Hey everyone!
Last week I took a very diverse group on a hike down Indian Trail, around the lake - there were about 10 people ranging from 3 years to retired! They had a blast checking out the wildlife, and asked me a lot of questions about the trees which excited me - I love it when groups get engaged. The little guy, 3 years old, was fantastic - he kept everyone going, laughing, and having a great time. We stopped a few times to get great views of the lake and a couple people got some great shots with their cameras, and everyone ended happy and healthy. I had a great time with them!
Mallory
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Hello,
Yesterday Greg and I discovered that there are some amazing rocks that you can boulder on the other side of the lake! To be safe we took an older mattress and covered it with a tarp to keep it from getting wet. This gave us the perfect thing to land on if we fell. We have also started scoping out three or four really good climbs that we could take people on. The rocks were pretty easy to clean with a stiff brush and were really great to hold on too! Also I picked up a book called Rock Climbing A Trailside Guide, hopefully this will help us to learn more about the rock and how to climb it. Bellow are some pictures of the supplies we used and the rocks were climbing!
Peace,
Chris
Yesterday Greg and I discovered that there are some amazing rocks that you can boulder on the other side of the lake! To be safe we took an older mattress and covered it with a tarp to keep it from getting wet. This gave us the perfect thing to land on if we fell. We have also started scoping out three or four really good climbs that we could take people on. The rocks were pretty easy to clean with a stiff brush and were really great to hold on too! Also I picked up a book called Rock Climbing A Trailside Guide, hopefully this will help us to learn more about the rock and how to climb it. Bellow are some pictures of the supplies we used and the rocks were climbing!
Peace,
Chris
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
New River Sampler [May 25]
I know it's a little late, but here I am, after figuring out how to sign in to this thing, blogging about the New River Sampler trip Kyle and I took with a family on my first day, May 25. The family of 6 was a really fun outgoing group, and some had experience on a river while some did not. They picked partners and we put in and were on our way - they all had a blast on the small rapids, and about 15 minutes into our trip, one of the girls with less experience said "dad, do you still have that canoe?" and I felt (as corny as it may sound!) proud that they were having such a great time - the first time I got in a canoe I wasn't sure I was going to be too thrilled, but I instantly fell in love with it and I heard that same excitement in this group. It was a gorgeous day without a cloud in the sky, and by far the best first day of work I have ever had. I think the canoe trip set the stage for a great summer - both for Kyle and I, and for our guests.
-Mallory
-Mallory
New River Sampler (May29)
On Thursday the 29th, Kyle and I took two families on a canoe trip down the New River. Both families had little experience but picked up the sport fast. It was a little difficult at first pairing up who should ride with who, but then we got it together and headed out. About 5 minutes on the water and we realized the last boat, which had a child and his mom, needed a guide. So in the middle of the river we "McGivered" Kyle out of the back of our boat and into the back of ours, while switched to the back of our boat with the little boy in the front. The ride down the river was very calm and everyone did a really good job of keeping together. The rapids were small but amused the kids. About 3/4's of the way down we stopped at Whitt-Riverbend Park, in Giles County for some lunch. We had the lunches prepared and boxed from Tangent Outfitters, who also provides us with the water equipment. Before we stopped for lunch we were trying to find a good place to dock the canoes and I happened to step into a mud hole that went up to my knees and promptly lost my brand new shoes I had just gotten that day, specifically so that they would stay on my feet! Needless to say I had to walk around the rocky riverbed the rest of the lunch and when we finished our trip. After lunch the float down the river is only about another 15 min so all in all we finished the trip in about 2 hours. Everyone really enjoyed themselves. Take a look at our pictures as well...
-ash
-ash
Thursday, May 29, 2008
First New River Sampler Canoe Float
On Friday (May 23rd) Ben, Kyle and I kicked off our first canoe trip with two guests.
