Old Rag Mnt.

Always the enthusiastic hikers, Rob and I planned an all day hiking trip to Old Rag Mnt. in the Shenandoah National Park. The weather could not have been more delightful with some gusty winds when we finally made it to the summit, but for the most part it was mild and relatively cool.

There were many challenging parts of the hike as we climbed higher, but with this particular spot we were delighted to find actual stairs carved out for us!

We encountered many interesting rock formations while climbing, but this one really caught our attention after a bit of a 'scramble' as the biggest and most precarious looking boulder we had ever seen. Despite my curiosity, Rob felt more comfortable taking this photo of me leaning beside the Giant Man Crushing Boulder, rather than beneath it!!

Finally we reached what we thought was the summit only to realize after climbing to the top how far we still had to go to reach the actual summit. Taking advantage of the beautiful view, however, we took some shots and surveyed the scenery below with large rolling hills, deep valleys, and an occasional dot marking one of the farms.

With a relatively flat surface, we decided to stop for a while and eat our lunch before moving on. Rob was very kind to have carried our food in his backpack the entire trip.

After lunch we had several opportunities throughout our hike for some amazing photo ops....check out the maneuver in these next shots of Rob conquering one of the more difficult pieces.

And finally, the long awaited summit.....despite the sudden throng of people from whole families to a few groups of adventurous souls, Rob and I made it to the very top. Because it was so windy, Rob was the only one who really made it to the very top while I stayed a good 4 feet below him on a lower rock to take a picture.

At the end of the trip, Rob and I decided that it was one of the more interesting hikes we had been on since Helvellyn while visiting Rob's Father's family in the Lake District of Great Britain the summer of 2005. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and couldn't have felt more physically accomplished that day!

In closing, I think this quote is appropriate: "How fiercely, devoutly wild is Nature in the midst of her beauty-loving tenderness!--painting lilies, watering them, caressing them with gentle hand, going from flower to flower like a gardener while building rock mountains and cloud mountains full of lightning and rain." ~John Muir, The Yosemite, Chapter 5. 1911