Sat.&Sun. Oct.15&16, 2011 Peak Colors Peak Crowds

Colors at mid-elevations were probably peak this weekend.   On the Old Rag summit we already had some trees with all their leaves gone.   Of course the rains early this week and the gusty winds of the weekend accelerated leaves dropping off their trees.   My guess is that there is still one more week of what I would call peak colors at mid elevations.

Notice how on the valley floor the leaves have hardly turned at all.

With peak colors and nice Fall weather you can be guaranteed that Old Rag will have a crowd.   Lines several hundred people long (sometimes as long as an hour wait) formed at choke points.   Here you can see part of the line on the first false summit waiting to enter the rock scramble.

This next picture is of the line at the Chute in the middle of the rock scramble.

Below is a picture of a very young lady topping out on one of Old  Rag's rock climbs.  Maybe she will be an ORMSer some day.

Since there was not a cloud to be seen the Old Rag sunset was not all that spectacular but still nice.

Since I camped near Byrds Nest Shelter overnight on both Friday and Saturday it allowed me to be on the summit before 8AM both mornings.   This gave me a couple hours of solitude before starting my duty near the chute a little after 10 AM.  

The various contingents of Sunday's Old Rag Mountain Stewards met on the summit.   After taking a short break from doing stewarding outreach we headed down for our days training on splinting.     We were very fortunate not to have had any needs for medical response on either Saturday or Sunday.    There were plenty of opportunities for providing outreach, and interpretation.

Make note of the trees with no leaves behind the Stewards in this picture.

Sunday & Monday October 9&10, 2011 Fall Colors Have Arrived

Sunday and Monday October 9 and 10, 2011

FALL COLORS HAVE ARRIVED!

Folks on good weather Fall weekend days remember to bring a lot of patience, extra money for the parking fee at private parking lot you will need to use if the SNP's free lot is full, and an expectation to have to wait in lines at choke points in the rock  scramble.

With good weather and the fall colors Old Rag becomes popular and crowded at times.    Double click then click on the picture to get to its highest resolution and you will be able to make out hikers on the first false summit.

On Sunday I positioned myself at R40 which I sometimes call the Leap of  Faith and for around two hours there was literally an unending stream of hikers.

Photostich does some strange things at times.  In this next picture Photostitch added an extra false summit to the Ridge Trail.   Some of my readers  may have vivid memories of hiking over this extra feature!  LOL

An Old Rag Sunset.

There was almost a full moon over the weekend and because it was still waxing it was coming up a few hours earlier than sunset so it was already high in the sky as soon as it was dark.

Just a quick video of the sunset.   The summit is a couple of hours from the Old Rag parking lot please make sure you have good light sources (preferably hands free headlamps) if you are going to be hiking in the dark.   Expect that if it is misty, foggy, raining, or snowing that your light is barely going to be effective at showing you the ground.    About this time of year Copperheads and Timber Rattlesnakes start heading for their hibernaculums but they may still be out and you would not want to accidentally step on one in the dark.    Night time temperatures can drop 20 to 30 degrees so come prepared for wide variations in air temperature.

Saturday and Sunday
October 23&24, 2010
An Estimated 3,000 Visitors

Still a lot of green for this late in October. On good weather days expect that the parking lot may be full and you will need to pay $10 per car to park in the neighbor's private pasture in addition to the park's entrance fee.
The following wind swept tree has always been a favorite of mine.

Chad and Jeremy fit in a little bit of filming for their climbing mockumentary.

YEE HA the weather was wonderful all weekend. To top it off we had a full moon.

Another wonderful Old Rag sunset.

Sunday sunrise from near Byrds Nest.

Very early morning light from the summit. Despite the record number of visitors there were no major incidents on Saturday or Sunday. ORMS treated a number of cramps and a very deep cut and got in lots of response training and high angle technical practice. As close to a perfect weekend as one could hope for.

The moon had not yet set.

I almost never see walking sticks until Fall and then I see lots. I assume that they come down from high up in the trees as the tempertures drop and leaves start to fall.

Sunday October 25, 2009 PEAK LEAVES PEAK CROWDS

Sunday, October 25, 2009
GREAT LEAF COLOR +
GREAT WEATHER +
WEEKEND DAY = HUGE CROWDS

EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA
NEW PRIVY AT OLD RAG SHELTER
PICTURES ON FUTURE BLOG POST!


Old Rag from the road before the lower lot if you had a telescope you could see the crowds streaming up the trail.

NO PETS ALLOWED TM APPLIED FOR
This title may be used for a future electronic game in which hapless Keystone Cop like volunteers are pitted against supremely wily, passionate and resourceful pet owners.

Gotta love em!

The fee station staff was kept busy today.

