Labor Day 2009: Old Rag
8.8 mile loop
2,510 ft elevation gain
My favorite part was standing towards the top looking over the horizon and having another lady tell me to be careful because people die every year from falling off. The problem was there wasn't really anything to fall off of, not where I was standing and certainly not compared to the Rockies. I smiled and told her I'd be careful but I considered this a large hill compared to home. I think that confused her a bit, but that is the case with Easterners, they just don't understand what hiking in the mountains really is like.
Old Rag was a lot of fun. It has a little bit of everything that makes playing in the outdoors fun. Beautiful landscapes, from one side you can see rolling hills filled with trees endlessly in the distance and from the other you get to enjoy the views of villages and farms. Additionally, there are parts that require climbing between rocks, over rocks, and even under rocks as you climb that last portion of the hill. All in all worth the trip, not as difficult as the guide makes it out to be, and a lot of fun. Highly recommended, although I would suggest an early start so as to beat the crowds, because not all hikers and climbers are created equal and parts of the hike require single file lines...can be slow if you don't watch for it.
