Old Ragg - Classic Training Hike

For those mountaineers at sea level and few places around to get some elevation into your training, this is one of the best local routes: up and over Old Ragg mountain from the lower parking lot. It's probably closer to 9 miles (per US Park Service maps) because I could not find the exact parking lot on www.mapmyrun.com but it gives you a very close approximation.

You can view the interactive route at:
Old Ragg, Shenandoah National Park

Click on image for larger view.

From time to time I will be adding details about hikes on this blog as it is my primary long training hike. It will be done with increasing pack weight over the next several months. My goal will be to get up to 60 lbs by December. A Shasta or Rainier climb in late summer or early fall doesn't require stamina for quite such a heavy load, but it does help to prep for some higher altitude South American climbs.

If you try it out, I'd love to hear about your experience.

PS - There is a ranger station at this Shenandoah NP hike in route...you will have to pay a small National Park entrance fee.