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Our story
This cabin started as a dream and became something we can't imagine living without. We're a small family from the DMV who fell in love with the mountains of Pendleton County — the kind of love that makes you drive out on a Friday night just to wake up here on a Saturday morning.
We visit for at least one long weekend a month, and honestly, we start counting down the days to our next return the moment we leave. You're most likely to find Gary climbing at Seneca Rocks, Alyson in the hammock with a book or all three of us on one of our many favorite hikes.
This cabin is our way of sharing something we treasure. We've stocked it the way we'd want a place stocked with as many ecofriendly products and as little plastic as possible, thought about the details we'd want someone to think of, and tried to make it feel like yours for however long you're here. Whether you're here to climb, hike, fish, ski, or simply exhale — we're glad you found us.
Welcome to the mountains. You made it.
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The History Behind "The Last Piton"
A piton is a metal spike hammered into rock cracks to serve as an anchor point during climbing. In the context of your area, the name carries a deeply meaningful connection to World War II history.
The 10th Mountain Division practiced its rock climbing skills in preparation for the invasion of Italy on the challenging peaks of Seneca Rocks in West Virginia. This training took place from 1943 to 1944, just miles from Harman. During their stay, the Army drove over 75,000 pitons into the cliffs of Seneca Rocks and nearby Champe and Nelson Rocks, many of them still remaining today.
The legacy of the division's routes can still be seen in the thousands of soft steel pitons that pepper Seneca's rock faces. One of the faces was even named "The Face of a Thousand Pitons" in their honor.
As for what "the last piton" evokes: in the final days of April 1945, as German defenses in northern Italy collapsed, the 10th Mountain Division advanced north — and the events at Lake Garda marked the final combat actions for the 10th Mountain Division in Europe, becoming a lasting symbol of the cost of liberation. Those soldiers trained on the very rocks near your cabin before going on to fight and, in many cases, die in the Italian Alps. The last piton is a nod to the end of their long climb — both literally and metaphorically.
The division's motto, "Climb to Glory," is found at the peak of their insignia — and calling your property "The Last Piton" honors both the summit they reached and the ground where they prepared for it, right there in the mountains of Pendleton County.