Old Rag Revisited

As some of you may recall, the first hike I did when I got here was Old Rag, an 8.8 mile circuit that features a one mile "rock scramble" to the summit, and enjoys a reputation as one of (if not the) most strenuous hikes in Shenandoah National Park.

Old Rag seen from the top of Hawksbill Mountain

On that day in early April, a mere two weeks into my time here, Old Rag kicked my ass. I was sore for three solid days, but riding high on the knowledge that I actually finished the hike.

Last weekend, I decided to hike Old Rag again. I thought it would be a good way to see if the "farm fitness program" actually worked. It was a beautiful day - sunny, cloudless, highs in the low 70's. The fall foliage was promising to pack in the tourists, so I went early and reached the trail head at 9 a.m.

The hike was absolutely stunning, between the blue sky, the purple mountains, and the fiery leaves. I went at the perfect time of day, and passed relatively few people on my hike - far fewer than back in April, actually - which allowed me to enjoy everything in peace.

As for the farm fitness program... all I can say is that it has been a resounding success. I certainly wasn't in poor shape when I started here, but I had to take frequent breathers on my first trip to the summit. This time, I didn't have to take any. (I did stop a few times to take pictures, though.) After, I had a bit of soreness in my upper arms and back, but it was gone a day later.

Perhaps most telling is that I shaved an hour off my total hike time, going from five hours to four.

I'm so pleased with myself, in fact, that I'm going back for thirds tomorrow.

All Work and No Play? Hardly.

Although there is no denying that I'm on the farm the lion's share of the time, I don't want to give the impression that I never have time off. I do. It evens out to one day a week - usually Sunday - but due to some creative scheduling, I had both Thursday and Sunday off last week.

And there is plenty to do here. Charlottesville is an hour's ride away, while the smaller towns of Orange and Culpeper offer shopping, restaurants and coffee shops closer to home. I'm a thirty minute drive from Shenandoah National Park, for which I purchased a year-long pass almost the instant I arrived. That's what happened Sunday - a 13.4 mile hike that included a black bear and cub sighting (wonder if it was the same pair?) as well as some time for solitude and reflection.

Normally I go hiking on my days off, but Thursday I decided to better myself and learn a little bit about Virginia's history by visiting Montpelier, the home of James Madison, fourth President and architect of the U.S. Constitution.

After touring the mansion and walking around the grounds for the better part of five hours, I headed over to Barboursville for a sandwich and to check out the Barboursville Ruins, a house originally designed by Thomas Jefferson for the Governor of Virginia that burned down on Christmas Day in 1884.

Virginia is also home to hundreds of wineries, so I took the opportunity to visit Barboursville Winery, where one may taste 23 wines for a $5 fee. A great deal, I might add.

Wineries dotting the landscape, a rich historical background, a nearby national park... these are just some of the many opportunities for enjoyment near the farm. Not to mention, I'm only 90 miles from Washington DC, where I'm headed this weekend for the 4th of July. Cheers to that!

Old Rag: Not your grandmother's day hike

Sunday was my first day off in two weeks, and the sun was shining for the first time all week. I was not going to waste it sitting indoors, and with the Blue Ridge Mountains giving a "come hither" glance from the western horizon, I knew exactly where I was going.

I settled on Old Rag, a (relatively) nearby mountain with an elevation of 3,291 feet. A few people, including Susan and Dean, had mentioned it. Everyone said it was a hard hike, but I figured I was up for the challenge.

But maybe I should have done some research before rushing off. Here's what the Shenandoah National Park website has to say about Old Rag:

Old Rag is Shenandoah's most popular and most dangerous hike. The number of blogs and websites about this hike attest to its popularity. The number of search and rescue missions each year attest to its danger.

And then they want you to watch a safety video. Hmmm.

I started to get inklings that this hike was not what I was expecting when I picked up the map at the entrance to the park. In capitalized letters, it said something to the effect of THIS IS A VERY STRENUOUS HIKE. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS HIKE WITHOUT BEING FULLY PREPARED.

The park ranger on duty looked at me with an experienced eye and asked, in a slightly skeptical voice, if I was hiking alone. Yup. Was I prepared? Well, I had my camelback filled with water, two sandwiches, sunglasses and a camera. How much more prepared can you get? She gave a miniscule shrug and let me wander off to my doom.

It's a three mile hike to the summit. The last mile of that hike is the so-called "rock scramble", which I had pictured as a windy trail scattered with rocks that you can climb on if you want, in the style of a Discovery Zone made of stone. Au contraire. Apparently, Old Rag is well known as a place for rock climbing, and a little rock climbing is exactly what you get to do.

Luckily, my stupidity in doing this hike alone was not rewarded as stupidity generally is. Doug and Lexxie, a couple hiking from DC, and their dog Zeus were kind enough to let me hike with them through the rock scramble. They were friendly, and helped me navigate the maze of rocks - in lieu of an actual trail, the park paints blue markers and arrows on rocks to show where you should go.

There was one point on the hike I doubt I could have climbed without help - a tall, very slippery crevasse with no hand holds or roughness to grip. Taller folks didn't seem to have much trouble with it, but my vertically challenged frame was not so lucky. However, fate stepped in, and a lanky rock climber named Joe hauled me up the rock face.*

The summit was definitely worth the hike, as if the satisfaction was not enough. To the east, green fields and farmland as far as the eye can see. To the west, mountains. I took a twenty minute break up there to eat my squashed pita and chat a bit with Doug and Lexxie (you can see them, and Zeus, in the picture below) before finishing the trail.

