Don't Try This at Home, Kids: Ice and Snowshoeing on Old Rag

A cautionary note about this hike:  Hiking Old Rag this time of year is a serious undertaking.  There is currently a lot of ice on the mountain, making many areas of the rock scramble dangerous.  On Sunday, many of the areas in the rock scramble would have been impassable without traction devices.  The solitude of hiking in the winter, combined with the extra risk from the ice should not be taken lightly.  Getting hurt likely means spending the night out in the snow.

The hike:  My only regret from last year's snowstorms was that I did not get to snowshoe on Old Rag.  Somehow, we just didn't get around to it.  We received enough snow in last week's snowstorm that a friend and I decided to make an attempt at snowshoeing the mountain on Sunday.  We arrived just before 10 a.m. and the parking lot was a sight to see:  only three other cars.  I think that is the fewest number of cars I have ever seen in the parking lot.  The road to the trailhead was plowed, so we strapped the snowshoes to our packs and set off.  The snow on the ridge trail was pretty packed down, so I put on my microspikes, rather than my snowshoes for the hike up.

We made good time on the Ridge trail.  The snow was packed, but not icy and it was warm enough to hike without a coat for the first time in a few weeks.  One of the local dogs, a little border collie mix, ran between us and a group of guys in front of us trying to convince us to throw sticks for it.  We left that group behind just before the rock scramble.  We encountered our first serious ice at the beginning of the rock scramble, just below the first big overlook.  We made it over without too much difficulty, but it was a preview of what was to come.  We took a break for lunch and to enjoy the warm sun at the overlook.  The group of guys playing with the dog earlier passed us and then returned a short time later, having been turned back by ice.

The Gumball Drop is the first big drop on the rock scramble.  It involves lowering oneself down into an eight-foot deep crack.  There are good footholds, which I was happy to see did not have ice on them.  Then we turned the corner.  The two drops below that were entirely covered in ice.  We very, very carefully descended, sticking the points of our traction devices into the ice.  These are spots that do not normally even register as difficult when it is dry, but they were pretty hairy with half an inch of ice on them.  There were fewer tracks in the snow beyond that point, but we definitely were not the first people who had hiked to the summit since the snowstorm.

There were a few more icy spots along the way.  A lot of the handholds that one would usually use in the more difficult areas were iced over and completely useless.  We went really slow and made sure each step and handhold was secure in every area that was icy.  We avoided the ice wherever we could.  The last, most difficult spot, the Chute, required a team effort to ascend because the handholds were iced over.  After that, we reached the summit without much more difficulty.  There was about a foot of snow in the sheltered areas of the summit ridge, while the more windswept areas of the summit were bare.  We took a short break and enjoyed the sunshine and the view.  A very frozen White Oak Falls was visible in the distance.

For the hike down, I put on my snowshoes.  The snow deep enough for them until just above the high water bridges on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road.  We saw bear tracks along the road below the bridge over the Hughes River. 

It was a great trip, but not one to take lightly.  Traction devices of some kind are highly advisable.  The solitude of hiking Old Rag this time of year is a beautiful thing, but it also carries a lot of responsibility.  Once we left the Gumball Drop area, we did not see another person until we arrived at the upper parking lot on the way down. 

Pictures (click to enlarge):

The Ridge Trail

The first big overlook on the Ridge Trail.

Ice on the rock scramble.  This is normally an easy move, if a bit of a squeeze.  The rock I am standing on and the rock I am leaning on are both covered in ice. 

Ice covering rocks near the summit.

A snow drift near the summit.

The S-curve where I always take a picture.

Bootshot from the summit.

The summit from the Saddle Trail.

Mountain Laurel on the Saddle Trail.

A dried flower head on the Saddle Trail.

A bear track on the Weakley Hollow Fire Road.

Winter's Arrival - Hazel River Area

When we got up this morning, the thermometer said 33 degrees.  Two weeks ago, when we were last out hiking, the leaves had still been on many of the trees and it was warm enough to hike in short sleeve shirts.  What a difference two weeks can make.  No leaves remain on the trees in Shenandoah and all of the underbrush has died away for the winter.  In spite of the cold, winter is a very pleasant time to visit the park if one is prepared for the weather.  There are few tourists and more views since the leaves are off the trees. 

