Old Rag

This past weekend I hiked Old Rag Mountain (named for the "ragged" top on its face). That day the temperature was 30-32 degrees Fahrenheit and winds were in the mid 20s MPH. The day before the weather was in the 50s. Yeah. Why??
But we had planned the day far in advance and off hiking we went.

For anyone in Virginia and points around I highly recommend Old Rag. Just about anyone who can walk for 5-6 hours can do it. They may not want to but they can. I often point out my out of shape cousin did it. She swears she'll never do it again. Not for pets or babies but some kids have been spotted on the trail.

It pretty much is walking, walking walking. Then you get from the parking lot to the start. About 2 hours of walking upwards, not too many sights. Then you get to some clearings and views and then the BIG view and you get a second wind. Awesome views (for Virginia) and lot of picture taking ensues. Many people stop here to eat lunch or a snack. Then the rock scramble for about an hour. This scares some people who are afraid of heights, but with help one can make it up and down rocks, using feet, legs, and hands. Some squeezing through crevices. There is one area where you have to jump a short distance which is scary for those afraid of heights. It's not far but mentally tough. Then you go and wonder when you will reach the summit but it happens and some more picture taking, but not as exciting as the BIG view. Then the painful walk down, which the sign says is 5.2 more miles. Sad face.
Gravity helps but then hurts. Going upward is mostly tiring, maybe a some soreness. Downwards is painful! My knees, ankles and ball of my feet feel every rock and downward grade. 

A view from the top (from a previous hike a few Septembers ago):

And the next day everything below the belly hurts. :)
Guess who had a fire alarm go off while I was on the fifth floor and had to walk down? Why me??

For those who want to brave the cold weather, which given the choice between freezing and 90 degree weather I would choose freezing, layers are a must, including gloves, a hat, thick sock(s), and some sort of mouth covering (balaclava, buff, scarf). Face was in so much pain. Also wish I had more sunblock. Another issue was that some of our snacks froze/were very hard as did our water in camel baks. We had a thermos which worked great for the hot chocolate. In hotter weather dehydration is an issue and there are no real water stops on the trail (some at the end but you'd need some river water device).

Here is a photo of water that dripped onto my backpack and froze. Someone said it looked like tears. Not saying where the water dripped from...

Thus another regular adventure became a Why Adventure.

Neat link

My friend J showed me this link and it is very good advice! Kind of what I was writing about but concise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENQGYlb3q8o&feature=youtu.be

True about how all the prep won't help, sike! It will but it won't. And you'll go on an adventure you will never forget.

Links in the video:
http://www.americabycycle.com/
http://www.adventurecycling.org/features/howto.cfm

Yosemite: Day 1

Due to popular demand of 1, I'll revisit my Yosemite Adventure of August 2012.

There are a lot of web guides and suggestions for a 3 day stay and this is what we came up with:
Day 1: hike Vernal Falls
Day 2: Sentinel Dome, Glacier Falls, and Tuolumne Meadows
Day 3: Mariposa Grove
I think it was a fairly good plan. In the future I would consider doing Half Dome and maybe visiting the area around Hetch Hetchy.

We flew from D.C. to San Jose and stayed with some relatives. The drive from there to Yosemite was about 4 hours. There was a lot of desert and highway. A few Walmarts in between for last minute supply gathering, mainly food. Would recommend a lot of water and some snacks.

We decided to stay outside of Yosemite at the Days Inn Oakhurst. While it was only 14 miles from the southern entrance, it still took about 45 minutes to drive just to the entrance due to one lane roads and a low speed limit. If we were to go again I think we'd shell out and stay inside the park or as close as possible. Once in the park it is about 45 minutes to an hour(s) to each destination. That said the Days Inn had a nice continental breakfast each morning and the rooms were sufficient. There was a microwave and fridge.

Day 1 we arrived around noonish or 1pm and decided to try one hike, the Mist Trail to Vernal falls which was just 3 miles round trip. We thought it would not take that long but ended up taking several hours. We did stop and take a lot of pictures along the way. There are two or three places that people stop a lot of photos, all related to the falls. I do recommend getting off the trail to the bottom of the Falls. Nice rainbows and a refreshing mist during the summer.

In August it was crowded but manageable. People of all ages were doing the trail and there is one place to fill your water bottles. At the top of Vernal Falls there is a nice pool of water but even in August very chilly. Only a group of French adolescents were brave enough to jump in and swim to the other side.

Prior to this we were thinking of being ambitious and try the Mist Trail to Nevada Falls or even Half Dome. But we or I am out of shape. Maybe one day.

Being a "why adventure" when we got back to the car we saw a note on the car. Someone saw our keys on the ground and they had it! OMG. This was very distressing especially because our cell phones did not have any reception. We tried using pay phones and asking strangers to use their phone. Finally we found the Yosemite security and we were able to get in touch with the folks with our keys. I had dreams that we would be sleeping on a bench somewhere or when we found the stranger with our keys they would like stab us to death.

