UPDATE: ONE SPOT OPEN! Please register online, or if the trip is closed to signups, please email mrmateo (at) riseup (d0t) net if you are interested. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ “Bolivia’s Andean region is one of the world’s great trekking destinations. Largely undiscovered by foreign hikers, it offers some of the most unspoilt and captivating routes in the Andes …
Announcements
Ultra Awesome SENECA ROCKS Climbing Moment
This weekend we shall venture to the SENECA ROCKS in search of chill vibes and rock ascension. We are contemplating a day of sport and a day of trad, though we can go based on vibes and also mix and match. You should know how to put up routes/clean / we can take 1 or 2 people willing to learn. …
Friday Afternoon Wintergreen Trad/TR
This Friday we hope to send Happy Cracks (5.8) at Wintergreen on gear. We will do a few laps on top-rope first and practice gear placements on the route. Even if you haven’t climbed trad before you are welcome to try shoving some metal in the rock while resting assured knowing you are on top-rope – it is a great …
Election Day Hike: Old Rag
Hi guys! I don’t know about you but this Election Day break is definitely the perfect time for a looooong and (somewhat) relaxing activity like hiking old rag! Not going to sugar coat it, this hike is definitely on the harder side of hikes I’ve done, but it is the most rewarding and by far my favorite hike! It’s an …
So You Want to be a Caving Trip Leader? – Caving Trip Leader Training in Paxton’s
Have you been caving before? Have you thought to yourself, ‘I need to have more of this in my life’? Are you interested in leading trips to any cave that suits your fancy? This is the trip for you. We are going to Paxton’s, a maze cave, where we are going to practice navigating, flagging, and leading trips. This is …
Beginner/Intermediate Mtn Biking at Heyward
Strep got the best of me last time, and I had to cancel, so I’m trying again! I’m labeling this as beginner/intermediate because I am not going to go over the absolute basics of biking, but Heyward isn’t too technical and is pretty beginner friendly . Basically, if you’ve mountain biked before you should be good, but mountain biking can …
Stupendous Sunset Summiting of Old Rag
SUNSETTT No reeeegrets, first chance, last dance, caught in the middleeee… Noticed those trees out there? Making like chameleons and changing color like crazy? Wanna see them? They’re super cool and what better way to complement the rusty and warm colored foliage than with some golden light provided by the milkyway’s celebrity: our sun? Basically, we gonna scram, possibly skedaddle …
INT Biscuit Run Mountain Biking
Do you want to have the best Thursday afternoon of your life? Do you like hitting some saucy sends on a bike? Join me and George in venturing to Biscuit Run on mountain bikes this Thursday!!! We’ll cover about 18 miles or so on trails, perhaps journeying through O Hill and the Rivanna Trail on the way. This trip is …
INT MTB: Return of the Maxes
It’s a rare opportunity to bike with alums. You might be thinking, that sounds like a washed-up unc-status ride (is that what the kids are saying these days?). And that’s probably not a bad description. But between getting our toes nibbled by marmots while cowboy camping, romping around in Alaska, and starting a day job babysitting humanoid robots in onesies, …
Warm Saturday in October? Hiking and Cliff Jumping in Shenandoah National Park
Hey all. Over fall break, I went fishing with a friend on the Rose River and discovered an awesome spot for cliff jumping. Since it’s supposed to be in the 70s and sunny on Saturday, I figured I’d lead a trip there! Hike length: about 5 miles on trail, and a fairly short (but strenuous) bushwhack Trip Itinerary: Meet at …
Beginner/Intermediate Mtn Biking at Heyward
Okay so I told several people I’d make a mountain biking trip for the week after break and then I proceeded to completely forget to sooo here’s one for the next week 🙂 I’m labeling this as beginner/intermediate because I am not going to go over the absolute basics of biking, but Heyward isn’t too technical and is pretty beginner …
Beaver Creek Paddleboarding!!! (Hot Chocolate Provided)
WOWZAH! Are you yearning for adventure on a Wednesday afternoon? Join Gillian and me in our second SUP escape before the water gets cold! If you have no paddleboarding experience, don’t worry, none is needed! As long as you can swim, you’ll get the hang of things. We’ll go on an awesome, amazing, fire afternoon paddle sesh at Beaver Reservoir. …
Bird Banding!!!
