Old Rag in the Blue Moon

August 31, 2012 was a full moon. It was a blue moon, and it was also the day Neil Armstrong was laid to rest. To hike Old Rag on this special night was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And I did it... with Brad's help of course. For more information on the trail, click here.

At approximately 9PM, Brad and I departed the dark parking lot to start our 4.1 mile uphill climb to the summit.  Not even 100 yards into the hike, we ran into my favorite--a snake. I know they're uncommon in the Shenandoah Valley, but, after a quick Wiki search, I'm almost positive the snake that graced our presence was a black racer snake.

The trail wasn't as well lit as I expected it to be, which made me ever so grateful for the headlamp firmly attached to my head. Red light doesn't affect night vision as much, or so I was told. Here's a pic.

Light or no light, the forest is a scary place when it's dark. Some are afraid of things that go bump in the night, but I'm more afraid of things that go rattle. And the trail is alive with all sorts of rattles at night time. The sounds combined with the sights made for an adrenaline-pumped climb.

These are things that look like snakes:

• Dark leaves
• Tree roots
• Curly twigs
• Actual snakes (I saw 3, including a copperhead)
• Etc.

However, the fear that I felt during the climb up and climb down didn't matter because it was all worth it for the scrambles. Some of the scrambles require you to squeeze through narrow passages, others require giant leaps across deep gulleys, and some require hand-over-hand climbing. As you're climbing up and climbing down and climbing up again, you're surrounded by a most beautiful sight--moonlit mountain ranges. And within the moonlit mountain ranges were tiny little towns, which looked like constellations on the ground.

Brad and I reached the summit after 3.5 hours. We took off our packs and laid down on a boulder, looking up at the blue moon. The moon was not visually blue, but whenever there is a second full moon in a month, the phenomenon is called a blue moon. One journalist called August 31st's blue moon a wink to Neil Armstrong by the cosmic calendar in an article that he wrote for the Associated Press.

In honor of Armstrong's legacy, here's a clip from the landing. 

Nothing can top the moment Brad and I had at the summit or even the video that I just posted, so I won't even try writing anything more. Here are a few pictures, though. Warning, they're not my best. My reliable little point-and-shoot doesn't like night hikes. Regardless, I'm still glad I had it.