Old Rag Mountain Revisited - Mid April T rip

“thanks dude. buttkickers are my favorite kind of trips. nothing like getting my a$$ kicked all day then getting sucked up by my hammock at bedtime. ahhhh, i can't wait.”

“I think I'm going to enjoy this almost as much as getting a wisdom tooth pulled.”

“ditto, BM, ditto.”

“It'll be good to see some old friends again and scratch a few wanna-meets off my list.”

“me and BM will be the slow asses who will catch up to the rest of the group 3 hours after they've already set up camp.”

“Who's gonna carry my tent?

Or should I start practicing setting it up at night?”

“why will you be setting it up at night?”

“Because that's how long it'll take him to get to camp.”

“how many miles are we doing Sat. Are there lots of ups and downs like on the Black Mtn trip.”

“hmmmm... Not sure of the exact mileage, maybe 7 or 8. BIG up, then BIG down, then BIG up. Not nearly as big an up as the initial Black mountain ascent, but lot's of rock scrambling.”

“any good topo maps for the trails we are doing”

“guess I should have said free online topo maps”

“Free online topo's? Only in your own personal dreamland. You could print a cheap lookin' one that wouldn't do ya any good off of terraserver.

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.aspx?T=2&S=13&Z=17&X=459&Y=2669&W=3
last edited: 3/14/05 9:23:03 AM”

“http://www.geocities.com/caf278/shen/oldrag.html

is this the trail we are doing http://www.localhikes.com/HikeData.ASP?DispType=1&ActiveHike=0&GetHikesStateID=&ID=4163”

“Part of our trail is on there.”

“Old Rag in April? be prepared for some crowded/semi crowded trails. Tis one of the most popular hikes in the park.”

“I think we're well aware of that, considering some of us hike this trail all the time...”

“I looked at the Shenandoah Park map at REI the other day and that really didn't help.


I read that the Rangers due limit the number of people in at one time. what are the odds of that happening or are you early birds gonna get a permit the night before.

Can you sleep in the parking lot? Is there a tent site close by. We will be getting there sometime early,early Sat morning.”

“We will be there early, early Saturday morning. The cut-off is when the parking lot is full. Then no-one else gets on the trail. The closest camping would probably be somewhere up on Skyline drive.”

“Ewker. When I get a change I'll e-mail you a topo if you like. Have to wait until I get home though.”

“Y2, thanks.”

“i should be leaving my house around 11 am friday morning. i haven't got directions yet but im thinking it will be about a 8-9 hour drive for me. i'll take up 2 spots when i get there in case it gets full.”

“I'm bringing bear spray!”

“you're not allowed to camp at the parking lot at Old Rag. We could hike a little ways in on either the Old Rag trail or the Cedar Run trail and camp.”

“ENS, when I say were getting there early Sat morning I mean 3-4 AM. I really don't want to set up a tent for a couple of hours.”

“I hear ya Ewker”

“ewker, you could probably get away with sleeping in the back of your truck??
what's the closest city to check for approximate drive time? the only time i've been to virginia was at Mt. Rogers. I think that took me 6 hours. I think this will take a bit longer.”

“what a motley crew this will be”

“ductape, I used Sperryville, Va for est driving time. It is on one side of the park and where we are hiking is on the other.”

“Sperryville, VA”

“495 miles. mapquest says 8 hrs 25 min. i guess that means i can do it in 7. at 2.15 a gal i'd say gas will be bout 65 bucks each way.
last edited: 3/14/05 3:16:09 PM”

“"Old Rag in April? be prepared for some crowded/semi crowded trails. Tis one of the most popular hikes in the park."
-ehcalum


Dude, I live in Jersey; it don't get much more crowded than that. Shenandoah will actually be an overcrowding relief for me...”

“"It is on one side of the park and where we are hiking is on the other."

Ewker
3:05:34 PM
3/14/05


Sperryville is on the same side of the park that we are hiking on, the east side. You could also use Nethers, VA for planning as it is right at the trailhead.”

“your right, the way Sperryville was listed on my map it looked to be on the other side of the park”

“now to figure out the best and quickest way to get there.
If I put in Sperryville mapquest has me going up I-81 to 211 then across to Sperryville then down towards Nethers

If I put in Nethers, Va mapquest has me going I-81 to I-64 to Charlottesville, then 29 to 231 to Nethers Rd.”

“I'd go through Charlottesville, that'll be quicker.”

“How long of a drive are we looking at Ewker?”

“Should be 9 - 10 hours from Nashville.”

“ick.”

“Ah, its not too bad, just as long as you dont get lots of traffic. It is actually a very pretty drive. Plus, yall can take turns at the wheel - I did it all by my lonesome. :)”

“With two sleepy heads on an all night drive?”

“I think I left at 3 or 4 in the morning. I wuz very sleepy.”

“I bet. I'm an impatient driver too. Anything over a couple of hours chaps my ass. Oh well, the reward will pay for my misery.”

“is anyone planning on staying sunday night? or is everyone driving home after the hike on sunday?”

“Kamper Ewker & I have to be back Sunday night.”

“currahee, plus we have the time change. You should be able to stay awake all night since you work until the wee hrs of morning

ductape, I wish I could stay another night. I hate making that long on a drive for a one nighter. Oh well at least I will have embear to keep me warm.”

“Wait, huh? Keep you warm? What, are you planning on a Ewker sandwich? Between Bison and myself? Good luck with Bison. He's a kicker. LOL.

My flight leaves on Sunday night, so we will going back to DC after the hike out.”

“this should be interesting. the weekend before this trip I am hiking the Black Forest Trail in PA for a three day backpack trip. Sunday night I am flying to Springfield, IL for training and fly back Friday night and then going to this trip. I may drive down early Saturday morning instead of staying over friday night.”

“Wow ENS! looks like you have a busy couple of weeks! At least you will be in shape and ready to do this trail. I have been so busy with work and preparing my condo for selling condition that I havent been bpacking since, um, January??? And even then, it was only like 12 miles round trip on pretty flat terrain.

I have a feeling I am going to be slower than normal on this trip. I am sooooooooo out of shape!”