A Fall View of Old Rag

On my way to Stonyman on Saturday night, I caught sight of Old Rag’s northwest face in the harsh fall sunlight, all those rocky promontories gleaming there, shining in reflection – in fact, the exposed granite on the mountain is one of the main things that makes it so unique on the Blue Ridge. I had to stop at one of the best views of the mountain from Skyline Drive, the Thoroughfare Mountain Overlook. From there, you can scamper down a path through a meadow to a couple of large boulders, then climb up and get a look from only a couple of miles away.


There’s also a good view from the Hawksbill Mountain summit, but it offers a view of the southwest face. Both of these views will give you a good idea of how the mountain got its name – from the deposits of “Old Rag Granite” that is exposed in a long ridge along the summit. Most mid-Atlantic area readers know about Old Rag, the rock scramble through all of that rock is a very popular destination.

Old Rag Mountain is located in Madison County, just south of Sperryville; Wikipedia has its summit at 3,291 feet. According to Hiking Upward, it is probably the most popular hiking destination in our region. I’ve added links at the end of this post for reference to this information.

There’s a third resource with information about the mountain that I like to check from time to time. One of the blogs I follow is Bob Look’s, who is one of the volunteers that patrols the summit during peak hiking season and other times. He has a relationship with the NPS, the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, and the Old Rag Mountain Stewards (ORMS) – in addition to providing helpful information along the trail, ORMS is very active in searches and rescues on Old Rag.

A look at Bob’s blog will not only give you an idea of this organization’s commitment to Old Rag, and all the training they go through to stay ready for the call when it comes, but it also has links to additional useful information about the hike. And he has a few colleagues that also keep blogs – a browse of all of these will give you a good idea of the experience of this mountain, as well as its beauty.

And here on Hawksbill Cabin, we also have our Old Rag story – you can find it by clicking on the Old Rag label at the end of this post. About three years ago, Chris and I set out and did the scramble as a day hike. It wasn’t crowded on our day, but from the experience I’ll add my own recommendation – everyone who’s up for the challenge should try this one. 

Finally, I like to take a look at Google Earth, where I have a push pin at the Hawksbill Cabin location.  Zooming out, the mountain is almost due east of us, about 6.5 miles away on the other side of the Blue Ridge.  So as I approach from the east, Old Rag is like a beacon to me.

Here are the links I mentioned above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Rag
http://oldragpatrolsbyrsl-blook.blogspot.com/
http://www.hikingupward.com/SNP/OldRag/

After a few minutes of enjoying the view, I headed back up to the overlook and my car. I met a couple in the lot who also had stopped – they described being arrested by the beautiful sight of the mountain off in the distance. I offered to take a picture of the two of them with the mountain in the background, and then headed off for my little outing on Stonyman.