Picture of the Day: June 7
Today is the start of a four-day weekend for me, so Mark and I decided to tackle something we've wanted to do for a while: hike Old Rag! It's an 8.8 mile hike with a rock scramble that takes you from a little above sea level to the 3291' summit and back.
Yeah, this is about what I expected. :)
We stopped before the rock scramble to grab a quick snack. The views were great!
Another break before the rock scramble starts. This is about where we started to catch up to some of the people that had started before us.
Let the fun begin! You had to follow the blue arrows painted on the rocks...even if it meant following them into narrow 10-foot deep drops.
Oh, ok. :)
Being smaller definitely helped out in a few spots. The guy in the background of the picture really had no business being up on the mountain; he was with two other guys that I think would have abandoned him if given the chance. We passed them fairly early in the rock scramble and didn't see them again...hopefully he eventually got off the mountain!
Part of the trail. Just put that boulder anywhere. :)
Almost to the top! There are quite a few false summits, so every time you think you're done you still have more left.
The views from the false summits are still awesome, though.
Yeah, I'd say the trail is a bit rocky.
Finally, the summit (we knew because there was a sign)! :)
We took a break for lunch and enjoyed the view before starting back down. Mmm...summit lunch.
All of the mountain laurel was blooming alongside the trail; it was really pretty.
No kidding! Though I think the worst part of the entire hike was after the rock scramble and the summit; the trail back down to the fire road is very steep and has lots of loose rocks.
Toward the end of the hike along the fire road we found a really nice stream. I figured if it felt nice and cool on my hands...
...it would feel even better on my feet! We weren't the only ones with this idea; we ran into some of the other hikers we had seen on the rock scramble here, too.
We couldn't stay there forever, though, so we put our shoes back on and hit the fire road again. At one point we heard something moving through the leaves; it was a rattlesnake! I had no idea they were out here. 
Finally - finished!! The entire thing took just under 6 hours, including stops for snacks, lunch, and to dip our feet in the stream. We decided it's the second hardest hike we've ever done (first place still goes to Gros Piton in St. Lucia), but it was loads of fun and I can't wait to hike it again! :)
Today is the start of a four-day weekend for me, so Mark and I decided to tackle something we've wanted to do for a while: hike Old Rag! It's an 8.8 mile hike with a rock scramble that takes you from a little above sea level to the 3291' summit and back.
Yeah, this is about what I expected. :)
We stopped before the rock scramble to grab a quick snack. The views were great!
Another break before the rock scramble starts. This is about where we started to catch up to some of the people that had started before us.
Let the fun begin! You had to follow the blue arrows painted on the rocks...even if it meant following them into narrow 10-foot deep drops. 
Oh, ok. :)
Being smaller definitely helped out in a few spots. The guy in the background of the picture really had no business being up on the mountain; he was with two other guys that I think would have abandoned him if given the chance. We passed them fairly early in the rock scramble and didn't see them again...hopefully he eventually got off the mountain!
Part of the trail. Just put that boulder anywhere. :)
Almost to the top! There are quite a few false summits, so every time you think you're done you still have more left.
The views from the false summits are still awesome, though.
Yeah, I'd say the trail is a bit rocky.
Finally, the summit (we knew because there was a sign)! :)
We took a break for lunch and enjoyed the view before starting back down. Mmm...summit lunch.
All of the mountain laurel was blooming alongside the trail; it was really pretty.
No kidding! Though I think the worst part of the entire hike was after the rock scramble and the summit; the trail back down to the fire road is very steep and has lots of loose rocks.
Toward the end of the hike along the fire road we found a really nice stream. I figured if it felt nice and cool on my hands...
...it would feel even better on my feet! We weren't the only ones with this idea; we ran into some of the other hikers we had seen on the rock scramble here, too.
We couldn't stay there forever, though, so we put our shoes back on and hit the fire road again. At one point we heard something moving through the leaves; it was a rattlesnake! I had no idea they were out here. 
Finally - finished!! The entire thing took just under 6 hours, including stops for snacks, lunch, and to dip our feet in the stream. We decided it's the second hardest hike we've ever done (first place still goes to Gros Piton in St. Lucia), but it was loads of fun and I can't wait to hike it again! :)
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