It took me about five hours to complete the 8.8 mile circuit. The first three miles of it, including the rock scramble, took me about two and a half hours, if that gives you any indication of its difficulty.

Ultimately, I'm glad I didn't know how crazy this hike is, because I might not have done it. But next time, I'm bringing a buddy.

*Sadly, I didn't get very many pictures of the rock scramble, probably because I was using at least three of my four limbs at any given time. You will just have to use your imagination.

The one where I get hired

Blog, meet Brightwood Vineyard and Farm. Brightwood Vineyard and Farm, meet blog. You two are going to be spending a lot of time together.

That is because I've been hired at Brightwood Farm as an intern for the 2011 growing season! *does a dance* I'll be starting in mid-March.

As you may recall, I've been fairly busy for the last week, with the road trip and everything. And not only did I visit Brightwood Vineyard and Farm in Virginia last Friday, but I've had phone interviews with four further farms: Kettle Run Farm in Berkley, Massachusetts; Pacific Crest Farm on Vashon Island, Washington; Well School Farm near Peterborough, New Hampshire; and Rocklands Farm in Poolesville, Maryland.

These five interviews were the distillation of the dozen-plus applications I sent out, in addition to probably another dozen emails expressing my interest in various farms and internships and asking for more information. Just like any job search, securing a farming internship took hours of legwork, from researching farms to emailing questions to updating my resume. But worth it!

When I first arrived at Brightwood Farm, I was given a brief tour and introduced to all the animals by Keriann, a neighbor who works on the farm a few days a week. And there are certainly animals - chickens, both for laying eggs and eating, ducks, sheep, goats (who like to slip through the fence and scare the bejeezus out of people driving by, as I can attest), three donkeys, and several dogs.

I then met Susan, the woman who runs the farm, and she took me on a more far-ranging tour to see the cabin that they rent out in a bed-and-breakfast sort of deal, the yurt and platform tent where interns sleep (I get to sleep in a yurt!), and the greenhouses. We also went for a small hike - the farm has 100 acres of land, full of rolling hills and woods and streams, not to mention a big river - it is absolutely beautiful, being in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Later in the afternoon, we went to the farm where Keriann and her husband live - Susan has another greenhouse there, and it's where she grows the vegetables.

Other than the greens, which are being grown in the greenhouses, Brightwood Farm grows a wide variety of vegetables that they sell at a farmer's market and sell to local restaurants. Susan mentioned that last year, the farm grew a lot of heirloom okra, which I thought was pretty cool, since I like okra and I don't think there's enough of it in the world. They also grow American grapes for local wineries, and berries. Additionally, they produce their own compost on site.

Susan invited me to stay for lunch with her and Carrie-Anne, which ended up being a very tasty vegetable soup and a mixed greens salad. All in all, I think the visit was really useful for allowing us to feel each other out and see if the farm and I are a good match - which I think we are. Having done four phone interviews since, I feel confident saying visits are far preferable - rather than just shooting questions at me, Susan and I learned a lot about one another through simple conversation.

Tricky, tricky goats.

Since I've already written a bit about what I want in a farm, I'll just go through them one by one and talk about how Brightwood Farm measures up.

"Learning Experience" - Internships as Education. One reason I was drawn to internships instead of WWOOF-ing this year was that education is built into farming internships, and Brightwood Farm certainly takes this seriously. The farm is a member of the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training, or C.R.A.F.T. - a coalition where farmers work together to educate future farmers. I'm not exactly sure what this will mean, but at this point I believe it will involve visiting other organic farms in the region to see how they work and to learn about different aspects of farm life.

In addition, Susan takes her interns on monthly field trips - to other farms, as mentioned above, but also other areas. She mentioned going to Monticello last year to see the formal garden. After she said that, I was ready to sign up on the spot.

And of course, let's not forget the practical aspect of the internship. There will be no shortage of hands-on work for me to do, between the organic produce production and animal husbandry. In general, I think Brightwood Farm has a nice balance of organized, planned educational activities, and "learning by doing". (See "Learning new skills and trying new things" below for more details.)

Money and stuff. Brightwood Farm provides room and board for the interns (did I mention the yurt?), and everyone eats meals together, which is made with produce and eggs from the farm. Although the yurt doesn't have indoor plumbing, we can use a bathroom in the house, and have internet access there as well. And yes, there is a stipend - less than I made as a Team Leader, but I'm used to living on very little. There will be an ample amount for me to cover my student loan payments, and since I doubt I'll be out carousing every weekend, there will be enough for me to set some aside after getting shampoo and toothpaste and whatnot.

Travel and Adventure. Virginia sounds pretty adventurous to me.

Learning different skills and trying new things. According to the internship description, I'll get to do the following:

On farm training in planning, planting, care, harvest, market prep. Farmers market. Post-season clean up, and preparation for winter greens growing. Animal Husbandry: Routine care and feeding of meat goats, laying hens, ducks and donkeys. Working with livestock guardian dogs and a herding dog. As much as possible, we tailor the experience to the interests of our interns.

I'm pretty satisfied with how diversified the farm is - I'll have the chance to learn about the business of running a farm through farmers markets and the farm-to-table connection with local restaurants, in addition to working with animals and produce production.

And although I didn't talk about this before, I like that there will be one or two other interns to work with. Brightwood Farm also takes WWOOF-ers during their busy seasons. I always like meeting and working with new people, so the more, the merrier!


That's that - I'm really looking forward to starting at Brightwood Farm, but there is plenty to do at home in the meantime. I'm going to visit my grandparents this week, and I'll probably be driving to visit my brother in Minnesota (and perhaps another grad school) at the end of the month. Another road trip - huzzah!