During Columbus Day (October 7-8) weekend Heinz, Hella, Cliff, and Kerstin went up to the mountains. We were going to hike the Old Rag Mountain, visit Luray Caverns and on the way back visit some Virgina vineyards. Here we have actually already reached the top!
But, we certainly did not start there. We started at the day parking at the bottom of the mountain at about 11 am. We had plenty of water, sandwiches and trail mix. The weather was not exactly October like. It was about 85 degrees and sunny! The leaves had hardly turned into autumn colors at all. The whole hike is about 8 miles and took us a little over 5 hours. I just cannot believe we have never done this hike before. It is stunning! It is challenging! It is fun. It is beautiful!
Here we are at the beginning of the hike, where the trail is fairly easy.
After about an hour and a half the rock scramble starts. It is so hard and so much fun! If you are afraid of higths, don't even think about it!
Once you reach almost to the top, you have a magnificent view over the valley. The blue haze makes you feel like the ''Wanderin über dem Nebelmeer.''
Here is the romantic predecessor ''Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer'' by Caspar David Friedrich!
Here is the photographer himself at the top of the mountain. All of these beautiful pictures from the hike come from his camera.
It was exhausting! Partly because it was so warm. We needed a little power nap before starting the descent.
Ready to go down again. So proud of ourselves!
The next day we took a little drive along the Skyland Drive and stopped at this lookout across from the Old Rag mountain. That is what you see in the background. But before the drive on the Skyland Drive we visited Luray Caverns. We had spent the night at a hotel in Luray, which is not excatly what we wanted. But lodges and bed-and-breakfasts are hard to reserve at this time of the year. The one hour tour of Luray caverns is really worth it. Except maybe that our guide was on the weird side, sounding like a recording that had gone into overdrive. But it is amazing formations there under ground.
On the way back to DC we had to show our German guests that there is wine making in Virginia, too. Here we are sampling wine at "Gray Ghost." This was very good wine. Even Heinz, a true expert on German, French and Italian wines, was positive!!!
The outdoor and indoor facilities were to our liking, as you can see.
We also stopped at Piedmont Vineyards right outside Middleburg. I think we were a bit tired by then. At least we did not think the wine was as good as the Gray Ghost wines.
During Columbus Day (October 7-8) weekend Heinz, Hella, Cliff, and Kerstin went up to the mountains. We were going to hike the Old Rag Mountain, visit Luray Caverns and on the way back visit some Virgina vineyards. Here we have actually already reached the top!
But, we certainly did not start there. We started at the day parking at the bottom of the mountain at about 11 am. We had plenty of water, sandwiches and trail mix. The weather was not exactly October like. It was about 85 degrees and sunny! The leaves had hardly turned into autumn colors at all. The whole hike is about 8 miles and took us a little over 5 hours. I just cannot believe we have never done this hike before. It is stunning! It is challenging! It is fun. It is beautiful!
Here we are at the beginning of the hike, where the trail is fairly easy.
After about an hour and a half the rock scramble starts. It is so hard and so much fun! If you are afraid of higths, don't even think about it!
Once you reach almost to the top, you have a magnificent view over the valley. The blue haze makes you feel like the ''Wanderin über dem Nebelmeer.''
Here is the romantic predecessor ''Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer'' by Caspar David Friedrich!
Here is the photographer himself at the top of the mountain. All of these beautiful pictures from the hike come from his camera.
It was exhausting! Partly because it was so warm. We needed a little power nap before starting the descent.
Ready to go down again. So proud of ourselves!
The next day we took a little drive along the Skyland Drive and stopped at this lookout across from the Old Rag mountain. That is what you see in the background. But before the drive on the Skyland Drive we visited Luray Caverns. We had spent the night at a hotel in Luray, which is not excatly what we wanted. But lodges and bed-and-breakfasts are hard to reserve at this time of the year. The one hour tour of Luray caverns is really worth it. Except maybe that our guide was on the weird side, sounding like a recording that had gone into overdrive. But it is amazing formations there under ground.
On the way back to DC we had to show our German guests that there is wine making in Virginia, too. Here we are sampling wine at "Gray Ghost." This was very good wine. Even Heinz, a true expert on German, French and Italian wines, was positive!!!
The outdoor and indoor facilities were to our liking, as you can see.
We also stopped at Piedmont Vineyards right outside Middleburg. I think we were a bit tired by then. At least we did not think the wine was as good as the Gray Ghost wines.
