Blowin' in the Wind...

A nice thing for some of the ORM Stewards is that some of them/us are able to make our living in the mountains as outdoor educators and guides... meaning we get to see the mountains on days other than the crazy busy and crowded weekends... and visit many of the other fantastic mountains in the area... (contrary to commonly held beliefs, (apparently) Old Rag is NOT the only great mountain with a great mountain hike!)
Last weekend saw more than 3000 (!) hikers and visitors to Old Rag Mountain on Saturday... Can anyone picture a granite Kings Dominion??
Sunday the place was "relatively desolate".. only 1000 (!) people on the mountain.. with more than 100 on the summit area at any given time thru 6.00pm.


If it were not for our days away from Old Rag, I think the crowds would be a bit discouraging for someone who wants to really have a "mountaintop experience" . But I guess if you live in the city, it'll do....I mean it IS nature, sort of..
Although with 3000 visitors, I suspect even Nature stays away or wants to stay away (for a very good reason!)

And now for the bad news:
Having spent the midweek this week in Shenandoah, I am sad to report that the wind has stripped a large amount of the Fall color from the trees, and most of the mountain summits and ridges above 1500 ft (most of them, in other words) are looking pretty much like winter...But you don't have to take my word for it...The picture (above) was taken today (Thursday, October 28) at about 5.00pm looking toward Old Rag from the Skyline Drive..

Stewards.

When the rubber meets the road..

While the primary raison d'etre for the Old Rag Mountain Steward program is to provide "mountain stewardship", promoting sound outdoor practices and ethics (like Leave No Trace) and trying to provide mountain education and safety awareness (our orange tee-shirts are an effort to make us very visible to hikers who may have a question or need assistance)...

..more often than not, our presence on Old Rag is most often realized in the event of an emergency: hiker illness or injury or separated parties.

Every weekend we have training on a very wide range of topics (see the previous post) so that regardless of the situation, be it a first time hiker's bear encounter or a traumatic injury we are prepared to respond appropriately.








This past weekend was no exception, except this was not training. A hiker experienced a severe lower leg injury (from short-cutting a trail, I might add. ..something that we actively discourage in our LNT role) and required a helicopter medevac.








As always.. training pays off! The joint NPS-ORMS team was able to effect a very smooth and rapid rescue from a very remote and inaccessible part of the mountain....

..now if they had just stayed on the trail in the first place...

(All images courtesy of Silver Spring Wanderer... one of our key ORMS members.)

Training, training, training...

Even on the busiest of days, the Old Rag mountain stewards are always training during their time spent on the mountain: technical mountain skills, wilderness first aid, Leave No Trace, flora and fauna... the scope of their training is wide and inclusive.

And in between we help find "lost" hikers, offer backpacking and hiking tips and assist folks who may have become injured... sometimes all three of those in the span of an hour!

Of Mice and .... HIKERS

This little one lives in the Byrds Nest near the summit of Old Rag Mountain..
About the size of a nickel, it has a furry coat, a protected shelter from winter's howling winds, plus plenty of food and drink...
In most ways, this mouse is much more prepared for a day on Old Rag than are many of the hikers, especially during this busiest of seasons.. fall.

And while hikers don't have to worry about predatory birds and snakes, they should take steps to prepare for all of the other eventualities that the mouse has to worry about...

Warmth, water, food, protection from the elements.

Regardless of the Indian Summer warmth in the valley, the summit of Old Rag is prime hypothermia terrain this time of year.

Pack plenty of water... and don't forget a few extra layers. We have already had several hikers who wished they had come so prepared. Of course, by the time we connect with them, it's usually on the too late side of comfort.

mouse and dime

"Thanks to the Volunteers on Saturday October 2nd

Hi,

My name is --- and I was assisted by 3 Volunteers this past Sat. afternoon. I was leading a group of 7 people and we lost 1 person in our party. I sent everyone else down to the car and climbed back up to the summit ,alone, to get help. 3 of the volunteers moved into action and started a search for my friend. 2 of the volunteers, I didn't get their names, descended via the ridge trail, and (ORMS X)and I descended via the saddle trail looking for my friend, XXX. Thankfully, XXX had returned to the car at the Old Rag Parking area.

I am very grateful for your willingness to help me look for XXX. Your help on the Mountain is something I will always remember. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks again,
---"

You are most welcome!
ORMS

Fall 2010

The Fall half of the 2010 season has begun in earnest.. Crowds are thronging to Old Rag, literally by the thousands..
..and with good reason: there are few places in the world more spectacular than the Blue Ridge Mountains in Autumn.

