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
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