Old Rag Night Hike!

OVERVIEW

Yo!

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

I’ve been holding out for too long now in hopes of some higher temps rolling in, a practice in patience that is certainly beginning to take a toll on my sanity, but it appears as tho these frustrations have become known to whatever natural world divinities may be toggling with the thermostat for personal amusement, and Tuesday looks heckin warm! Naturally, we’ve gotta get sendy.

The destination? Old Rag. If you’ve never been, it’s an absolute bucket-list of a hike in these parts, as well as a Mecca of sorts in SNP, and I think it will be an exceptionally rad experience at night with the place (presumably) all to ourselves. The moon will be just recently new so it will be dark with lights required to hike, but with any luck, and maybe a lil pixie dust, the sky will clear up enough during our hike to have some jaw-dropping views of a starry night sky.

On top of 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 @ 6:30pm
-drive about an hour to the Old Rag parking lot
-summit that bad boy (in sheer darkness, ~2.5 hrs up)
-snack/stargaze/soulsearch for ~30 at the top
-hike out and drive back, should be back in Cville sometime between 1-1:30am

You bring:
-sturdy hiking shoes
-headlamp (required, will need hands for scrambling)
-2L water + snacks (midnight snack?)
-extra layers to wear at the summit
-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!