Old Rag Mountain Trail Hike 3/12/11

Ranger Station

Because I am laying low until the HAT Run 50k next Saturday, a friend and I completed a cool 9 mile hike at Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah Nation Park.  We parked our vehicle and payed our entrance fee of $8 at the ranger station, then hiked up a mile up SR600 until we reached the trail.

Old Rag Mountain Trail Map

Once we reached the trail we hiked up 2.5 miles to the summit.  We came across some other hikers along the way and a Boy Scout Troop which caused some slow moving due to heavy traffic on the trails.  But once we reached to summit we were treated to some beautiful views.

Summit

Taking in the view

Don't look down

We decided to enjoy the fruits of our labor for a while then we descended down the trail and started to make our way back to the car.  The trails were in good shape and had a moderate amount of rocks and roots, nothing I am not used to.  When we were coming down the mountain we could see how much rain the mountain received during the previous week because the water levels looked high and had some mini rapids from all the extra rain. 

Mini rapids

We took our time coming back down the mountain, the hike took us approximately 4.5 hours (probably would have be 30 minutes faster if we weren't slowed down by traffic on the trail).  This was a cool hike and a great way to spend a Saturday in March and I am looking forward to exploring more trails at Shenandoah National Park this upcoming year.

elevation profile