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

Yearly Archives: 2011

Green Hour Connection: Not Just Your Garden Variety Spider

Green Hour Connection: Not Just Your Garden Variety Spider

I’ve always been fascinated by spiders.  Not that I want them in my house or anything, although for a while I did entertain the thought of a pet tarantula in college until the roommate nixed the idea.  I’ve just always thought they were kinda cool, and misunderstood by a large portion of our society.  They keep our gardens free of pests, their silk is ounce for ounce stronger than steel, and scientists are researching the properties of their venom for use in green insecticides.  Not to mention that they are among the best climbers on the planet!  So you can…Read the rest of this entry →

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From Gym Rats to Rock Hounds…

From Gym Rats to Rock Hounds…

It seems like a lot of our climbing recently has revolved around projecting some harder stuff, so it was nice to take a step back for a day with some local craggin’ on more moderate terrain with a couple of gym rats.  The forecast was for temps in the mid-90’s, but with Hurricane Irene baring down on the east coast, it also called for lots of cloud cover and 25 mph gusty winds, which we figured would neutralize the heat a bit.  Considering what folks just a few hours east of us at the coast were (and still are) dealing…Read the rest of this entry →

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Making your Cragbaby a good “Car-baby”

Making your Cragbaby a good “Car-baby”

Ah, the family road trip.  There’s nothing like an 8 hour car ride to get your family vacation started on the right foot!  If your climbing family is anything like ours (ie you don’t have an unlimited supply of cash, frequent flyer miles, or world-class climbing in your backyard) you are probably racking up more mileage on your bumper-sticker laden SUV than you’d like to admit.  And all that mileage adds up to a lot of hours in the car together…very close together, maybe even touching, since your tent, camp stove, and climbing pack are taking up the majority of…Read the rest of this entry →

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Birthday Bonanza at the New River Gorge!

Birthday Bonanza at the New River Gorge!

  Its that time of year again where I get older and wiser, which in our family means we fly north to the New River Gorge to celebrate.  In years past we’ve hit Summersville Lake (for the trip report on last year’s bash, click here), but this year we decided to stay in the gorge and climb away from the crowds.  The weather was (for August), spectacular – temps below 90 with decent cloud cover, and the only rain was in  quick passing showers on Sunday afternoon.  Had we been able to lift off that smothering blanket of humidity, conditions…Read the rest of this entry →

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Creating a Cragbaby: Camping with Infants Under One is Fun!

Creating a Cragbaby: Camping with Infants Under One is Fun!

Ever since I came up with the idea for the “Creating a Cragbaby” series, I knew I would need to do a post on camping how-to’s since its such a big part of climbing trips, but for some reason or another I never got around to it.  As Cragbaby is getting older, however, I’m realizing that we are fast approaching a different “phase” of camping – helpful tips that worked initially are no longer needed, while we’ve had to find solutions for new situations that never crossed our minds during the early months, and it not just about how to…Read the rest of this entry →

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