Twas the Saturday after Christmas, and daytime temps were approaching ~60 degrees. Say what? Time to get out and DO something. At the last minute, I decided to do a solo-hike of Old Rag Mountain in Syria, VA – about 90 minutes from Fairfax.
Old Rag is an extremely popular hike; probably one of the most popular in Shenandoah National Park and for good reason. The hike is a ~9 mile loop (including the walk from the parking lot) and combines incredible views, elevation change, distance, and some awesome rock scrambles near the summit.
While I would have loved some company, I enjoyed going at my own pace (fast!) – I covered the route in just about 4 hours, versus the standard 5.5+ hours (and my legs have not yet forgiven me…). As you would expect with the nice weather, the trail was pretty crowded, especially at the summit and in the rock scrambles, which serve as a natural bottle-neck.
If you want more info about Old Rag, check out the NPS Info Page.
Cool! I haven’t been there since ’96 or ’97. Would love to get back there again.