January 4th, 2024: The Best Hike in Virginia
This was our second time hiking Old Rag Mountain together – AKA the best hike in Virginia. My husband and I first hiked to the summit of Old Rag in 2022 and loved it so much we wanted to do it again! Instead of hiking it in the middle of summer, we decided to hike it in winter. Why not make this already challenging hike a little bit more challenging?
We checked the weather forecast and everything was looking good. Cloudy, cold, and windy. Perfect conditions, right? Thankfully, I have finally learned how to layer up in cold, wintery weather. My “old self” would have just put on leggings, a t-shirt, and a hoodie or small jacket. But no more! No longer will I be miserable being outside when it’s below 40 degrees. During the colder months, the “new me” now wears 2 layers on bottom, 3 layers on top, gloves, a beanie, and thick warm socks. I have also learned about the right material to wear. Insulation and moisture-wicking clothes in the winter are your best friends!
I still have a lot to learn but that’s the beauty about doing something you love. You will make mistakes, learn from them, then eventually become an expert! One day my husband and I will become “expert hikers”. It’s our favorite thing to do together. And our goal is to do the things we love for the rest of our lives. Who wants to sit in an office, work for someone else, and (more than likely) be miserable? Not us!
Whoa… I have no idea how I got on that little rant, but I’ll end it here. Sometimes when I get to typing these journal-style blog posts I just dump out what comes to my mind. But I like it. It’s relieving. Plus, maybe someone will read this and be able to relate! But then again, this post is supposed to be about our experience hiking Old Rag.
Interested in hiking this trail?? Click the button below to learn more and plan your next adventure! ✨
Like I said earlier, this was our second time hiking Old Rag. We arrived at the parking lot around 11 AM. We typically like to get an early start when hiking, especially at popular spots, but we decided to have a slow morning. It was relaxing and so worth it.
Surprisingly, there was hardly anyone else at the trailhead! That’s one of the benefits of hiking in the off-season and on a weekday (we went on a Thursday). We didn’t have to worry about crowds! Yay!
We started our hike on the Ridge Trail. This section was very steep with lots of switchbacks. It started snowing a tiny bit on our way up! We had not been hiking consistently around that time, so we were feeling a bit out of shape.
We eventually made it to the fun part! The rock scrambling section of Old Rag. The rocks were extremely cold but neither of us paid any attention to how cold the rocks were until later on when our hands were numb yet burning at the same time. We finally put our gloves on. The gloves I brought were very thick and actually made it difficult to grab onto some rocks.
We had to go around a few icy spots but thankfully it wasn’t too bad. The rocks did seem a bit more slippery than the last time we were there. But we still managed to get through each section without too much trouble.
We finally made it to the summit of Old Rag! The wind was winding. In other words, it was VERY windy! We had to find a spot behind some rocks to hide from the wind. We probably spent 20-30 minutes at the summit then made our way down the mountain.
We hopped onto the Saddle Trail then onto Weakley Hollow Fire Road. I love hiking on fire roads at the end of a difficult hike. I feel like my muscles can (somewhat) relax and I can breathe normally. It’s like a reward after working so hard on the earlier sections of the hike.
We made it back to the parking lot where Olive, our car, was sitting. There were a few more cars in the parking lot but still pretty empty (seeing as there are three parking lots total). We had another great experience hiking Old Rag! Would we want to do it again? Umm… yes. We would LOVE to hike Old Rag again!!
Our Rating of Old Rag Circuit
We give this trail a big 1,000/10!
What we liked: Well-marked and well-maintained; fun rock scrambling section; challenging hike; beautiful views; easy descent (via fire road)
What we didn’t like: cold and windy (thankfully we were layered up!)
