Well this weekend was Mom's surprise party so I was up in CT with all the out-of-towners and relos. We had a great time and PERFECT weather! It was fantastic.
It was also the EMS sale weekend so Hilary and I went (with Mom's credit card) with strict instructions to "buy whatever we need and make sure to get me one too." So that's what I did. Mom and I are now the proud owners of a set each of rain gear-- waterproof pants and shell-reddish pink for me, light blue for Mom, as well as a wicking long sleeve layer shirt and more hiking socks. I also picked up a camel back hydration bladder for Mom and some extra laces for her boots. Unfortunately they didn't have pretty red ones like mine so maybe I will go to REI and get her another set. We may be roughing it on that mountain but by golly we'll look pretty doing it!
When I returned from CT I found that the trekking poles I ordered online arrived... I think I'm almost done shopping for this extravaganza! We need some sleeping pads, long johns, some more socks and liners and I'm sure Mom would like a few sports bras to keep the ladies in check but other than that...it's just incidentals.
I suppose we should pay for the trip now :-)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Monday, April 16, 2007
Old Rag Mountain
I'm sure this is called Old Rag Hill but I'm sorry-- it's a mountain. Hilary came to visit this weekend and we went a-walkin'. It was TOUGH- but GREAT. We went on Saturday when one of the strongest Nor'easters in recent history decided to roll on in and hit the entire Eastern Seaboard... so that was fun. We woke up early and drove out to Sperryville, Virginia-- near the Luray Caverns. The countryside was beautiful, WET, but beautiful.
Old Rag is supposed to be about 8 miles but we managed to make it more than 11. What they DON'T tell you is that you have to walk 0.8 miles to and from the trailhead and if you're an idiot who can't read maps when you get tired (yes, that would be me) then you tack on another 1.6 miles by walking the wrong way to the wrong parking lot and then backtracking. Oh well.
It's a fairly steep incline. The mountain itself has an elevation of about 3500 feet with a one mile rock scramble.
When we started we were already out of breath-- we felt PRETTY pathetic, but we soon past what we called our "warm up period" and fell in with the walk. It was really lovely-- and rainy.
When we hit the scramble there were times when we wanted to channel Kramer (and I don't like Seinfeld but I think this is apropos to our situation) "stick a fork in me Jerry, I'm done" but we persevered! Let me tell you- when you have to get up close and personal with a rock (I may never bare children) in order to climb over it just to get to another huge rock you start to wonder if this is the right sort of pass time for you. But when you shimmy down a huge boulder (like 15 feet high) into a ravine and look up or manage to climb up a 25 foot rock face with a 70 degree (or so) pitch and look down- you are VERY proud of yourself!
Unfortunately, the weather was crap- so we were soaked through, well I was, Hilary was smart enough to wear water proof clothes whereas I forgot to go pick mine up! At the summit, (which is basically a big boulder that is quite slippery) the low cloud and fog made it difficult to see much of anything but every once in awhile there was a small parting and you could see for miles! It was absolutely spectacular.
Things I would do differently- leave the ski jacket at home, bring a fleece and a waterproof rain suit. FINGERLESS GLOVES!!!! My palms felt like pin cushions by the time I got back to the car! As much as I love the NY Mets- my baseball cap just didn't cut it against the rain! What else? Camelbak- definitely. We had about 4 water bottles in the one bag which we each took turns carrying. Of course, that's what we blame for initial breathlessness at the start of the hike! The bulk in the bag also made the scramble difficult in parts.
Overall, we were glad we had done it-- and VERY proud of ourselves. So proud, in fact, that we decided a night of pizza, DVDs and gin & tonic (for medicinal purposes of course) was COMPLETELY justified!
Sunday we hurt- but just sort of really hard workout achy. But my calf muscles feel like they have been replaced with immovable steel and not in a good way-- you never really realize quite how important they are until the don't work properly!
