Above the Clouds: A Magical Day on Old Rag (Shenandoah NP)

My husband and I volunteered on Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park on Sunday with three other people. The weather on the drive there was pretty gloomy - intermittent rain and just damp and gray. It did stop raining by the time we checked in and started our patrol. We did a bit of training at one of the shelters and then headed up to the summit. Just below the summit, we broke out of the clouds into clear, blue sky. The valley below us was filled with a thick blanket of white clouds and we could just see the highest peaks poking out above them. It was remarkable, stunningly beautiful. All of it. In all of the times over ten years that I've stood on the summit of that mountain, this was a first.

We spent about an hour on the summit and literally saw no one. For those of you who know the mountain, you know how rare of a day this was (for those of you who don't: On bright, sunny spring days, the mountain can see up to 2,000 hikers in a single day and fall is worse). In fact, although we saw a few more people on the way down, I would say that the five of us were about 25% of the total number of people on Old Rag on Sunday. I'm not sure I will ever experience another day like that up there. 


Showy Orchis on the fire road.


Walking up the fire road under gray skies.


Above the clouds on the summit.


Michael on the summit


Pink Lady Slipper