They were very kind and we ended up eating pizza at one of the dining halls and stopping to look at the stars before heading back. Pretty amazing but a photo fail. The Tunnel View was a place we placed several times each day and it was always an sight.

Mist Trail: http://www.yosemitehikes.com/yosemite-valley/mist-trail/mist-trail.htm
Days Inn: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g32809-d79191-Reviews-Days_Inn_Yosemite_Sierra_Inn-Oakhurst_California.html
Yosemite Valley: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/yv.htm
Hetch Hetchy: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/hetchhetchy.htm
Half Dome: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/halfdome.htm

3 Day Guides:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/GoListDetail-i21258-Three_Days_in_Yosemite_National_Park.html
http://www.sunset.com/travel/california/yosemite-travel-3-day-trip-itinerary-00400000050386/
http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/3-days-at-yosemitethings-to-do-.cfm

Yosemite Day 2

This was a mostly fun and action packed day.

We went to Sentinel Dome first. It was about 2.2 miles up and back and took about 2 hours. The hike was pretty pleasant and the views were amazing on the Dome. This was about 45 minutes from the South Entrance.

I was experimenting with InfraRed or fake infrared during the trip. Here is a tree:

Then we drove not too far away and went to Glacier Point. There is not much hiking here just look outs. The parking lot gets very full for both of these spots so I recommend going early or being patient. There is also a gift shop and snack shop here.

Then we drove to Tuolumne Meadows which was very far away on the Northeast portion of the park. We actually had to stop and get gas at one of the in-park gas stations ($$). 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was a stop by Tenaya Lake. The lake was just so pretty and peaceful. Felt like I was in the Alps or something. A few brave, again I think Europeans went swimming in the cold water. 

Pretty right?

We also stopped by Omstead Point which is another nice look out but did not spend much time there.

We finally made it to the Meadows and it was not too exciting in the summer. We arrived too late to do a mule or horse ride. We had a picnic and relaxed a little and drove about 1.5 hours back to the Valley. It was too late to do any more hikes so we rented bikes and tried to catch a sunset with just mediocre success. :-D Bike rentals are pretty cheap and a lot of people bring their own bikes too. Fairly easy to get around on paved paths. We had dinner again at one of the Valley eateries and caught a movie about the dangers of Yosemite. The Valley is the area of most interest and traffic. It has multiple lodging, hikes (Half Dome, Vernal Falls), and places to eat and do souvenir shopping. 

Another long drive back to the hotel.

Tenaya Lake: http://www.yosemitehikes.com/tioga-road/tenaya-lake/tenaya-lake.htm

Bike Rentals: http://www.yosemitepark.com/bike-rentals.aspx
Tuolumne Meadows: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tmhikes.htm
Valley: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/yv.htm

Yosemite Day 3

While Yosemite was fun we were about ready to head home.

The last day we went to visit the Giant Sequoias at Mariposa Grove. There is a very small parking lot at the bottom of the hill near the South Entrance and it was full. We had to drive about 30 minutes to another parking lot and wait for the shuttles that came every 20 or so minutes. There is a souvenir shop there so I could spend some time wandering around.

Once there there is a paid tram tour but I was kind of cheap and decided to do the hike. We hiked to one of the cut out trees were and went back. It was about 2 or so hours. Cameras just cannot capture the size of these trees.

One of the fallen trees and a popular photo spot near the beginning of the hike.

We went by the Valley one last time (for souvenir shopping :-D) and then were on our way back to civilization. For our trip total (including a trip to San Francisco) we drove about 1000 miles in 5 days.

Final thoughts: Hiking shoes are useful. Bring Water. Dining options are limited in the park and outside of it so don't wait too late to eat. Be prepared to drive a lot. Plan to get to your destination well in advance, i.e. for sunset photo ops or scheduling a ride. May consider hiking Half Dome in the future.

Mariposa Grove:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/mg.htm
http://www.yosemitehikes.com/southern-yosemite/mariposa-grove/mariposa-grove.htm

Final thoughts on Biking trip 2012

Final thoughts on our bike trip from Pittsburgh to DC along the GAP and C&O.

It all felt uphill. People talk about which direction to go and even though it is a low grade up from west to east (Pitt to DC) with net downhill after continental divide it sure did not feel like it. Would it feel the same way the other direction? I'm guessing yes.

Prepare your body for the trip: get a good saddle, get miles in, get rest. Ride the bike you will be using on your trip. I usually ride a road bike and only rode my mountain bike a week before the trip.

Be realistic on how many miles a day you want to ride. I really wish we had at least one if not more lite days in the middle of our ride. It would give us time to recover some and also explore the town we were in. Also be aware of the weather and sunlight available. Also off-season several places seemed closed, although the hurricane could have played a part, along with bad luck - certain bike shops were closed on a Monday or Thursday, the days when we visited.

Study the maps. Note that there are less town stops on the C&O versus the GAP. Have a good plan of getting between Homestead and Pittsburgh as it is unfinished. There truly is no good way to get there on bike. There are bad ways. There are also shuttle services but you will definitely have to plan ahead. Find a friend if you have one to drop you off there. If we go all the way again I would wait until the GAP is finished, which should be next year?

