My last weekend before moving out was spent with some friends hiking "Old Rag" mountain in Shenandoah National Park. My father-in-law, John (whom my friends and I came to refer to as "Papa John") was kind enough to let us stay at his place overnight and let us borrow his jeep so we could go hiking. John and I have had an ongoing disagreement about which mountains are "better:" The Rocky Mountains or the Appalachians? John thinks the Rocky Mountains are big and menacing, and I have argued that the Appalachians are small and wimpy. Well, after hiking Old Rag, I have conceded that though the Appalachians might be older and lower in elevation, they are definitely not wimpy, and they have a certain mystery, beauty, and romance about them that is equally as impressive as the height and majesty of the Rockies. I was hiking with 3 of my good guy friends, and several times I had to ask them to slow down a bit because I was having a hard time keeping up.
Though it was cool and cloudy all day, the hike was actually really enjoyable. There is a "rock scramble" section of the hike where you have to climb over and around a bunch of big boulders, and there are natural staircases carved into the granite from erosion. Though our views of the valley from the top were partially blocked because of the weather, the clouds near the summit of the mountain created a foggy effect that added extra mystery and intrigue to the hike. Before and after our hike, we drove through Shenandoah National Park along skyline drive on the top ridge of the mountain range. On the way up, the clouds didn't permit much of a view of anything, but on the way back down, we were able to see the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains and fertile farm valleys in between. We even had a close encounter with two friendly and curious deer! As much as I love Washington DC, it was really nice to get away from the city for awhile, become reacquainted with nature and wide-open spaces, and breathe in the clean, fresh mountain air.