Overall A+ for effort, determination and getting it done! A for the mountain (would have given it a + if there were fewer clouds!).
I would do it again tomorrow...if I didn't have to work...and I could move my legs! :-)
Old Rag is supposed to be about 8 miles but we managed to make it more than 11. What they DON'T tell you is that you have to walk 0.8 miles to and from the trailhead and if you're an idiot who can't read maps when you get tired (yes, that would be me) then you tack on another 1.6 miles by walking the wrong way to the wrong parking lot and then backtracking. Oh well.
It's a fairly steep incline. The mountain itself has an elevation of about 3500 feet with a one mile rock scramble.
When we started we were already out of breath-- we felt PRETTY pathetic, but we soon past what we called our "warm up period" and fell in with the walk. It was really lovely-- and rainy.
When we hit the scramble there were times when we wanted to channel Kramer (and I don't like Seinfeld but I think this is apropos to our situation) "stick a fork in me Jerry, I'm done" but we persevered! Let me tell you- when you have to get up close and personal with a rock (I may never bare children) in order to climb over it just to get to another huge rock you start to wonder if this is the right sort of pass time for you. But when you shimmy down a huge boulder (like 15 feet high) into a ravine and look up or manage to climb up a 25 foot rock face with a 70 degree (or so) pitch and look down- you are VERY proud of yourself!
Unfortunately, the weather was crap- so we were soaked through, well I was, Hilary was smart enough to wear water proof clothes whereas I forgot to go pick mine up! At the summit, (which is basically a big boulder that is quite slippery) the low cloud and fog made it difficult to see much of anything but every once in awhile there was a small parting and you could see for miles! It was absolutely spectacular.
Things I would do differently- leave the ski jacket at home, bring a fleece and a waterproof rain suit. FINGERLESS GLOVES!!!! My palms felt like pin cushions by the time I got back to the car! As much as I love the NY Mets- my baseball cap just didn't cut it against the rain! What else? Camelbak- definitely. We had about 4 water bottles in the one bag which we each took turns carrying. Of course, that's what we blame for initial breathlessness at the start of the hike! The bulk in the bag also made the scramble difficult in parts.
Overall, we were glad we had done it-- and VERY proud of ourselves. So proud, in fact, that we decided a night of pizza, DVDs and gin & tonic (for medicinal purposes of course) was COMPLETELY justified!
Sunday we hurt- but just sort of really hard workout achy. But my calf muscles feel like they have been replaced with immovable steel and not in a good way-- you never really realize quite how important they are until the don't work properly!
Overall A+ for effort, determination and getting it done! A for the mountain (would have given it a + if there were fewer clouds!).
I would do it again tomorrow...if I didn't have to work...and I could move my legs! :-)
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Equipment and practice
Well everyone knows the old joke... how do you get to Carnegie Hall? The answer of course is practice!
This weekend Hilary is coming to visit and we are going to practice hiking... we've scouted a few places in VA: Raven Rocks and Old Rag mountain. They both look like a bit of a challenge for someone who has been hiking once this year... but we shall see!
I love ebay. It really is the greatest. So far, I have bought 2 Patagonia capilene shirts, 2 sets of trekking poles, 2 sets of goggles, 2 headlamps and who knows what else in preparation for our trip. My goal is to do almost everything via email. Of course, I did buy the sleeping bags on amazon. But maybe I can get sleeping pads on ebay! We'll see.
This weekend Hilary is coming to visit and we are going to practice hiking... we've scouted a few places in VA: Raven Rocks and Old Rag mountain. They both look like a bit of a challenge for someone who has been hiking once this year... but we shall see!
I love ebay. It really is the greatest. So far, I have bought 2 Patagonia capilene shirts, 2 sets of trekking poles, 2 sets of goggles, 2 headlamps and who knows what else in preparation for our trip. My goal is to do almost everything via email. Of course, I did buy the sleeping bags on amazon. But maybe I can get sleeping pads on ebay! We'll see.
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