Pretty good day yesterday. Took a different approach to Old Rag and combined it with one of the best hikes in the area; White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run Canyon.
Was away from the house by 7:15 on Saturday on another great morning. There are a few good things about this drought we’ve been having. This time I went south on 29, past Culpeper and through some little towns oozing with local character…Banco, Crigglersville, and finally Syria. Not a Starbucks within 50 miles. At the end of this little road is a small parking area and a fire road that takes you to the back of the Old Rag Mountain trail. Did that, went back past the parking area, down a steep road and caught the start of the White Oak Canyon trail. It’s well known for the best waterfalls in the area and interestingly it still had a fair amount of water. At this point I have 10 miles and about 2750 feet under my belt. After most of the WO climb, you take a left and ford the little stream, and take a fire road that keeps climbing and deposits you at Skyline Drive. A little trail parallels Skyline and although you can’t see the road you can hear it. Now I have another 2500 feet. The day’s cuisine really sucks…three packets of Cytomax, an apple, two Powerbars, and a raspberry Cliff Shot (yuk). The two liters of good water are all gone and are replaced by three more of stream water, with a healthy dose of micropur.
Finally, time to wander zombie-like down Cedar Run trail trying not to trip on the roots and rocks. Pulled off halfway down into one of the great little swimming holes and cooled down. Treated myself to the last cliff shot (what was I thinking buying raspberry slime??) and stumbled back down to the bottom. One last hill…on the way up a young lady was sitting on the fence warning me they’d just seen a bear cross the road around the bend. Of course she’d sent her boyfriend up to get their car, so I went on up making my hiking sticks make as much noise as possible. Didn’t see it, unfortunately. This is the second near-bear sighting right here. With this last few hundred feet of climb I’m definitely over a mile elevation gain up for the day and about 20 miles.
The only casualty was a blister on the end of one toe, and that should toughen up in time for Africa. Didn’t feel too bad this morning, so things are looking up. 
20 miles??? You GO, Jon! The pics are absolutely amazing, too-I love the fawn.
Thanks! It’s easy to take good pictures around here. The fawn was an early morning bonus.
Sounds like you’re doing great. I’ve been biking a lot too and spent several days climbing 12,000+ foot peaks in northern Colorado during the last week of June. Hope to climb the first 14,000 ft peak of the summer (Mt. Princeton) on Friday. There are hot springs near the trailhead– a nice place to end the climb. Hope toa couple of more 14’ers climbed before departure. Will have to work these in around some root canal related oral surgery I have scheduled next week. I expect I’ll learn the meaning of the expression “as much fun as a root canal.”
Rick you take the prize for fitness, I’m sure, and probably scenery too. I’ve always wanted to climb Mt. Princeton (my alma mater) and even thought about flying out to do it in August but work is pretty busy and that isn’t going to happen this summer. Say hi to the summit for me and good luck with the oral surgery.