At 11am we headed down the mountain to Tangent Outfitters. Our friends at Tangent kindly had our canoes waiting for us on the truck. A short shuttle to the Drop-in at Pembroke and we were off and in the water. Kyle and I each took a guest in the front of our canoes and Ben ran his own low rider all to himself. The water level was fairly high from the rain we'd been getting recently. There were beautiful cliffs and rock faces with caves cut out surrounding the river. We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day with no clouds in the sky and heavy sun there were even kids swimming as we floated out. The river sent us into a bit of rapids right from the start and and everyone proved to be energized and eager enough to keep our boats strait and up right. Our guests did an especially wonderful job of picking up paddles for the first time and helping dodge rocks and shallow waters.
After about an hour we stopped at a park off the the left called Whitt's for a stretch and some grub. Then we hopped back in for the last bend of our float. Our guests now felt comfortable enough to try navigating their own canoe together. Kyle and I got a chance to see what our canoes were made of besides heavy duty plastic. Over all it was a great time, our guests seemed to enjoy themselves, we saw a team of geese tackle the rapids with more grace than any watercraft. Ben was spotting turtles our along the shoreline. Next time we will definitely have some pictures to share.
Below I have my canoe right after I replaced my seats with hemlock and added a third to the middle. Also, last week I was up in West Virginia fishing and swimming in the Lost River and I found a baby Painted Turtle with a hole in its shell, so I've included a pic of the home I started creating for him. You can see my little sucker fish in the bottom of the tank, hopefully keeping things clean.
Toodles,
Greg
At 11am we headed down the mountain to Tangent Outfitters. Our friends at Tangent kindly had our canoes waiting for us on the truck. A short shuttle to the Drop-in at Pembroke and we were off and in the water. Kyle and I each took a guest in the front of our canoes and Ben ran his own low rider all to himself. The water level was fairly high from the rain we'd been getting recently. There were beautiful cliffs and rock faces with caves cut out surrounding the river. We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day with no clouds in the sky and heavy sun there were even kids swimming as we floated out. The river sent us into a bit of rapids right from the start and and everyone proved to be energized and eager enough to keep our boats strait and up right. Our guests did an especially wonderful job of picking up paddles for the first time and helping dodge rocks and shallow waters.
After about an hour we stopped at a park off the the left called Whitt's for a stretch and some grub. Then we hopped back in for the last bend of our float. Our guests now felt comfortable enough to try navigating their own canoe together. Kyle and I got a chance to see what our canoes were made of besides heavy duty plastic. Over all it was a great time, our guests seemed to enjoy themselves, we saw a team of geese tackle the rapids with more grace than any watercraft. Ben was spotting turtles our along the shoreline. Next time we will definitely have some pictures to share.
Below I have my canoe right after I replaced my seats with hemlock and added a third to the middle. Also, last week I was up in West Virginia fishing and swimming in the Lost River and I found a baby Painted Turtle with a hole in its shell, so I've included a pic of the home I started creating for him. You can see my little sucker fish in the bottom of the tank, hopefully keeping things clean.
Toodles,
Greg
First Tawney's Cave Trip
On Sunday afternoon I took a group of 6 into Tawney's cave, located at the bottom of Mountain Lake Road. We all met in front of the rec. office and made our way down to Tawney's which only takes about 15 minutes to get down to the bottom of the mountain. We all met at the "bat ranch" to fit our helmets and get all of the gear together. Everyone in the group was very excited about going into a wild cave, this was the first time that anyone in the group had been into a cave and by the end of the trip it seemed like they could have spent the whole day underground. One young girl in particular immediately fell in love with caves, she was off exploring on her own and it was really cool to see this young girl experiencing something new and really enjoying herself. We were in the cave for about an hour and half and by the time we made our way to the twilight zone to come out, the entire group was blown away with how much fun they had underneath the surface. This was the first caving trip that the Mountain Lake recreation gang ran and hopefully we can get more people to sign up for our great off-mountain trips.
KB
KB
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