Ok picture Old Rag, but in the dark… (night hike + stargazing)

OVERVIEW

Yo!

~calling all night-owls, hooligans, and adventurers alike~

I’ve been hoping to get up to Old Rag sometime before it cools off too much, just to make sure all of the stars are still there. Conditions for Sunday look favorable, so we gotta get after it while the gettin is good.

The destination? Well if you somehow missed that, Old Rag. If you’ve been before, dope. If ya haven’t gotten the chance, it’s sort of a bucket-list of a hike around these parts, as well as a Mecca of sorts in SNP, and it’s an exceptionally rad experience at night with the place (presumably) all to yourself. It looks like the moon won’t be rising until 1am or so, so while this does mean that we will unfortunately have to hike by way of artificial light, the absence of the moon should lend itself to more favorable star-viewing conditions. Damn right I thought about that.

On top of some hiking in the dark, we’ll be bagging about ~2,400ft in elevation gain and covering ~9miles roundtrip, as well as doing some sweet rock scrambles towards the summit. I personally don’t think that this hike is incredibly challenging, and we won’t be rushing to get to the top, but use your own best judgement when deciding if you think you’re up for this hike physically/emotionally!

Check it out here: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/virginia/old-rag-mountain-loop-trail

Logistics:
-leave Echols @ 6:00pm
-drive about an hour to the Old Rag parking lot
-begin hiking around sunset (meaning much of the hike will be in the dark, ~2.5 hrs up)
-snack/stargaze/soulsearch for about an hour at the top
-hike out and drive back, should be back in Cville sometime between 1-1:30am, no later than 2am

You bring:
-sturdy hiking shoes
-headlamp (required, will need hands for scrambling)
-2L water + snacks (midnight snack?)
-extra layers to wear at the summit (its always windy, and we wont be leaving early if you get cold)
-a serious appreciation for type 2 fun

If anybody is game, DRIVERS NEEDED!
-drivers get priority off the waitlist. The club reimburses for gas +50% tip!
-drivers need to show up to Echols with a full tank of gas! and probably a thermos of coffee!