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Family trip to Old Rag, VA


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Home Forums Campfire Member Trip Reports Family trip to Old Rag, VA

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Viewing 11 posts - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • #1333938
    Matt Dirksen
    BPL Member

    @namelessway

    Locale: Mid Atlantic

    Old Rag is a beautiful mountain on the eastern face of the Shenandoah National Park. It stands quite separate from the other mountains in the park, which as a result, affords it’s visitors very impressive views from on top of it. Personally, it was home to my first backpacking trip as a young Boy Scout, way back in the early 80’s. The last time my wife and I had been up there was close to 20 years ago. Part of our aversion to going back has been due to the fact that it has become so popular a destination, that overcrowding is a huge issue on the trails. They also don’t allow dogs up there anymore. And as luck would have it, our kids were given a random Friday off from school a couple weeks ago, so we decided to take a stab at a short trip up the back side of Old Rag, camp below the treeline, then summit first thing Sat. morning, and head back down the ridge trail to the cars mid-day. The whole trip was around 10 miles or so. While our son is a pretty seasoned hiker, the girls are still figuring out whether they like this sort of thing out or not. Fortunately, I think they were pretty thrilled once we reached the summit. Here are some pics: old rag 01old rag 02old rag 03old rag 04old rag 05old rag 06old rag 07old rag 08old rag 09old rag 10old rag 11old rag 12old rag 13old rag 14old rag 15old rag 16old rag 17old rag 18old rag 19old rag 20old rag 21

    #2236074
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    Good stuff Matt! Looks like the kids had a great time. Thanks for sharing.

    #2236083
    Kevin Babione
    BPL Member

    @kbabione

    Locale: Pennsylvania

    Great pictures – glad the weather worked out for you so nicely. Any hassles with the backcountry permit or any other logistics? I'd love some more details about the trailhead, how far you hiked to your campsite, which campsite you picked, etc. I have 9 year-old twin girls who would love, from what I can see on your photos, this hike! Thanks!

    #2236085
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "Good stuff Matt! Looks like the kids had a great time. Thanks for sharing." +1

    #2236147
    Ryan Tucker
    BPL Member

    @beartoothtucker

    Looks like a great trip…Thanks for sharing.

    #2236221
    Joshua L
    Spectator

    @augeleven

    Locale: North Jersey

    What beautiful pictures! Was it as crowded as you thought it would be?

    #2236235
    Matt Dirksen
    BPL Member

    @namelessway

    Locale: Mid Atlantic

    Hi Kevin, Just PM me when you get to a point where you might be planning a trip there. The permit was as easy as it always has been, and the park ranger had a rough map with highlighted areas where camping occurs. You still have to pay the park entrance fee, though.

    #2236237
    Matt Dirksen
    BPL Member

    @namelessway

    Locale: Mid Atlantic

    Hiking up on Friday was great. The summit was rather crowded on Sat morning. Coming down the ridge trail mid-day Saturday was rather crazy. There were sections of the trail where there were complete bottlenecks and steady lines of people trying to fit through the different crevasses. I'm just glad we were going in the opposite direction as most folks. Once we passed these sections, there were many folks heading back down, having given up since the lines were so long. Like waiting for an amusement park ride. I would only recommend going if one were either traveling during the week, or going up at sunrise.

    #2236242
    Ben C
    BPL Member

    @alexdrewreed

    Locale: Kentucky

    Beautiful forest and mountains there. Even more so is the family.

    #2236248
    Nick Otis
    BPL Member

    @notis

    Locale: CA

    ^ What Ben said!

    #2236407
    Dean F.
    BPL Member

    @acrosome

    Locale: Back in the Front Range

    The one thing I really, truly miss about back east is autumn.

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