SAT&SUN OCTOBER 24&25, 2015 PEAK CROWDS PEAK COLORS ANKLE INJURY

 

SAT&SUN OCTOBER 24&25, 2015 PEAK CROWDS PEAK COLORS ANKLE  INJURY 

 

 PEAK COLORS

 

 

 PEAK CROWDS

These next two pictures are not mine.   They were taken by John Geracimos and posted on social media.   They are accurate portrayals of the huge  multiple hundred person lines that can form on one or two peak usage Saturdays in the Fall.

 

 

 

 

Saturday one-on-one PATC Trail Patrol training for  new member Liz T.

 

About a mile into our training hike we came upon a young lady who had badly hurt her ankle.  With lots of help from her hiking party and Good Samaritans we were able to wrap and splint her ankle  and get her out to the upper parking lot and into one of the cars her hiking party had driven to the mountain.

Sunday PATC Trail Patrol Training for new member Keith T.

During our training hike we met up with and briefly visited with the Old Rag Mountain Stewards.   This is a group of volunteers who works closely with Shenandoah National Park on Old Rag Mountain.   They are a great group of folks.   Besides being trained in backcountry first response they are walking Wurlitzers of  Wisdom about all things Old Rag; LNT, flora, fauna, geology, how to carry heavy things like non-ambulatory patients over rugged mountain terrain, and all kinds of backcountry skills.   The orange shirts with "VOLUNTEER" on the right arm patch, SNP's signature flower a Trillium on the left shoulder, and a SNP radio or two are good ways to ID them.    If you are interested in volunteering with them you can contact them thru their web site at: http://oldragmountainsteward.blogspot.com/

This Black Rat Snake was crossing the trail.