Thomas and I took a trip to Old Rag mountain this past week. After going to Humpback Mountain in Charlottesville last fall and being completely mesmerized by the fall foliage I made it a goal to find something comparable or better this year...
Ah, where to begin. Thomas and I stayed up until about 3:30 am the night before with some friends of mine that attend the University of Virginia and then slept on the carpet for the other four hours before it was time to get up. You can imagine how much of a treat I was at 7:30am when the alarm went off. We ventured over to Starbucks and Bodo's Bagels (a must visit when in Charlottesville) which was a nice treat before our descent down Route 29. Thomas drove us both there, which was a good idea because (a) I would’ve gotten us lost, (b) a fight probably would’ve ensued soon after and (c) I would've fallen asleep behind the wheel. I did end up sleeping most of the way there and woke up just in time to see some of the beautiful country back roads.
Two hours passed and Thomas and I drove around looking for Old Rag wondering if we could even make the hike before the sun went down (It's a 9 mile hike) We finally, after doing countless U-turns and me reading the directions 10,000 times, arrived at Old Rag. At this time it was 1:00pm and pretty chilly. I bundled myself in a ridiculous outfit and we started off. The climb took a good while, probably close to two hours and Thomas led the way 95% of the time. After reaching what we presumed was the top, we stopped to eat 4 of the 11 bagels that Thomas had brought along for the trip. We sat atop a boulder over looking what seemed like an endless abyss of CLOUD COVER. Yes...all that hiking and Thomas and I chose a day that left us with little to no fall foliage and fog like you wouldn't imagine. The hike wasn't done there though, it had only just begun. Thomas had done prior research and read all about how Old Rag was the most difficult climb in Virginia and that there was an extremely difficult rock scramble. Most of the day I heard Thomas complaining about how disappointed he was that Old Rag’s rock scramble was a huge let down. Unfortunately, I think Old Rag overheard this conversation and gave Thomas JUST what he was looking for and me more than I bargained for.
At first the rock scramble didn't seem too difficult. In fact, it was kind of fun. My legs were pretty sore at that point, but my adrenalin was high and there was no stopping me. Thomas and I climbed for what seemed like forever and every time we got to a new boulder, we could vaguely see another in the distance that needed to be climbed. Although, at one point, we reached the most difficult part and Thomas and I struggled. Luckily, some hikers behind us came to the rescue and talked both of us through it. After two scratched hands, some tears, and dirty leggings - I made it. Poor Thomas LITERALLY had to boost me up three or four times, luckily I have a strong boyfriend or else I would've been SOL.
The rest of the hike was pretty fast paced as the sun was going down and our hiker friends and us were trying to beat the darkness. Thomas and I were extremely exhausted and it took a lot out of us so we ended up reaching the summit and losing the other hikers on the way back down. After reaching the bottom of the mountain and having a little bit of day light left, Thomas and I were finally at the bottom of the mountain...it was only then that we discovered that there was a 2.5 mile hike back to the parking lot...luckily I had packed a flashlight because Thomas and I spent about an hour hiking in the dark woods by ourselves. I, of course, cried like a little baby not having a clue as to what time it was and more importantly, worrying that my mom was probably wondering where the heck we were. Finally we caught up to the hikers we had met up with earlier in the day and I felt a little bit safer with them around – we finally reached the car and headed home. Coming home was the best feeling in the world, although Thomas nor myself could move.
Old Rag definitely took a lot out of me physically, mentally, and emotionally, but thankfully, with Thomas there I was able to complete it. I seriously couldn't have done it without him!