We hiked up the Hazel River Trail from county road 600 with a vague plan for the day.  Soon after we started, we met a large church group, one of just two groups we saw the entire day.  We crossed the Hazel River several times before turning sharply uphill on the steep White Rocks Trail.  As we climbed, we could hear the wind howling above us.  Once in a while a gust would catch us, blasting us with cold air.  At the top of the ridge, we were pretty much constantly in gusts of wind of varying strength.  In a shady part of the trail, we saw our first frost flowers of the season.  We hiked the quarter of a mile down to White Rocks Falls and found a sunny lunch spot that was sheltered from the wind.  There was far more water in the falls than there was when we hiked there in the summer.  The first icicles of the season hung on a small branch over the creek below the falls. 

From there, we returned to the White Rocks Trail, which climbs slowly to the Catlett Spur Trail.  We turned onto the Catlett Spur Trail and hiked the mile to the Hannah Run Trail.  The Hannah Run Trail climbs steeply to the Pinnacles Overlook on Skyline Drive.  Normally, Pinnacles is a fairly busy overlook, but today it was empty.  With nothing to block the wind, it was also freezing cold, so we snapped a couple of pictures and returned the way we came.  At the junction of the Catlett Spur and Catlett Mountain Trails, we went east on Catlett Mountain Trail.  We made our way back to the car via Hazel Mountain Trail and a steep descent down Sam's Ridge Trail.  Sam's Ridge Trail was covered in leaves, making what is already a challenging descent even more exciting.

Winter has definitely arrived in the mountains.

Pictures (click to enlarge):

A small waterfall on the lower Hazel River

White Rocks Falls

Another view of White Rocks Falls.

Icicles over the stream.

Long shadows at 1:30 p.m. on the moss.

Frost flowers.

Old Rag from Pinnacles Overlook.

Pinnacles Overlook empty.  Quite a difference from the way the drive looked a month ago at another overlook.

Looking northeast towards Sperryville.

An interesting spider on Sam's Ridge Trail.  I don't know anything about spiders, so if anyone knows what kind it is, let me know.  She was about 1.5 inches across (including legs).

Snickers Gap to Keys Gap--14 miles on the VA/WV Appalachian Trail

Yesterday, we hiked 14 miles, mostly on the Appalachian Trail (AT), near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.  The weather forecast for the day was sunny and 40 degrees - perfect for winter hiking.  Although snow had been forecast on Thursday, on the drive up to Keys Gap, it didn't look like the area received more than a dusting.  At Key's Gap, though, the trees and the parking lot were covered in ice.  We met our friend there just after nine, climbed in her car and headed south to Snickers Gap, where we met up with another friend.  The Snickers Gap parking lot condition was similar, giving me the opportunity to take a few pictures before we even got started on the trail.

We had to walk a short way down highway seven to get to the Appalachian Trail.  We made a right turn onto the trail and started walking towards our car, 13.5 miles north.  The trail was covered in about an inch of ice and old snow, making my microspikes useful once again.  The trees were all coated in a few millimeters of ice, making them shine in the bright sun. The first part of the hike is somewhat hilly, with a couple of quick up and downs.  We crossed a couple of old rock slides that had streams running under them.  It is pretty neat to stand on what appears to be a dry pile of rocks and hear a fairly large stream flowing under your feet.  We took a break for lunch at Crescent Rocks, where we met a Boy Scout troop hiking in preparation for Philmont.  It was warm enough in the sun to sit without putting on an extra jacket.  Looking out over the valley, the forest shone silver from the ice.  

After lunch, we picked up the pace a little and made our way along the ridgeline to the junction with the trail to the Blackburn Trail Center, 7.5 miles from where we started.  On our way we ran into a Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) trail maintainer out to clear blowdowns. We took the time to thank him for the hard work that he does.  Around 1:30 p.m., we arrived at the Trail Center, a hostel, shelter, and campground all rolled into one a quarter of a mile below the AT.  There were some younger boy scouts at the shelter who offered to cook us lunch and seemed rather disappointed when we said we had already eaten.  Apparently, they were working on their cooking badges.

Back on the AT, we had six more miles to go.  The ice had melted off most of the trees and the snow was melting on the south-facing slopes of the hills, but the north slopes were still covered in solid ice.  We took another quick break at David Lesser Shelter, which is one of the nicer trail shelters that I have seen.  We ran into two more PATC volunteers who were the maintainers for that shelter.  Again, many thanks to the volunteers that do the hard work to keep trails and facilities open.

We made it back to our car in 6 hours and 45 minutes.  Considering the ice and the distance, not a bad day at all.

Pictures:

Ice-covered branches in the Snickers Gap parking lot.

Grass coated with ice.

Mountain Laurel leaves coated with ice.

Ice covered trees in an old rock slide.

Crossing into West Virginia.

The ice makes the forest look like it is made out of crystal.  Crescent Rocks.

A frozen twig.

The Appalachian Trail.

A frozen pond near Route 9.