A couple of hiking groups headed up the road to the trail head.
"No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible." —George Burns.

Most groups enjoy a refreshing pause at the spot shown in the next picture.
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There is no camping allowed between this spot on the Ridge Trail at about 2,400 feet and Byrd's Nest Shelter at about 2,800 feet on the Saddle Trail.
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Old Rag contains some very fragile micro-habitats. Old Rag is like an island in the sky. Many plants located here do not exist again until you get hundreds of miles from Old Rag. Like remote islands there are even species and or sub-species that are unique just to Old Rag's micro-habitat. Once destroyed there is no way for them to be re-established.

Steward Ben during one of our frequent life is good moments.


Looking across Weakley Hollow towards Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail.


Lots and lots of hikers enjoying the day.

A zoomed shot of the Chute from the First False Summit.

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The next picture was taken while waiting in a line which stretched a tenth of a mile to the Chute, 528.6 linear feet, 120 vertical feet, about six stories and two city blocks or from R28 to R31.

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Note: If you expand the picture below you can see a hiker high up on the cliff face (one example of tens I saw this day) who was tired of waiting in line and was trying his luck at an alternative route. While there is no rule against this it is highly advised against. Going off trail you are trampling ground not routinely trampled upon. A fall will end with a literal impact on the resource. Non-ambulatory injuries put huge demands on the folks who need to respond.

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I know many accomplished climbers whom I would not be nervous watching free solo these alternate routes. I would be confident that their practiced skills and deep experience allowed them to be Clipped-Into-Themselves -Pat Ament- . But on this day, most of those I saw attempting these alternate routes did not display any signs that they possessed the skill and experience to be relatively safe on their free solo adventures. Being too far away I was not in a good position to suggest they alter their behaviour.

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There is a definite morbid fascination and pleasure I get from watching these individuals' mini-dramas (Patroller/Steward TV) but I eventually need to get on with my steward/patrol duties. After all, I will find out soon enough if I need to respond to something bad happening.

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Don't worry be happy. In every life we have some trouble. When you worry you make it double. -Bobby McFerrin-

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EXPECT CHANGES

Expect changes to ORMS over time. The Old Rag Mountain Steward program is still in its infancy. The topic of how ORMS can best perform its mission is under constant review. Lessons are constantly being learned and improvements are constantly being made. Do not make any assumptions or plans based on any of our past behaviours.

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This is actually good advice for any of your visits to the outdoors. Go assuming your own self sufficiency. Do not assume the friendly fee station staff will give you a map. Come with your own map. Do not assume there will be extra water at the fee station make sure you have brought enough. Do not assume a friendly steward will be there to help. Stewards may not be on the mountain or may be fully occupied.

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A HYPOTHETICAL FUTURE (Is that redundant?)

It is not that hard for me to imagine a far distant future in the which the trail has purposely been removed, all maps containing wilderness areas have been changed so they only show a large blank area labeled WILDERNESS, all guidebooks to wilderness areas have been banned, and it is against the rules to provide assistance of any kind to park visitors located in managed wilderness areas. (Is that an oxymoron?).

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We do not carry injured bears out on a litter why should humans be any different? If wildlife could vote humans would be designated an invasive species.

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-extracted from the majority opininion of a hypothetical Supreme Court Case-

(Is it magniloquent to pose as a hypothetical Supreme Court Judge, or what)

NEW PRIVY INSTALLED AT OLD RAG SHELTER PICTURES NEXT WEEK!

Sunday October 11, 2009 Rescue Leaves and Crowds

Old Rag

New Old Rag Mountain Stewards receive some training.

The fall crowds have arrived with the leaves changing color.

The next three shots are of the litter carry of a non-ambulatory patient from the middle of the chute up and over the summit to a National Park Service SAR vehicle at Old Rag Shelter.

Note: For hikers who come to the mountain only prepared for a quick hike if you are non-ambulatory it is going to take awhile to get you out especially if your injury occurs in the middle of the rock scramble. On this day the patient was loaded into the ambulance around 11PM. Given the nature and place of injury this was actually a smooth and fast extraction. Yes helicopter extractions can sometimes be done but most often they either can not or should not be done. Obviously Old Rag is not as remote as a multi-pitch technical climb at the end of a fifteen hour approach hike but do not be lulled into treating it like a walk in a city park either.

Sat 4/18/09 BigCrowdRockFest

SATURDAY APRIL 18, 2009 First Overflowing Lower Lot of 2009
Note1: Most pictures show higher resolution if clicked on and or zoomed.
Note2: Much earlier posts have advice for campers and climbers.



An overflowing lot means backups at the crux.


