Old Rag Night Hike (July 2018)

Old Rag (3,284 ft) is the best-known hike in the DC area and Shenandoah National Park.  Problem is, its rocky peak (rare in the Park) and fun rock scramble attracts everyone and their uncle.  It's not uncommon to be stuck behind a traffic jam on the trail.  Not exactly solitude.

To avoid the crowds, Adrienne cooked up a daring plan...start hiking in the middle of the night and reach the peak for sunrise over the Shenandoah.  Neither of us had done a night hike before, and we had no idea what to expect. 

After packing our bags and headlamps on a Friday evening in July, we forced ourselves to bed for a few hours of sleep.  Waking up at 1 AM to set out for a hike was bizarre.  We walked to our car through crowds of rowdy millennials spilling out of bars.  A's hiking boots walked past high heels. 

As we drove deeper into Virginia, the city lights and noise subsided, and a full moon peaked out.  We arrived in the Old Rag parking lot around 3:30 AM, and laced up our boots by headlamp and moonlight.  We certainly didn't feel tired.  If anything, thoughts of a night in the woods fueled us with adrenaline. 

It didn't take long to learn that night hikes bring unique challenges.  Our first attempt at finding the trailhead turned out to be someone's home.

Gearing up by moonlight

Realizing we had to haul it up to make sunrise, we opted to hike the fire road, as opposed to the more technical rock scramble.  Night hiking is unremarkable in some ways (there's not much to see), and totally amazing in others.  Owls hooted as we climbed, and we nearly walked into several deer.  As we neared the summit, I could tell sunrise was close.  The sky was turning from black to a steely blue.  I became utterly obnoxious encouraging A to hurry up.  At one point, she threatened to throw me off the summit if I didn't shut up.

 Just before sunrise

But we made it.  Despite running the last 100 yards, we reached the summit with a few minutes to go.  The peak was surprisingly windy and chilly, so we cozied up to the rock in sweaters, cracked a beer (my earliest ever) and watched.  The pictures below don't do the event justice.

Sunrise over the 'Doah

Personal earliest summit/beer

 A on top of the world

As the sun warmed the world, the Blue Ridge Mountains came into full view.  After walking around the peak and taking in the 360-degree panorama, we headed down.  What had been a dark and slightly spooky path hours before was a beautiful walk in the morning light.  We bounced along feeling triumphant. 

 Walking down, seeing the trail for the first time

 Morning shower in Brokenback Run

We hit the parking lot by 9 AM, just as the hordes were arriving.  We could have sold our parking spot.  Instead, we headed to Sperryville for breakfast.  After exploring a few art galleries, we landed at Before&After for watermelon salad, a turkey and brie panini, and fresh blueberry lemonade.  We gorged, remarked on how we had just lived a full extra day than the rest of the world, and headed home. 

                                                                               Fruits of Sperryville 

Floating South Fork of the Shenandoah (July 2018)

Adventuring through Virginia is also adventuring through our history.  The Civil War brought intense fighting to the Shenandoah Valley, which was used so effectively by the Confederacy that it became known as the "Valley of Humiliation" for the Union.  For most of the war, the Confederacy used the valley to threaten Washington, DC.  Even as the war shifted in the North's favor, Southern forces out-maneuvered the Union for months, extending the conflict despite being outnumbered and out-supplied.  Only after the Union waged a brutal "total war" through the valley did it fall.  Shortly thereafter, the Confederacy collapsed.

If you can't already tell, I had a history-buff friend along for this adventure.  It was mid-June, and too hot to hike.  So Russell and I rented a canoe and set out on a two-day float down the South Fork of the Shenandoah River.  After leaving DC in 6am, we stopped for a breakfast sandwich and coffee in Front Royal, site of a famous Confederate victory in May, 1862.

Virginia: Life is old here, but still looking good!

After renting our canoe, packing dry bags, and cramming the cooler with ice and beer, we shuttled upriver to just below Bixler Bridge in Luray.  We set sail.  Despite the busy morning, we suddenly found ourselves with nothing to do but float 30 miles downriver.  The morning was still early, and the river gently switched between slow water and riffles as we got to know our boat.

It didn't take long for Virginia to reach the mid-80s, so we countered with beer on ice.  Creativity was needed to pass beverages back and forth.  And just as we began eyeing the dwindling contents of the cooler, we rescued the tube of a day-floater and were replenished!

Our solution for passing beers in a canoe 

Toward the end of day 1, we guided the boat ashore and made camp on a sandy embankment.  Later in the fall, we might have been the only people spending the night, but in mid-July, we shared the shore with several other groups.  It wasn't silent. 

Worn out from the sun, we took to hammock reading and casting for smallies.  The good beer came out...all the way from Hawaii, and with local honey. 

Our boat's home for the night

 

Sunset Casting

The night began hot and humid, but by morning we crawled into our sleeping bags for a relatively comfortable sleep.  Nevertheless, rinsing off in the river the next morning felt great.  I fished a bit before breakfast, and was joined by a hispanic woman hand-lining.  It was great to see folks from different cultures all enjoying public land together, and bringing unique fishing practices with them.  Needless to say, her hand-line out-fished my expensive fly setup.  After a meal of MountainHouse breakfast scramble, we hit the river again.

Day 2 Begins 

The second day of this float featured the only two rapids, both which were no problem.  The first was a Class II wave train easily run on the right-hand side.  The second was a small ledge that's a breeze with enough water-flow and momentum. 

While the rapids were nothing to write home about, the Day 2 scenery was spectacular.  The shoreline cabins from the day before melted away as we paddled through National Forest.  This stretch of river was significantly more remote feeling, with great mountain views and rock structures.  It was at this point we decided another trip down the South Fork would be planned, ideally in the fall with leaves changing. 

Mid-afternoon on Sunday, we finished our 30 mile float and were shuttled back to our car.  We celebrated with hot paninis in Front Royal.  Not too shabby for a weekend!

Playing on a small ledge

Map for reference