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

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Road-Trippin’ with a Toddler – 10 Tips for Keeping Your Sanity

Road-Trippin’ with a Toddler – 10 Tips for Keeping Your Sanity

Unless you are lucky enough to have a world class climbing/hiking/camping destination in your backyard, odds are good that “getting there” (and back) will make up a significant portion of your itinerary.  This post is the toddler version of a post I wrote a year ago entitled “Making your Cragbaby a Good Car-baby.”  Back then Cragbaby was not quite 18 months…and now he’s a giant (comparatively) two and a half year old with bundles of energy oozing out of every part of him!  In some ways, car rides are easier now – he’s older and can entertain himself for longer.…Read the rest of this entry →

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H.I.T Hard, Crank Harder…

H.I.T Hard, Crank Harder…

I’ve had a number of requests recently for some more posts about training, especially from fellow female climbers.  So it seemed fitting to share about my somewhat recent experiences with HIT Strips.  A little late, but better late than never!  HIT Strips, aka Hypergravity Isolation Training, are a training protocol developed nearly a decade ago by guru Eric Horst, author of numerous training for climbing books.  What prompted me to hop on the strips?  Summer in the Southeast, as you are probably aware, is not known for it’s sending conditions.  Heat and humidity is at an all-time high, causing both…Read the rest of this entry →

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Toddlers and Helmets – From Bike to Crag…

Toddlers and Helmets – From Bike to Crag…

My husband and I have always been fans of the brain bucket.  Climbing, biking, horseback riding, driving down I-77 during rush hour (one of these might be an exaggeration)…when it comes to adventures in the outdoors, many of our family photos involve a collage of hard hats.  In the climbing world, this sometimes makes us seem a little bit dorky – while there are some climbing situations where I don’t wear my helmet, 90% of the time I’ve got one on if I’m more than 15 feet off the ground (for a more detailed version of my helmet stance for…Read the rest of this entry →

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New River Gorge: The SEND Train has left the station…

New River Gorge:  The SEND Train has left the station…

And I managed to hop on it this time.  (It’s about time…) SEND TRAIN:  The extreme sending phenomenon that occurs when a group of climbers are projecting together and one person finally has a breakthrough – the rest of the crew feeds off of that psych, and all of a sudden everyone is crushing left and right. In last week’s trip report I alluded to the fact that I had felt like I had been in somewhat of a climbing slump for the past few weeks.  It seemed like no matter how hard I tried, I was always coming up…Read the rest of this entry →

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3 Ideas for Preserving Family Beach Memories

3 Ideas for Preserving Family Beach Memories

In a previous post about our family’s beach trip this past summer, I mentioned that we brought a few seashells home with us.  Well that might have been an understatement considering that our stash still has leftovers after multiple craft projects and some garden accents.  I had initially wanted to wait until we had used up all of our seashells to post, but what with school starting and the perfect fall weather we’ve been having, it makes more sense to put indoor craft time on the back burner for a little while.  (Holiday gift ideas, anyone?)  That being said, all 3…Read the rest of this entry →

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