Looking up rock scramble Sat 4/18/2009

2009 SHENANDOAH ROCKFEST see second half of the post.

2009 SHENANDOAH ROCKFEST

2009 SHENANDOAH ROCKFEST
http://www.dcmetroclimbing.com/

Saturday, April 18, 2009

First completely full lower parking lot of 2009 season. I heard that earlier in the day there had been a back up near the squeeze AKA crux.

I wanted to attend a RockFest 2009 presentation up at Pinnacles Research Station so I greatly shortened my patrol. I slowly made my way up to the start of the Rock Scramble and hung out there for about an hour before making my way back down.

On my way out at around 17:30 I passed at least 5 groups just heading up the mountain 3 of which did not have lights. I provided them with all the appropriate warnings.

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ADVICE PERTINENT TO BEHAVIOUR WITNESSED THIS WEEKEND

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If you are starting after 14:00 take some type of emergency light.

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Make sure you do a tick check when you get home.

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If you are up on the mountain and dusk is approaching do not hesitate to ask another party for help. If you are well prepared and it is late in the afternoon it would be good to watch out for parties who may be at risk.

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There are emergency phones at both the Old Rag Fee Station and the White Oak Fee Station.

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These phones are patched directly to the SNP 24X7 emergency communications center.

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If you get stuck in the dark or know you might get stuck in the dark DO NOT LEAVE THE TRAIL. If you leave the trail your chance of injuring yourself will be greater. If you are on or near the trail your chance of getting found by first light of dawn is close to 100% . If you are a long ways off the trail it is practically zero. From now until mid-Fall unplanned bivouacs will be unpleasant but most likely not lethal.

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While on the Ridge Trail I notice lots of people trying "Alternate Routes" on the rocks. There is no rule against this but if you sustain a non-ambulatory injury in the middle of the rock scramble it is very likely that it will take around 15 hours before you are placed in the an ambulance.

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Keep in mind the trail is situated such that anytime there are difficult moves the farthest you can fall is about 6-8 feet. If you are someplace with difficult moves with longer than 8 foot falls you are off the trail. If you are trying to stay on the trail backtrack and look for where you took a wrong turn.

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On Saturday I witnessed at least three parties take alternate routes on the rock which had they lost their footing they would have fallen 20 to 60 feet. Based on the skill of their movements none of these inidviduals were experienced climbers who had a deep knowledge of their level of skill versus the difficulty of their situation.

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If you know where the real trail goes and are purposely taking an alternate route be responsible about making sure that other parties who can see or hear you are not mistakenly following you thinking you are on the trail.

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Please do not goad other members of your party into doing things that are dangerous.

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2009 SHENANDOAH ROCKFEST

Instead of doing a complete circuit I cut my patrol short to go to a presentation up at Pinnacles Research Station concerning the SNP ROMP and Clean Climbing ethic. I was glad that I went because I learned some new facts and had others reinforced.

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It was good to get a first hand experience of the wonderful community of mid-Atlantic climbers who had come together to spend a day collecting trash in what were often vertically challenging or rocky situations. Over one hundred climbers sacrificed a beautiful climbing day to pick up over a TON of trash and many bags of recyclables.

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2009 SHENANDOAH ROCKFEST HELPED CARRY OUT INJURED HIKER

In addition to helping with the litter collection several members of the RockFest crew were able to help with a litter carry of a non-ambulatory injured hiker.

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THREE CHEERS FOR THE MID ATLANTIC CLIMBERS

http://www.dcmetroclimbing.com/

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Saw a small Bobcat on the stonewall along Skyline drive on way home.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/WILDLIFE/information/?s=050051

Saw my first Yellow Swallowtails of 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World_Swallowtail

Old Rag Lower Lot In December

For those who were here during the peak of fall leaf season (when the lot has 250 cars and the next door neighbor's pasture contains 100 overflow cars) take a look at the lot as seen around 3PM Saturday December 13, 2008.

WINTER SINGS A SPECIAL SONG

Up on the trail, naked trees reveal more views but the colors of Spring's flowers, Summer's greens and Fall's blaze are replaced by a pallet of thousands of greys. Winter on Old Rag resonates with its own special beauty.

BE DILIGENT

Spread these cars' passengers across the mountain and you have a lot more privacy but you may have to wait a long time for help from a fellow hiker. Patches of frozen ice make the Ridge Trail more challenging and easier to get hurt on. The lack of a large number of fellow hikers adds new meaning to the concept of self-rescue. Assuming a party member can go for help, a non-ambulatory injury in the middle of the Ridge Trail will probably have to wait six hours for first responders and 15 hours for extraction.

RECORD MOONLIGHT

Saturday night the sky was mostly clear and the almost full moon was the closest and brightest it will be in years. The moon shadows were sharp and you could see individual trees in the woods 200 feet away, individual leaves and twigs on the trail and even ripples on the water of streamlets.