Caching Craig Creek

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A beautiful Saturday, so I made a really excellent day trip up to Craig and Montgomery Counties, VA, to do some caching. My brother, Phred, used to live in the area, and for quite a few years, we regularly went camping along Craig Creek, about 15 miles out of Blacksburg. I have frequently used this area as the setting for my fiction, as it's picturesque and atmospheric, with lots of hidden corners where all kinds of mysterious things can happen. Happily, nowadays, you can find geocaches in a lot of these corners, and I racked up several on the trip today.

Most of my activities here ranged from the late 80s to mid 90s; it's been about seven or eight years since I've actually visited the area. Last time I camped up here, a flash flood took out our campsite and tent, and the little gravel road along the river we used to access the area is now blocked off — although you can still get back to the site on foot. It's a gorgeous place, with shale cliffs rising a hundred or more feet over the stream, and a forest full of oaks, pines, and hemlocks (most of which are dying due to a parasite, unfortunately). I used to enjoy waking up early in the morning, brewing some coffee, and going up to the top of the cliffs to watch the sun come up over the nearby ridge. Today, I went all around the area, including the little place where my brother used to live, not too far out of Blacksburg.

Couldn't have asked for a better day...particularly for some quality caching.