Are you a planner or are you spontaneous?
Or are you in that weird spot in between like my friends and I are in?
A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine made a suggestion: “Let’s hike Old Rag”.
We all knew what Old Rag was. A popular hike in Virginia known for its difficulty and numerous rock scrambles. Long and strenuous, the hike usually takes an average of five to six hours. Perfect for a group of friends who rarely leave their homes.
Okay, I shouldn’t speak for my friends. However, I most certainly was not in any type of physical condition that warranted saying yes to that hike. But I did. We all did.
We had a rough start on the planning. We set a date to go. That was it. We knew the day, the activity, and even researched the weather. Then, we went on with our lives.
Throughout the week leading up to the hike some important questions were raised; What time should we get there?, Where should we meet?, Are we going to carpool?. No answers were given.
Until the day before.
No harm done. Planning at the last minute is still planning if things go as planned. Which they did. We arrived slightly later than desired, but we all made it.
So, why did I bother to up our lack of preparation? Well, because hindsight is 2020. We should have asked ourselves a very different set of questions: When was the last time we walked a mile? How did we fare on our last hike? Do we enjoy walking on steep inclines? What’s a rock scramble?
Yes, those most definitely should have been our focus. Perhaps, if we had planned our trip earlier, we would have done more research on the hike and realized it was not the best idea, and switched to a more manageable hike. Or, at least we would have maybe “trained”…a little.
Unfortunately, we can’t change the past.
When Saturday finally arrived, we all met at a Walmart and piled into a single car. And, we were off!
The next seven hours would prove to be hell, for me at least.
Parking
What is one painful aspect many trips have in common? Parking.
Spontaneous or not, always research the available parking.
My friends and I researched where to park the night before at the same time we prepared everything else. We learned that there were three parking lots total near the entrance of Old Rag. Of those three, the trailhead was right next to lot two. So, we planned to park in lot two, easy right?
Well, once we were all in the same car, we decided to change destinations. My friend brought up a great point, “Why don’t we park near the exit?”. Makes sense. That way when we’re done and extremely exhausted, it would only be a short walk back to the car.
So, we quickly determined what parking lot was close to the exit and headed over.
Remember when I said we arrived later than we planned? Well, we were only 30 minutes behind schedule. However, it became clear that we should have gotten there hours earlier.
The parking lot was completely full. It was also tiny, and extremely difficult to maneuver, even for our small vehicle, to turn around.
Anyways, turn around we did. We went back down the same windy road and found ourselves in a different parking lot. At the entrance of this lot was a helpful park ranger.
He came to our window for a chat and we told him our plans. He was quick to burst our hopeful Old Rag adventure bubble.
He said all parking for Old Rag (at the back and front lots) had been full for hours.
He informed us that we had actually found our way into the parking lot for the White Oak Canyon trail, and even suggested we hike it instead of Old Rag. Not a bad idea, the trail included six waterfalls, was still 9 miles, yet was a lot less rigorous than Old Rag. However, Old Rag was the only stable part of our original plan and we were stubborn. We came to hike Old Rag, so Old Rag we would hike.
Thinking back, he definitely thought we were crazy. He informed us that the parking lot we were in was about a mile and a half from the entrance. To walk to the trailhead, complete the hike, then walk back would be a little over 13 miles.
Easy peasy.
The park ranger really did his best to dissuade us. However, we just continued to smile and nod with every additional piece of bad news about the hike. He probably wasn’t convinced that we understood, but eventually he resigned and pointed us in the direction we needed to go.
The First Stretch is Always the Worst / Have a Positive Mindset for the First Stretch
The path laid out before us was the very same windy road we had just come down. We needed to walk back to that tiny parking lot we were originally at, the one near the exit.
In the car, it didn’t seem that long nor did it seem that steep. On foot? It was treacherous. I think the fact that we had already been to the Old Rag parking lot made it worse. I mean, just think, we could have saved ourselves an entire mile of uphill hiking if we had gotten there earlier.
