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.
