Last year I bought a Shenandoah National Park pass for a hiking trip I took to Old Rag Mountain. I realized this past weekend that it expires at the end of March, and with the weather on Saturday reaching well into the fifties, I grabbed a bunch of friends on the cuff to go on a hike somewhere down Skyline Drive. It was one of those perfectly spontaneous decisions that you're always glad you made, and wish that you made more of. The weather was beautiful, just cool enough in the mountains to quicken your pace while you hiked. Sadly, no one thought to bring their camera, so all I have to describe the scene are my words. I'm sure they won't suffice in the least.
We stopped at the first overlook we came to, taking a moment to blast the music and take in the scene from the hood of my car. Afterwards, we ambled down a trail for maybe a mile before blazing our own down a valley. After a rock scramble back up to the car, we drove to another unmarked trail and chose the uphill path. I ran up most of it, some three miles. I'm definitely going to try a trail run sometime soon.
We were just starting to lose the light over the mountains when we headed back down to the car, but once we got back on the road we were treated to that golden haze preceeding twilight. Even though I've seen it a thousand times, there's something surreal about a winter sun being swallowed by the hills, and the clouds catching all of that light. I'm looking forward to views like that all summer, the kind that make you pause. The kind that make you profoundly happy to be alive. And I look forward to another hike like that next weekend.
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