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

Yearly Archives: 2013

Trango Junior Harness – A Great Option for Kid Crushers!

Trango Junior Harness – A Great Option for Kid Crushers!

Got a kiddo chomping at the bit to climb like Mommy and Daddy?  One of the first purchases you’ll need to make is a harness.  Once a child climbs higher than an adult can reach, a parent is forced to trust that child’s safety equipment over a set of protective, high-reaching arms!  Armed with that daunting thought, harness shopping can be overwhelming if you don’t know what to look for!  Hopefully this post will clear things up a bit… For the preschool and elementary-aged set, a full-body harness is the only way to go for safety reasons.  With shorter legs…Read the rest of this entry →

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Fall at the New River Gorge – 17 Weeks Pregnant

Fall at the New River Gorge – 17 Weeks Pregnant

After rain, rain, and more rain botched our plans to head up to the New last weekend, a high of 70 without a cloud in the sky was a welcomed sight this weekend!  We had a rather large crew, with a wide range of ability levels and agendas, so the real crux of the weekend was figuring out where to go!  We ended up deciding on the Upper Meadow for Day 1, and Endless Wall for Day 2, which seemed to work out well – all parties involved sent a little, flailed a little, and of course laughed a lot!…Read the rest of this entry →

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A Surprising Revelation About Running

A Surprising Revelation About Running

Now that cooler temps are here, I’ve come to a realization that perhaps I enjoy running more than I initially thought.  I’ve said before on this blog that I’ve never considered myself a “runner.”  I did a half-marathon once, a long time ago, but it wasn’t pretty – I was consistently running 15 miles or so per WEEK and found out about the local race two weeks prior.  Obviously, I was very ill-prepared and while I did in fact make it across the finish line, I was so sore I couldn’t walk for a week afterwards.  Not the smartest of…Read the rest of this entry →

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Junior Entomology 101: Cicadas!

Junior Entomology 101: Cicadas!

If you have been reading this blog for a long time (as in, more than 2 years), you may remember that this is not the first post I have written about cicadas.  The crag-kiddo’s first experience with these giant creepy-crawlies came during the first summer we spent in our new home in Charlotte. Last year must have been an “off” year for the cicada, at least for our yard, because their leftover shells were not rampant as they had been the year before.  Lucky for my sweet cicada-loving C however, they were back in full force this year, with even more…Read the rest of this entry →

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The Murky Ethical Waters of Onsight Climbing…

The Murky Ethical Waters of Onsight Climbing…

Nothing earns you more street cred in the climbing world than an onsight near your limit.  Because let’s face it, figuring things out on the fly is hard!  Odds are good that on your first time through, you’re gonna botch a few sequences, or at the very least, do them less efficiently than you would if you were more familiar with the route.  Once you’ve touched all the holds you start to piece the route together in chunks, and can usually make a better plan of attack (figure out clipping stances, find rests and shake-out spots, etc).  Not to mention…Read the rest of this entry →

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