The ORMS staff is constantly amazed at the behavior exhibited on the mountain, however. It is almost as if upon deciding to hike Old Rag and rushing out the door, that common sense gets left behind.
Please remember:
-Old Rag is a remote mountain peak. If you get hurt, whether by carelessness on your part or by accident, it will be HOURS before you will get to a medical facility.
- There are port-a-johns at the base of the mountain and a moldering privy at the Old Rag Shelter. Please try to plan your pooping and peeing accordingly. (This applies to your children as well) Nothing is more disgusting and distasteful than stumbling upon a pile of used TP on a beautiful afternoon hike.
- Even though it is Fall, you still need water. You may not noticeably perspire as much.. but you are still losing fluids... Take 2-3 liters per person!
- Dress for the weather... which means 15 windy degrees cooler than where you live!
-If you hike on the weekends... expect crowds and long waits at the tight spots. Have patience.
- Believe it or not, a large portion of Old Rag is designated as wilderness.. please respect it as such! Leave No Trace guidelines apply!!

An all new season..

After months spent training and preparing, the 2010 season is off and running! Weekend one was hot and relatively quiet. With the upper parking lot now closed it's hoped that more visitors will heed the rangers' advice about water (take plenty, like 3 liters per person on hot days) and the presence of the mouldering privy a little more than 1/2 way thru the hike, near the Old Rag shelter (... Yes! that means you don't HAVE to poop all over the mountain on and off the trail as many folks seem to feel compelled to do)
As hot as it was, we even had someone who had hiked Old Rag previously, suffering from significant dehydration ... He didn't "want to have to be bothered with the weight of the water" Come on folks, give yourselves permission to enjoy this hike!

We are always looking for new stewards... come join us! Learn all the "secrets" of Old Rag, climb! rappell! learn about the flora (thanks to Emily!) and fauna! and so much more!!!

This baby blacksnake was newly hatched and had just finished a nice beetle dinner!
(see the bulge) This "coil" is about 3" long.

Welcome to the 2010 ORMS season!

After a VERY long winter, (from which patches of snow will linger on the mountain into April..) we're just about ready to kick off our third season!

On April 17-18, the mountain Stewards will be holding our annual skills refresher training weekend. Beyond the always enjoyable time, we'll be learning about the latest and greatest protocols, from first aid and patient assessment skills to Leave No Trace, from park rules and regulations to what to do for a "lost person".. and so much more.

If you've ever had the desire to spend your weekend in the great outdoors (in a spectacular setting!) and provide a meaningful service to others.. consider joining us!

Flowers persisting at an Old Rag home site.. so many years later

End of season.. "Off season"

It is hard to believe... the season is over! If you've noticed, that's the way things are..the busier you are, the faster the time passes. That was definitely the case for the Old Rag Mountain Steward program this year...All the planning, all the training, all the preparation came into sharp focus this fall as almost every weekend we were confronted by a situation that posed significant challenge(s).

While there is never really an off season on Old Rag, we consider the six months of the year when there is no official presence of the Mountain stewards to be the off season. It's a time for us to reflect on the year's accomplishments and to prepare and plan for the upcoming 2010 season.

2009 Season Wrap-up:
(excerpted from the 2009 Summary sitrep... for a complete copy email mtnjedi@gmail.com)

"The 2009 season can be judged an unqualified success. regardless of whether the Stewards were called upon to perform as first responders, on-scene technical rescue leaders or simply assisting novice hikers and backpackers to hike and camp responsibly, their performance was top level. The ORMS presence continues to be an accepted, recognized and fully integrated outreach program on ORM, and the interest level and ORMS morale remains high."

Particularly:
"- ORMS provided more than 25 first aid assists, 8 of which required evacuation or further treatment at a medical facility.
- more than 438 interactions with hikers involved providing directional assistance.
- 16 groups and individuals, without lights, were assisted off the mountain after dark.
- 27 "separated parties" were located and reunited."

.. and about the ORMS volunteers:
"- a total of 189 days of service was provided to the public by ORMS volunteers.
- 2323 hours of service were donated by ORMS volunteers
- "top stewards" averaged 34 ascents )each) of ORM during the year."

There were at least 2 newspaper articles written about the ORMS, and we received numerous notes of thanks from various visitors to the mountain...
and, (hallelujah!) Shenandoah National Park completed a MOULDERING PRIVY and placed it near the Old Rag Shelter.. hopefully folks will now be able to "hold it" just a bit longer and refrain from using this amazing wilderness as an open potty.

Planning for 2010 includes:
- Wilderness / Mountain First aid and refresher training (for ORMS) weekend on 27-28 March
- a consolidated and published annual training plan for ORMS weekends
-sometime this Spring, the upper parking lot for Old Rag will be permanently closed
- April will begin the ORMS spring season.

As always, we look forward to seeing you out on the mountain, and better yet, JOINING US!