Most useful items we brought: wet ones/wipes, multitool, lights, food and water
Wish we had: nail clippers and more pain killers, more food in the end

While riding I was thinking of making this blog as a cautionary tale. Even though we had a lot of pain and suffering in adverse conditions, it was a great epic adventure. If it was easy and was 60 degree sunny weather maybe I wouldn't have as much to talk about.

Would I do it again? Maybe several years (decades) from now. My dad wants to go on the trail now. I would do parts of it again for sure but to put on the pain for a week again so soon seems crazy. I also was thinking I would have a vacation from biking but the next day I wanted to get on again. Why!?

We are thinking of another bike adventure. :) Maybe Amsterdam. I'm hoping it is a "why, this is awesome" type adventure.

Feel free to contact and comment. Hope you get on your own adventure.

Preparing for the trip: the route

GAP/C&O planning.
The route

There are a lot of websites out there and the top ones I used were the official GAP site, BikeC&O, and Trip Advisor for B&B reviews, for the actual timing of the trip.

I've wanted to do a long distance bike ride since college when one of my friends did a 4K for Cancer bike ride from Baltimore to San Francisco. I don't have that much time available but I read an Washington Post article (looks like they don't have the original article onsite anymore) about biking the trails along with my boss mentioning he and his father did it. They all pointed to how "easy" it was so I had my mind set on it.

I have pre-set vacation and I happened to have one in early November or late April. Both are not super ideal as winter can still be an issue, but we bit the bullet and chose November. We looked up that there was on average 10 hours of sunlight and temps generally in the 40-50s. There were chances of rain but not alot.

There are alot of suggestions on how far to go and where to stay. During planning we came up with 3 to 8 day plans and settled with a 7 day plan: one day to get to Pittsburgh and six days of riding. If I were to do it again I would come up with a 10 day plan. I had previously only done a 59 mile bike ride. I was lulled into the idea that it was "only" a 1.5 or so grade uphill at most. Well riding uphill all the time still is difficult especially without much recovery. Anyone who rides a bike can do this trip, they just need to be realistic on how much time they need.

Our eventual plan:

The 7 day plan:
Day 1: Saturday 11/3 leave DC at 4pm, arrive Pitt midnight Hampton Inn
Day 2: Sunday 11/4 Pittsburgh, mm145 -> 113 (32 miles) west newton:   
http://www.brightmorning.net/rooms.html

Day 3: Monday 11/5  mm  113-->61 (52mi) Confluence

Falling water is near 75 mile marker - 1491 Mill Run Road  Mill Run, PA 15464

             http://www.theconfluencehouse.com/roomsandrates.html 
Day 4: Tuesday 11/6  61>0  (61 mi)  cumberland

http://www.brucehouseinn.com/contact.html

Day 5: Wednesday 11/7 mm 184->124 (60)  hancock
            http://www.1828-trail-inn.com/rooms.html
Day 6: Thursday 11/8 mm 124->60  (64) harpers ferry

http://www.theanglersinn.com/fenwickroom.html 

Day 7: Friday 11/9 mm 60->0 (0) Foggy Bottom



Even though we thought we planned it pretty well Mother Nature threw us curveballs.

1. Hurricane Sandy was the week prior: this caused snow in some areas of higher elevation near Deal to Eastern Continental Divide, and downed trees. We had to dismount several times and even carry bikes over difficult to walk around spots. Parts of the trail were washed out too making it very difficult to impossible to ride at times, causing alot of walking of bikes

2. Daylight Savings time: it got dark around 5-5:30 and we rode for up to 4 hours in the dark. Having headlights and back up lights is crucial. We should have been more aware of this.

3. Cold! With windchills it was in the 30s for most of the first half of the trip. Luckily we did not get any rain except for about 30 minutes of sprinkles one of the first days.


Towns I wish we had more time to explore:
Pittsburgh, PA
Connellsville, PA
Ohiopyle, PA - Falling Water
Frostburg, MD
Cumberland, MD
Little Orleans, MD
Hancock, MD
Williamsport, MD
Sheperdstown, WV
Harpers Ferry, WV
Potomac, MD
Georgetown, DC


Links:
Weather:
http://www.wunderground.com/ 

Daylight hours
http://www.climate-charts.com/Locations/u/US72520003669931.php

GAP/C&O:
Official GAP site  - click on maps for things on each stop
 http://www.bikewashington.org/canal/plan-lodging.php - very helpful for lodging along C&O
http://www.bikecando.com/_bikecando/default.aspx - useful site in general for C&O and GAP
Official C&O map

Elevation map: helpful mentally
http://www.bikecando.com/elevation.aspx
http://www.atatrail.org/tmi/elevation.cfm

Trip advisor: had more B&B reviews. Honestly any would probably be nice.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/

Hopkins 4K:
http://www.hopkins4k.org/about/