Shenandoah National Park Trail Run

Last weekend I ran the scenic rout in Shenandoah. I started at Hawksbill upper parking and ran down the Old Rag Fire Road. I then ran over Old Rag, with lots of breaks to wait for people to get through the rock scramble at the top. Then I ran to the White Oak Canyon Parking. White Oak Run was really low and I was planning on filling up from there. The Ranger working the contact station let me fill my bladder from her water cooler - saving the day and my run! I then attacked White Oak Canyon and the White Oak Canyon fire road, climbing over 2500 feet on these 2 trails alone. Finally I ran south on Skyline Drive to my car. 25+ and almost 7000 feet of elevation change on the day. The thing that hit me most about this day was how busy Shenandoah is during the fall weekends. I did choose to run two of the most popular trails. I was also shocked at how unprepared some people were, especially the ones climbing Old Rag. It was a cool day (50s) with a constant threat of hard rain and most people were hiking up in blue jeans and t shirts with no water or rain gear. A downpour could have given a bunch of cotton wearing tourists a quick meeting with hypothermia. The Ranger who gave me water said they are constantly giving people water on Old Rag. This does not surprise me.

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