Fellow Toastmasters and Honored Guests!
Old Rag -- kind of a funny name for a mountain but Old Rag is known as the most spectacular mountain in the northern Virginia Blue Ridge and... the Old Rag trail is one of the most beautiful in all of the magnificent Shenandoah National Park.
The Old Rag trail is a little over 7 miles and a challenge even for very experienced hikers. If Old Rag were "this much" more difficult, you'd need climbing gear. So, many real aspiring mountain climbers use this mountain as a stepping stone..... both literally and figuraturatively speaking...
At the head of the Old Rag trail are some very deliberate forewarnings. On a scale of 1-10 the degree of difficulty it's an 8. There are also warnings for people with high blood pressure, and the unprepared -- without water or food or appropriate footwear. Most omnious of all is a warning that falling off of the mountain side can result in death.... Sheesh
How did I get at the foot of this trail? It was somewhat of a challenge.... from my husband Steve who had discovered the mountain on one of his weekend adventures during the time he was working in Washington DC. He told me he was "pretty sure" I could do the climbs... (that was all it took...)
The trail starts out -- going up and up and up and up getting so steep that it becomes a series of "endless" switchbacks. I tried counting to see what # endless was but I gave up after an hour or so... As we started up the switchbacks we started seeing a considerable number of people going down the trail. I didn't think too much of it at the time but later I came to realize that those were the people who just didn't make it....
At the top of the last switchback the trail suddenly turns into large boulders..... boulders as big as cars, semi-trucks and in some cases, as big as very large buildings! Steve said "it's right about here that things would get interesting." Normal hiking turned into rock scrambling and scaling.....
Well this was challenging but relatively speaking, I was having "no problem"
And then... we turned the corner.... there was a dog, whining and nervously pacing. -- it couldn't go any further and had to be left behind to wait for it's master to return. Steve said, "this is the spot I was telling you about when I was here the first time, right here there was a girl crying... she couldn't go on..." Well, I suddenly knew how she felt... I looked at the situation and said...."no, nope this just isn't the type of hiking I do.... I just don't this... I guess we'll have to go back...." I was looking a a crevice in one of the boulder that was about 10 deep and 4 feet wide -- down there was the trail marker! ... I got this picture of me, down in the crevice and then precisely at the moment, the earth jars slightly, the crevice closes --flattening me like a pancake...." I'll just wait here with this nice dog, I thought. But then after I watched Steve shimmy his way down into the crevice and then quickly be off on his way, I mustered up my courage and went for it..... so, I had what it takes after all.... and I was on my way.....
There were other challenges along the way but all in all I was doing just fine..... but then just around corner.... I was in a potentially very dangerous situation....
Here's the picture.....
-- where I am (on this little bitty rock platform) -- where is the side of mountain --> (Right next to me) -- where is bottom of mountain (Right down there) -- where do I need to go ^ (Right up there) -- how I need to get there (put foot way up here then reach the impossible reach...) -- where is Steve (he's made it past this point and waiting for me "up there")
"Come on, you can make it...." he says.... "just take my hand....." That's when another picture came to my mind... that of me taking Steve's hand and he and both tumbling down the bottomless side of the mountain! But then I did try it and -- ALMOST made it -- but I ended up sliding down part of the steep rock, perched (on the edge) in the fetal position, literally scared stiff. So I did the only sensible thing -- I started crying.... Steve tried to talk some sense in to me but it didn't help.... To make a long story story -- finally, together we somehow got me up...... (Steve pushed me up from behind)..... I now somewhat humorously refer to this moment on Old Rag Mountain as a truly religious experience....!
After this little epsisode we weren't "by any means" finished with our journey on Old Rag and I was GETTING TIRED but we plodded on.... There were more challenges spots, places where you had to be a contortionist of sorts but with no immediately adjacent bottomless mountain sides. I seemed to become more and more nimble..... It was alright.... Others challenges remained... but I met them all. All total our hike that day was about 6 hours..... we had put in a great day! And, I made it!!!!!!!
But one BIG question remained..... would I do it again?
Well, I already have -- 3 times!!!!!! (I guess I just like religious experiences!!!!)