I’d say about three minutes into our “walk” to the parking lot, I was sweating, panting, freezing, and hot at the same time. Gotta love physical activity, it was great.
When we finally did make it to the parking lot, we universally decided to take a well deserved break. So, we stopped, sat down, drank some water, and caught our breath. All of us were probably thinking the same thing: Why did I agree to this?
However, we all put on a brave face, stood up, and continued forward onto the fire road that connected this tiny parking lot to both the entrance and exit of Old Rag.
Knowing we still had a long way to go before we even set foot on the actual trail was disheartening. Especially when all I could see was a never ending uphill path. However, it was fun to bond over our pain as a group while we all trudged forward.
Exactly 0.8 miles into the trek, we found a map. If we turned right, it would be 0.4 miles until we reached the exit of Old Rag. If we continued straight it would be another 2.5 miles until we reached the entrance.
Entrance or exit. We sat on a log and deliberated.
The park ranger had said if we went all the way to the entrance, it would be about 13 miles. Although we were quite adamant about taking that path, we just suffered for an hour.
We remembered, the park ranger had proposed an alternative to the full hike though. We could hike Old Rag from the back and turn around half way. That way, we would still finish at the exit.
It didn’t hurt that if we took the back way, we could turn around at any point we felt we were done.
For the first time on our trip, we finally made things easier on ourselves. We decided to turn right and hike Old Rag starting from the back. Saving ourselves the two and a half mile walk and the 13 mile overall hike.
Take Breaks
I’ve already depicted the two breaks my friends and I took before we even reached the trailhead. It might sound embarrassing, but they were necessary.
Do not be afraid to stop and take a second or minute to yourself. I know a lot of people don’t like to stop because they want to maintain momentum, and I get it. It’s really hard to get back up when you sit down or to keep a fast pace once you’ve stopped.
Maybe it’s different if you’re in shape. All I know is that if I don’t take breaks, my body eventually forces me to. With low stamina, a small recharge goes a long way for me.
Luckily, my friends and I were usually in agreement on when to take a break.
So, we continued on for two long hours to get to Old Rag Mountain’s summit, taking numerous short, but valuable breaks along the way.
Make Sure There’s a View
Imagine. You walk three miles uphill, grunting and grumbling the whole way.
You’ve become a bit detached, trying to keep your mind away from the fact that your legs are already sore and you’re not even halfway.
All of a sudden, the trail flattens out and you happen upon multiple different hiking groups. You’ve reached the peak! You finally tune back into your surroundings and take it in. You see nothing.
The weather is cloudy and foggy; it’s an endless gray. In addition, it’s pouring rain, making it even harder to see in front of you.
If there’s nothing to look at, what was the point? Morale drops, you feel gloomy and tired, and the whole journey just got a lot worse.
So, do your best to plan for good weather. I’ve been in both of these situations; had good and bad weather. Believe it or not, I hiked Old Rag before with my family a long time ago, back when I had more stamina. The weather was awful and there wasn’t much of a view.
This time, however, was different. When we reached the peak we were met with a beautiful landscape to admire. I 100% recommend going in the fall; seeing the tops of trees of all different colors was breathtaking. It really took a load off my shoulders and I felt more accomplished.
Dare I say, the view makes the suffering worth it, almost.
Reaching the summit isn’t just about taking in the view. Once you’re there, it’s the perfect place on Old Rag, to take a long break and recharge. In fact, it’s a wonderful location for a makeshift picnic. So hopefully, you packed some food.
What to Bring and What Not to Bring
I probably should have mentioned what items to bring earlier.
I did remember to emphasize that you should always be prepared. However, no need to go overboard, do your best to pack light.
All my life I have been a late packer. Even if a trip was fully planned out weeks in advance, I would usually still pack for it the night before. So, our last minute planning didn’t really hinder my packing, that is until my dad tried to help; more on that in a bit.
Now, what do you bring on a long hike? Water and food.
