Old Rag outing – Nov 2016
by Michael K. – Scorpions & Eagles historian report
The Old Rag hiking outing was very long and had lots of great scenery. Patrols hiked many miles to reach the top of the highest mountain. Before we even left the church however, we had to shovel a gigantic pile of mulch blocking the trailer’s path. This delayed the leaving time by about 20 minutes…
but we still arrived at Old Rag at an exceptional time. The Scorpions patrol combined with the Eagles patrol, and together we hiked at least eight miles and reached the top in about four hours. The terrain was super rocky, and the paths were very steep at points. At the start, the path had a slight incline and was semi rocky. As we advanced higher up the mountain, the path got steeper, and the terrain got rougher. The weather got cloudier and windier as we continued. Eventually, Joe’s glasses flew off his head after jumping onto a rock. Gordon and I retrieved them about 20 meters away from Joe in the middle of two very large rocks. About ¾ of the way, the clouds started clearing, but the wind continued to be a hazard. Once we got to the top, the temperatures were freezing, combined with the frigid wind-chill. We took a VERY long fire route down the mountain, where branches were flying everywhere because of the strong winds. Gordon and I saw at least three small trees fall, and one big one almost hit a tent near a river.
When we got back to the campground, the entire troop decided to settle in the barn overnight. Before we went to sleep, we all cooked dinner right outside the barn. The Scorpions had delicious tacos, with perfectly cooked ground beef. I had no idea what the dragons were making, but it looked nasty. When it was finally time to rest, everyone set up tents inside the barn since the temperatures were freezing. We even had christmas lights inside the barn for the true campout experience.
We had a rough start the next morning. The cold of the morning kept everyone from wanting to do anything. Eventually, everyone woke up and made breakfast. The day was semi sunny with many clouds still in the area. There were gales every now and then, which made it especially hard to cook breakfast. The troop left the place around the time we expected to, which is very good. The ride home was long, but everyone was super happy when we finally got into warmer temperatures.
I would definitely go on the outing again with the troop in warmer and less windy temperatures.