In High School, one of my teachers used to lead bird banding trips quite often, and he invited me to bring a small group of people to go bird banding with him at his property in the Middle Peninsula of VA… So let’s go bird banding!! This trip requires an early wake up, as we will be leaving at 5:30AM …
Post NRGE sunday silly climbing
We really want to exploit the ODC trad rack this weekend and take a gander at bridge butt this sunday after NRGE. We just want to use the trad rack really. We love the way the smooth aluminum alloys clang and clatter against our legs as they suspend from the harness loops. It makes one feel alive and that life …
Grayson Highlands Fall Break Backpacking!!!!!!!!!!!
OK I have plans the weekend of fall break but not on Monday or Tuesday so I decided I wanted to lead a quick little backpacking trip before we all have to get back to classes The plan is a one-night backpacking trip around Grayson Highlands in Southwest Virginia, the highest mountains in VA, which also happen to have wild …
Fall Break Kayaking Trip to Charlotte!
hey yall! I have absolutely fallen in love with kayaking this semester and would love to spend fall break in the water! Charlotte isn’t too far from here and it has an epic thing called a Whitewater Center which is man made rapids and looks hella sick. We will be on the water all weekend whether it’s flat water or …
THE RED. With your homies. Beginner / intermediate fall break climbing!!
What are YOU doing for fall break?? Neglect your family, they still love you. CLIMB!!! I love my momma as much as the next guy, but it is time to leave the nest, and build a new one in the lovely Corbin sandstone. It simply sucks the moisture out of your fingers. This is a good thing trust, the rock …
YAR?!?! oh wait VAR!!! Intermediate Caving
Hey yall! Since there is SUCH demand for caving (yesyesyes join the underground gremlin cult hehehehe), I wanted to start including ODC folks in community caving events as well. This weekend is VAR, a super fun caving event where all Virginia cavers get together and cave (and other shenanigans ofc)! It is SO fun, and we get to experience more …
South River Falls Hike (Shenandoah National Park)
Join us for a scenic hike to South River Falls, one of Shenandoah’s most beautiful waterfalls! This 3.3-mile loop takes us through shady forests, past a stone overlook, and all the way down to the base of the 83-foot waterfall, where we’ll take time to rest, enjoy the scenery, and soak in the view before climbing back up. We’ll plan …
Gravel Biking in the Blue Ridge
Have you ever been on a road bike and thought: “wow, these tires are too small”? How about a mountain bike thinking: “wow, this really hurts my arms”? Well do we have the trip for you. Meet gravel biking, where all of your bike dreams come true. This one entails a mix of 60% pavement and 40% gravel, mostly hard …
the one and only NRGE redemption tour (NRGE hiking)
last year, I woke up sick on the day of NRGE. as it turns out, walking pneumonia is a very tough customer, and I unfortunately had to miss the hike I was supposed to colead. It was very sad. But now, I get a chance for a little redemption tour, since the trails are still there and waiting for us! …
NRGE Int Mountain Biking at Wolf Creek
HELLO NRGE SHREDDERS I am very excited to invite you to come ride bikes with me on what will be a beautiful Saturday in the lovely Wolf Creek Park. Since this trip is intermediate, I will not be going over the basics of mountain biking. This trip is targeted for people who have been on around at least 2-3 trips …
Lower James Whitewater Kayaking
Leaves are changing and so are we… into vests and skirts to go kayaking!!!! This trip to the James is intended mainly for intermediate-level paddlers who have paddled whitewater (such as the upper James) before or attended some pool sessions, if you’re unsure about whether this trip is for you, feel free to ask. We will be doing the lower …
Appalachian trail section hike – Rockfish gap to Pinefield Hut
Have you ever thought about hiking the Appalachian trail? Well have I got great news for you! I’m going to attempt to finish the Virginia section this school year and I want you to join!! As of now I have hiked about 75 miles of the 544 in the Virginia section of the trail, and this trip will add another …
NRGE 2025: MAIN CARPOOL
My dearest NRGE shredlings, **PLEASE REFER TO THE NRGE CLUB EMAIL (sent 9/15) AND READ THIS ENTIRE DESCRIPTION. THEN, FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS** This is NOT an actual NRGE adventure. This is the CARPOOL for NRGE. This is how the officers will keep track of drivers and attendees. So make our lives easier and follow instructions, please. DO NOT SIGN UP …
INT MTN Biking at Heyward
Heyaaa!!! Come mountain biking with me next Thursday afternoon in Heyward Community Forest! This trip is for intermediate mountain bikers so the prerequisites are that you have been on at least ~3 beginner mountain biking trips and feel ready to level up a bit OR are already a relatively experienced mountain biker. Heyward community forest is quite lovely and has …
No Gauley No Problem – Come Hike in Shenandoah
not going to Gauley Fest? Neither is yours truly – but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun of our own. I haven’t done a Shenandoah hike yet this semester and with a park pass that’s gonna expire soon that needs to change. I really like the view from Hightop and the hike there is pretty straightforward, at 3.5 …
Rippin’ Up Riprap Trail
Hi All! What better way to spend your Sunday than hiking Riprap at Shenandoah? This is a 10-mile loop with 2,100 ft of elevation, so it will be exhausting, but totally doable and worth the views during the fall season. The trees are a beautiful shade of red and orange during this time of the year. The hike should take …
Sunday Old Rag Day Hike!