It’s important to have enough water to last the entirety of the hike. For me, that’s apparently one water bottle. Much less than the four I packed.
In the case of food, bring snacks that can help rejuvenate you. In my case, that equates to an entire bag of Xtra Cheddar Goldfish. Delicious! Especially on an empty stomach.
Despite that, I recommend bringing fruit. My friends were much smarter than me, they brought tangerines and apples, and generously shared with me. Just a single bite felt refreshing.
In addition to food and water, I packed bandaids, napkins, and a knife. None of which I used.
Now, just because nothing happened doesn’t mean something couldn’t have. It’s always good to have some type of first aid kit in my opinion, and you can never go wrong with paper towels. The knife might have been unnecessary. It’s not like I was camping. I didn’t even plan to bring it in the first place.
The night I was packing, my father decided to help. He went and retrieved a knife, and told me to take it. I did, reluctantly. Then he went and handed me an even bigger knife. Sure, he was probably joking, but I said no.
When I was gathering different sized bandaids, he handed me a gigantic bottle of iodine and said I’d need it for any deep wounds. Finding that highly unlikely, I refused the iodine as well.
Remember, you have to carry everything you bring. If you’re unfit, like myself, having a heavy bag will just hinder you in the long run.
Plus, I figured if one of us got deep wounds the rest of us could call for help.
Wear the Right Shoes
Since my friends and I decided to take the back way, the rock scrambles came after the summit. So after we took in the gorgeous view, finished recharging from a lovely snack time, and took many random photos, we made our way down.
Usually, when I hike, the trail is not too bad and only has a couple inclines. For those hikes, I tend to wear sneakers.
However, when it comes to Old Rag, with all of its protruding stones and huge rock scrambles, you might want something more sturdy with a lot more grip.
Lucky for me, I happened to own hiking boots from years ago when I thought I would hike more.
They served me well. Especially on the rock scrambles. I didn’t fall once.
We didn’t finish because we agreed the scrambles would be our halfway point. We wanted to try some, but not go through all of them just to turn around and do them all again. Plus, we’d be going against the grain, and would end up getting in a lot of people’s way.
During our two hour trudge to the summit, I was in pain, but mainly in my legs and knees, not in my feet. I didn’t realize, but descending the mountain really put my hiking boots to work. Constantly jumping off rocks and dropping off steep stair like structures while going downhill took its toll.
I’ll be sure to write a great review for them soon.
Have Great Company
I’m sure this is a given for most people. Having great company can make even the worst situations seem just a little more bearable.
The company I kept on this hike was not a positive bunch. We rarely kept our complaints and soreness to ourselves. As I previously mentioned, a lot of regret and reflection was in the air when we first began this hike.
I’m sure for some, hearing complaints would be annoying. However, for me, the opposite is true. I enjoy surrounding myself with like minded people on a hike. Sometimes, being with someone too positive makes me feel worse. Plus, I promise, it wasn’t all complaints.
There were plenty of in between moments throughout the hike when we had enough energy to talk and take our minds off things. We looked out for each other, or did our best to. If someone seemed exhausted or out of breath, we let everyone know so the whole group stopped, or at least slowed down.
We made plenty of memories, and I personally found the whole group’s lack of stamina funny. It was great seeing how far we could all go, and doing what we set our minds to, such as climbing some random large boulders.
They did make fun of me a lot, though. Since, as I said, I couldn’t get up on some of those scrambles with my…weak institution.
But, I enjoyed it all the same. Despite all the grumbling and grunting, we finished the hike. Sure we didn’t do it the normal way, but 10 miles is 10 miles, and we went to the peak. A success in my book!
Moral of the story, if a friend suggests hiking Old Rag Mountain again, I will counter with a suggestion to get Korean BBQ instead. Just kidding, I will likely say yes and experience this whole saga all over again. Perhaps, with a little more preparation.
Also, if anyone’s wondering, I barely got out of bed the next day.