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

Tag Archives: Virginia

Anniversary Trip to Hidden Valley

Anniversary Trip to Hidden Valley

Although there have been a handful of daytrips scattered here and there along the way, the last time the CragDaddy and I were able to get away together for an entire kid-free weekend was almost 5 years ago, back when Big C was 2 and a half, and Little Zu was just a twinkle in our eyes.  Considering that the latter turned 3 a month ago on the same day we celebrated 15 years of marriage, we were overdue for an escape!  Our original plan was to stroll down memory lane at the New River Gorge, a place that we have…Read the rest of this entry →

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Sending Spree at Hidden Valley, VA!

Sending Spree at Hidden Valley, VA!

This time of year in the Southeast, planning weekend climbing trips can be a bit of a gamble when it comes to the weather.  It’s especially hard when a too-long-for-a-day-trip destination looks perfect one day, and sketchy the next.  We all had our hearts set on a round 2 at Hidden Valley, VA this past weekend, but while Saturday looked splitter, Sunday looked, well, pretty wet.  However, we’d heard from multiple people about how the bad weather often “hops” right over the mountain, even when surrounding areas are soaked.  That combined with numerous rainy day route recommendations from the new guidebook was…Read the rest of this entry →

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Winter, Spring, and first 5.12 of the Season

Winter, Spring, and first 5.12 of the Season

The climbing at Hidden Valley has been on our radar ever since the Carolina Climbers Coalition purchased the land at the end of 2014.  Early reports from friends sounded appealing – short approach, winter sun, summer shade.  But somehow we never managed to get up there until this past weekend.  A couple of times we did make plans to go – but then kids got sick, or the weather was yucky, etc.  But mostly, it’s just hard to get us away from the New during prime climbing season.  I guess we’re just spoiled that way!   Anyway, after lots of…Read the rest of this entry →

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Grayson Highlands State Park, aka “Why Nature is Good for the Soul”

Grayson Highlands State Park, aka “Why Nature is Good for the Soul”

Up until this past weekend it had been a record breaking 9 WEEKS since we’d been to the mountains for a family adventure.  Between beach trips, rainy weather, and various other obligations, we had somehow turned into gym rats over the summer.  We’ve done our best to squeeze in pockets of adventure here and there, but it’s just not the same as getting out and away from everyday life for a couple days at a time.   Which is why we were psyched last week to have secured climbing partners with a reasonable weather forecast in Grayson Highlands, VA.  But as the…Read the rest of this entry →

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Grayson Highlands Bouldering and Baby Z’s First Camp-Out

Grayson Highlands Bouldering and Baby Z’s First Camp-Out

As Baby Z gets bigger by the day, the weather has gotten more and more beautiful and enticing, causing our family to come down with an increasingly worsening case of spring fever!  Hubby and I have been chomping at the bit to hit our favorite spring climbing areas, and Big C has been psyched to try out the new sleeping bag he got for Christmas.  So when a friend of ours suggested we hit up Grayson Highlands State Park for some bouldering (thanks for the nudge, Michael Chickene!), we decided there was no time like the present for 8 week…Read the rest of this entry →

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