Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Yearly Archives: 2010

Grayson Highlands Bouldering…..

Grayson Highlands Bouldering…..

……is spectacular!  I can’t believe we never knew about it til recently!  Our journey started out on Friday afternoon with a small hiccup – as we were packing up the car, our friend that was supposed to be showing us around on Saturday texted us that he had to bail due to having kidney stones….hmmm, I GUESS that’s a reasonable excuse and we’ll let it slide… 🙂  Anyway, we hurriedly printed out the problem descriptions from Mountain Project and jumped in the car, hoping for the best… And the best it was!  Steve even said it was the most fun…Read the rest of this entry →

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Can’t Get No “Satisfaction…”, so just “Lieback and Enjoy It”

Can’t Get No “Satisfaction…”, so just “Lieback and Enjoy It”

Finally!  A weekend at the New that wasn’t soaking wet!  After we indoctrinated Christie into Southern culture by taking her to Chick-Fila for the first time, we arrived at the Mountain Lake Campground in Summersville just after sunset.  Everyone set up their tents while Canaan waited in his carseat on our picnic table.  After about 10 minutes I realized he had fallen asleep gazing at the moon 🙂 After a slightly overcast start to our day on Saturday, we ended up with a bright, sunshiny (and humid…) day at last! We had a great group – big enough to be…Read the rest of this entry →

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Rainy Mornings + Sunny Afternoons = More Than You’d Think

Rainy Mornings + Sunny Afternoons = More Than You’d Think

Well, the weather forecast may have looked significantly better this time compared to the last time, but of course it isn’t a trip to the New without a little rain, right?  Steve, Canaan, and I arrived 7 or so on Friday night, which gave us plenty of time to set up our tent and cook some dinner before it got dark.  Canaan really enjoyed walking around the campground before bedtime – apparently he thought it was hilarious and cackled with laughter for at least 30 minutes.  I’m still not really sure what was so funny, but of course a baby’s…Read the rest of this entry →

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Free to Climb! Independence Day at Pilot Mountain

Free to Climb! Independence Day at Pilot Mountain

We decided to take advantage of the fact that we were in Winston-Salem by hitting up Pilot Mountain on Monday before heading back to Raleigh after the 4th of July festivities.  We met up with our friends Danny and Tracey in the summit parking lot at 9, surprised to find that it was virtually empty!  It was quite refreshing to be able to get on the routes we wanted without tripping over any red-helmeted boy scouts!  We didn’t even have to endure any wild rapelling shenanigans from the amphitheater from the meet-up groups! This is what our day looked like!…Read the rest of this entry →

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When it Rains, it Pours…

When it Rains, it Pours…

Since Canaan did so well a couple of weeks ago at the New, we decided to get up there again this past weekend.  We took our friends Marc and Marie, who are gym regulars that are relatively new to the outdoor scene.  We thought it would be great fun to head a little further north to Summersville Lake, a pristine blue mountain lake that doesn’t feel like it should belong in as benign a place as West Virginia.  The best part about climbing on a hot day in Summersville is the post-climb dip into the lake.  I went out the…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN