Skookum Traveler: Robertson Mountain (VA)

Old Rag Mountain from Robertson trail.

This fun little summit is located adjacent to Old Rag Mountain 90 minutes east of DC and has been on the list from the start of my quest for Sixty. I was late getting out of Dodge and arrived at the Old Rag trailhead at 2:00 pm on November 9. That gave me about three hours to complete a seven-mile loop before dark. As I headed up the access road from the parking lot, it was apparent that masses of people were strutting back to their cars after a glorious day on Old Rag. So I started counting. In the mile from the car to the former trailhead, I passed 151 people. Whoa. My turnoff for Robertson was a mile farther and by the time I reached that junction, I’d passed a total of 334 fellow hikers all headed for the cars. Whoa again. I seemed to be the only one hiking upward. (Speaking of which, www.hikingupward.com is a great website I’ve used many times to come up with destinations and directions for dozens of hikes in the Mid-Atlantic region.)

40. Robertson Mountain: Once I was on the lonely trail to Robertson, I passed only one solo hiker and a couple coming down from the top, plus a largish gaggle of some tired looking Boy Scouts lugging overnight packs. I thanked their leader for flushing the bears off the trail and continued to the craggy, scenic summit. I hopped around on the bigger boulders to be sure of tagging the highest one. I could have hung there for an hour and soaked it all in, but for the lateness of the afternoon. I continued down the other side to a fire road and a junction with another trail leading me down Corbin Hollow back to the start. I hit the access road well into dusk.

Of note, on the way in and not far from the parking lot, I had passed a guy under a canopy selling apple cider. On the way out, he was still there, sitting in the dark picking his banjo. I asked if he still had any cider left and he said absolutely. Hot or cold, he asked. Whoa again. By then the temp had dropped considerably so it was hot cider for me (and the young couple behind me as well), which made for a very pleasant walk in the dark that last half mile or so to the car. I thought about those 334 hikers I’d passed—and 1,000 more I did not pass—and figured this cider-banjo entrepreneur must be doing alright.

Miles (RT): 7.1 miles; elevation gain: 1,700 feet

Cumulative mileage and gain: 173.3 miles / 48,800 feet