even in the sun.  We took a look around the summit, which was crowded, and then spent some time in the sun chatting with people as they reached the top. 

After the other volunteers reached the top, we went down to Byrd's Nest shelter to do some training on the haul system for the litter.  The haul system is a set of ropes and rigging that allows us to safely move a patient over difficult terrain.  It can even be used to raise or lower a patient on a cliff.  By the time we were done with training, it was getting late, so we went back up to the summit to see if any hikers remained.  We were treated to a spectacular sunset on the way down the Ridge Trail.

Saturday night, we camped at one of the campsites along the fire road.  It was clear and cold, but not unpleasant.  We sat up for a little while with another volunteer, drinking tea and chatting before climbing into the tent.  We awoke to another, slightly warmer, bright clear morning.  By the time we walked down the road to the parking lot, crowds of hikers were on their way up the mountain.

There were just four of us on the mountain on Sunday, but the crowd was lighter, too. The weather was perfect, probably one of the best hiking days this fall.  We went up the Ridge Trail and looked at some of the routes down to some climbing areas.  At dusk, on the summit, the ravens were out, riding thermals and darting in and out of the cliffs.  All in all, it was a great weekend on the mountain.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

 Walking up the Weakley Hollow Fire Raod.

 The trees along the fire road.

The summit from the Saddle Trail.

 My costume for Halloween:  Sequined red horns.

Weakley Hollow from the summit of Old Rag.

 Sunset from the Ridge Trail.

 Looking out over Etlan from the Ridge Trail at sunset.

 The S-Curve where I almost always take a picture.

 Wild Grapes.

 Maple leaves.

Ravens darting around the cliffs at sunset.