The weather’s been absolutely wonderful outside, so what better way to spend Sunday than going on a Old Rag day hike! Join me and Finn on Shenandoah’s most famous summit for some great views over the park. This is an intermediate hike, it’ll be a ~9-10ish mile loop with a bit of rock scrambling required, so some hiking experience is …
EVEN MORE GAULEYFEST CLIMBING?? (FRIDAY)
* To join this trip you need to be off the waitlist for both a saturday official Gauley fest trip and the main carpool * GAULEY FEST IS UPON US. I AM SO EXCITED I CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN. so yeah we’re going to go up a wee bit early (7 or 8am…) and climb all day at THE NEW. Where? …
Casual Wednesday Afternevening Wintergreen Climb Sesh
Come touch granite with me and Colin Wednesday afternoon. Wintergreen is a nice little trad crag about an hour from cville with some great top-rope opportunities. IMO you get one of the best views in Virginia here when you get above the trees. Depending on group vibes, there are some easy cruisers, some moderate cracks, and some high 5.10-5.11 facey …
GAULEYFEST 2025 – RAFTING
It’s that wonderful time of year again! We’re headed out to the Gauley River in West Virginia to do some of the best freaking rafting in the entire US! PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE DESCRIPTION THIS TRIP IS FOR: People who have rafted or otherwise paddled class IV+ rapids People who are extremely strong swimmers This trip is listed as intermediate …
GAULEYFEST 2025 – MAIN TRIP
Third year of the best trip of the year. GAULEY FREAKING FEST! This is going to be a dope and unique weekend trip that ranges from beginners (beginners to just being outside even– you don’t have to know anything!!) to intermediate/advanced whitewater folks, hikers, and climbers!!!!! – Logistics are a lil complicated so read this whole thing plz! Since 1983, …
LOOP DE’VILLE!!!!!!
HOWDY SHREDDERSs!! If you haven’t heard already, the Loop de’Ville is upon us. Loop de’Ville is a town-wide celebration of our lovely Rivanna Trail, who lovingly circles the city. This is a FREE, supported trail event where people can walk/run/bike to their heart’s content (we will be walking). There is also a free concert with drinks and food after the …
Rambunctiously Ravaging (Old) Rag
Dearest ODC Members, I bring harrowing news… Old Rag hasn’t seen our faces in a long time and is beginning to doubt our mountain-conquering prowess. Already it slanders ODC, questioning if all our clout is to be believed and trusted – I hear the trees are beginning to listen. We face at this very moment a journey of extreme peril …
It’s all downriver from here: Intermediate WW Kayaking on the Lower James
Let’s enjoy the warm and sunny end-of-summer Virginia weather in the best way possible this Sunday: ON THE JAMES. This trip to the James is intended for intermediate-level paddlers who have paddled whitewater before or attended some pool sessions. We will be doing the lower section (Reedy Creek to the 14th St. takeout, which is full of fun class II-III …
SUPer Epic Rivanna Paddleboarding
I don’t know about you, but every time I’ve gone to the Rivanna, I’ve gone, “WOW, this would be so fun to paddleboard!” I finally did it for the first time this spring, and let me tell ya, I was right. SOOO join me (Sarah) and Katie for an epic day of SUPing this Saturday!! Together, we’ll check out a …
LET’S WHITE WATER RAFT THE LOWER NEW RIVER GORGE
Let’s go raft the Lower New! We’re going alongside John’s kayaking trip, and doing intermediate rafting on plenty of class III+ rapids. The White Water: The weather and the water temperatures are both going to be around 75°F, the New will be around 1 foot. This is an intermediate rafting trip, but the only real prerequisites is being good swimmer …
Intermediate Kayaking on the Lower New
Get ready for a great kayak lap down the lower New! Going to keep this as an intermediate trip for people who are super confident on class III+, feel free to ask if you’re not sure whether this would be a good trip for you. The New will be at around a foot for this trip, chill level but still …
summer run
come join me on the rivanna trail for a run! we will go whatever pace and am open to distance suggestions. i had in mind at least three or four miles but we can adjust. bring water if you so choose and appropriate running clothes! here’s the plan 4pm meet at echols 4:10ish get goinggggggg ~~ couple miles later~~ return …
RIVANNA ROPE SWING!!!
