Ragged Mountain Natural Area - March 24, 2012

A rare photo of the hike leader.

The Mystery Hiker

It was supposed to be a hike to Bear Church Rocks, but when hike leader Ken Moss showed up at Albemarle High School on a rainy Saturday morning, the cupboard was bare of hikers. "Hmmm," thought Ken, "maybe everyone is smart enough to stay in out of the rain," as he envisioned a hasty retreat back to hearth and home. Soon the ever dependable and reasonable John Shannon showed up and made it understood that he had similar thoughts. Just then, a mystery hiker showed up and made it known that he had come to hike, by golly, and he didn't want to hear any of that "but we might get wet" whining.

The forecast and radar called for rain throughout the day, so John and Ken managed to convince the mystery hiker that it would be foolish to continue to our scheduled destination, which features wonderful views for lunch...but only when not engulfed in clouds and fog. So we compromised and decided to head off to nearby Ragged Mountain Reservoir for a short circuit. This was made more tempting by the thought that, due to future dam construction, it may be our last chance for awhile to take advantage of this little gem.

Our mystery hiker suggested some alternate routes which took us on a new circuit around the lower reservoir, and it was a pleasant stroll with plenty of new views and places to explore. The most interesting part of the hike, though, was the water level of the reservoir, which is being drawn down for the construction project. It was quite a new sight to see the barren, sloping shoreline sloping down to the much reduced water level.

The hike of 4.5 miles was completed with ease and the small group was pleased that the dire calls for continuous rain had been false...we only had one short shower during our jaunt, remaining dry for the rest of the day. It was a successful trip after all!