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Old Rag hike
Oct. 4th, 2003 08:48 pmYesterday, Esther and I watched My Cousin Vinny, which I believe I'd seen all of except the beginning.
Today, the hike, which was awesome. We left Rockville a bit after 8, arriving at the Emporium just outside Sperryville, VA around 9:45. I immediately recognized Ed, a guy I think I know through Cornell Engineering; I was immediately recognized by Heather, a girl who was on the 2001 Spring Break Habitat trip to Charleston--and as coincidence would have it, I was wearing my Momma's Blues Palace shirt from that very trip. (It was under a long-sleeved shirt and a light jacket, though, as a) it was still a bit chilly, and b) it had rained overnight and through almost the entire drive to Sperryville. The rain conveniently stopped before we got to hiking, though. :)
From Sperryville, we drove the ~9 miles to the Old Rag parking area--including a lengthy stint behind a slow construction vehicle who didn't have the courtesy to pull over and let the accumulated cars past, paid our $5 park fee, and off we went. The trail loop totaled about 7 miles, and the parking lot was about a mile from the trailhead, so the total hike was about 9 miles. We started whenever we were paid and ready, in arbitrary groups, and traded up groups, met, lost, and re-met the other hikers all day long. The trail was great--elevation change of 2500+ feet, peak at ~3400ft, all manner of switchbacks, and a lengthy section--at least a mile or two--on the way to the summit that involved climbing over, under, and through massive rock formations. We had lunch at the summit, then hiked down the back side of the mountain--much less strenuous, much less exciting, as it was a simple path that turned into a fire road at the bottom. I took what should be many good pictures on the way up and at the summit, none on the way down.
In the It's a Small World category, some of the other hikers were: two chimesmasters who knew Victor Lin, a high school classmate of mine who also became a chimesmaster; Aaron, who knew Kenny Peskin (a brother in my fraternity); and Heather and Ed (as previously mentioned). Not only that, but one of the chimesmasters, Allegra, was formerly head chimesmaster--during the time when one of the tasks of pledging my fraternity was getting a photo of all the pledges with the head chimesmaster at the top of the clock tower. :D
Near the end of the trip, I volunteered to fulfill a lifelong dream for one of the other hikers, Becca, who's always wanted to ride a motorcycle. So, after I fix up my bike--which will be by next weekend, because that's when Melody's visiting, and you'd better believe she wants another ride--I can send Becca an email to arrange a time. (She lives in Arlington, which is pretty convenient.)
Finally, I drove Esther back to Rockville--hitting heavy traffic on 66 and 495--and fetched my stuff, had some water, checked out Road and Track (specifically an article about a Hennessy-modified '03 Viper--$85K before mods, $19.5K more after--that then had 100hp more than the stock 500hp!), and drove myself home, hitting more traffic on 495 and 95! Don't people know they're supposed to be doing fun things Saturday night, not driving around highways? :P
My new backpack and socks worked splendidly, so my only pains are my entire legs, left hip flexor, and a slight headache. :P :)
Today, the hike, which was awesome. We left Rockville a bit after 8, arriving at the Emporium just outside Sperryville, VA around 9:45. I immediately recognized Ed, a guy I think I know through Cornell Engineering; I was immediately recognized by Heather, a girl who was on the 2001 Spring Break Habitat trip to Charleston--and as coincidence would have it, I was wearing my Momma's Blues Palace shirt from that very trip. (It was under a long-sleeved shirt and a light jacket, though, as a) it was still a bit chilly, and b) it had rained overnight and through almost the entire drive to Sperryville. The rain conveniently stopped before we got to hiking, though. :)
From Sperryville, we drove the ~9 miles to the Old Rag parking area--including a lengthy stint behind a slow construction vehicle who didn't have the courtesy to pull over and let the accumulated cars past, paid our $5 park fee, and off we went. The trail loop totaled about 7 miles, and the parking lot was about a mile from the trailhead, so the total hike was about 9 miles. We started whenever we were paid and ready, in arbitrary groups, and traded up groups, met, lost, and re-met the other hikers all day long. The trail was great--elevation change of 2500+ feet, peak at ~3400ft, all manner of switchbacks, and a lengthy section--at least a mile or two--on the way to the summit that involved climbing over, under, and through massive rock formations. We had lunch at the summit, then hiked down the back side of the mountain--much less strenuous, much less exciting, as it was a simple path that turned into a fire road at the bottom. I took what should be many good pictures on the way up and at the summit, none on the way down.
In the It's a Small World category, some of the other hikers were: two chimesmasters who knew Victor Lin, a high school classmate of mine who also became a chimesmaster; Aaron, who knew Kenny Peskin (a brother in my fraternity); and Heather and Ed (as previously mentioned). Not only that, but one of the chimesmasters, Allegra, was formerly head chimesmaster--during the time when one of the tasks of pledging my fraternity was getting a photo of all the pledges with the head chimesmaster at the top of the clock tower. :D
Near the end of the trip, I volunteered to fulfill a lifelong dream for one of the other hikers, Becca, who's always wanted to ride a motorcycle. So, after I fix up my bike--which will be by next weekend, because that's when Melody's visiting, and you'd better believe she wants another ride--I can send Becca an email to arrange a time. (She lives in Arlington, which is pretty convenient.)
Finally, I drove Esther back to Rockville--hitting heavy traffic on 66 and 495--and fetched my stuff, had some water, checked out Road and Track (specifically an article about a Hennessy-modified '03 Viper--$85K before mods, $19.5K more after--that then had 100hp more than the stock 500hp!), and drove myself home, hitting more traffic on 495 and 95! Don't people know they're supposed to be doing fun things Saturday night, not driving around highways? :P
My new backpack and socks worked splendidly, so my only pains are my entire legs, left hip flexor, and a slight headache. :P :)