Hi all! Feeling the gloom of finals? come spend a mere 2 hours refreshing your brain by swimming at rivanna river!! it should be gorgeous tomorrow afternoon and Omid has secret wisdom about a rope swing location we will mosey to 🙂 should be a very chill trip – just be comfortable swimming in rivers. come join us!! PLAN: 1pm …
3-in-1 CLIMBING, DEEP WATER SOLOING, & RAFTING AT THE NEW. with sharks??????
We are going to the new. Oh yes. There are no sharks 🙁 The new river gorge has great climbing. And great rafting. and also great DEEP WATER SOLOING (climbing above deep lake, fall into lake) . The very best in all the land! We shall go and climb AND deep water solo AND raft. Wow, is this the best …
Running from responsibilities during finals
Come run 10 miles at a chill pace – this will help us not study for finals!!!!!! I am happy doing anything from a 9 minute pace to a 12 minute pace – we can play this by ear. We will be doing around 7mi on the rivanna trail and around 3mi on sidewalks. bring- good shoes/clothes to run in!
Bike 2 Creekathon
Hello fellow thoners of the creek, By now you are all signed up for some awesome crunchy creekathon trips. You might be paddleboarding, stilting, yogaing, hot dog eating, etc etc. But what about the journey of getting to the creek? Doesn’t it feel too easy to just pile into a car and magically get there? Noosh and I have a …
Lower James Whitewater Kayaking
Warm weather and the water is up (sort of), time to hit the James! This trip to the James is intended mainly for intermediate-level paddlers who have paddled whitewater before or attended some pool sessions, if you’re unsure about whether this trip is for you, feel free to ask. We will be doing the lower section, which is the more …
INT MTB at Heyward
Hey yall come ride with Jackie and me at the Heyward trails! I’m back on the bike after a little tumble at Moab and I am stoked to spread to stoke of mountain biking with the club again! These trails are intermediate so you should have done a few rides and feel comfortable on beginner trails. If you don’t have …
Lower New River Rafting
It’s rafting time! With a very special guest making a most triumphant return, he’s coming off the Grand Canyon, he eats granite for breakfast and washes it down with straight river water, he is… MITCH LANG We’re headed out to the New River in West Virginia on a little rafting trip. We’re hitting the lower section of the New River …
Spend the Night in a Canoe? 2-Day River Canoe Trip!
You know what I love? Rivers. You know what I love even more? River canoe trips. So brace yourself for the most undeniably epic 2-day pre-finals canoe trip ODC has ever seen. It’s been years since I got to go on an overnight canoe trip, and I’ve been absolutely *itching* to get back out! And lucky for us, the Upper …
Dark Hollow Falls Hike!!!
Hi guys! What better way to celebrate Earth Month than with a hike? The weather is so beautiful lately, and I know I’m not the only one who wants to get outside 🙂 This hike is a super easy 1.4-mile out and back to a beautiful waterfall. This hike is super good for beginners, so don’t feel intimidated to sign …
Finals Feeling DISMAL? Int Dismal Falls Backpacking
I am writing this well before finals with the knowledge that they WILL be painful and I WILL get through them (and so will you). That being said, I also have the foresight to know that the first thing I am going to want to do when they’re over is touch grass, sleep outside, and romp around in the wilderness. …