After 4 great months in the South East, I pointed my vehicle west, heading to Arkansas to meet up with friends of mine from Boone, Rock Town and Chattanooga.
The Boone boys. I hadn’t seen these guys for at least a couple months, and it was superb to catch up again in a new location. Pictured (from left to right) are Erich, Tilley, Daniel, Luna (the brillant white dog) and Sparticus (one of the guard dogs).
Daniel on The Orbweaver. This was by far one of my favorite problems on this entire road trip. I didn’t get the send on this one, but it was so enjoyable to work.
Steve on the Sloping Joe boulder. Please note that he topped this problem with the beach whale. =)
Me working Razors Edge, a crimpy arete, in the South Idaho area.
Phil working Slopadon Milosevic on the Sloping Joe boulder.
Erich on The Crescent.
Camp during the morning goat migration.
My whole life in a pile, waiting for the house (aka my car) to be cleaned. =)
CB and Jonny Utah soaking up the El Paso desert sun.
I apologize for this blog’s silence lately. I am currently in Hueco Tanks and staying in a house with some climbers who have become good friends… meaning I am climbing, watching movies, sipping wine and doing anything but blogging. =) I am in the process of drafting some new posts, planning on publishing within the next couple days.
Camping with The Fire Fly. We accidentally over-shot the dog camping area, but ended up with this prime location for a day.
HorsePens40 (HP40) is a premier South East bouldering destination known for its abundant sloping sandstone holds. It is the location for one of the three annual Triple Crown Bouldering Competitions, the other two destinations between Little Rock City and Hound Ears.
Best Time to Visit
HP40 is a cool weather bouldering destination making the best time to visit when the temps are in 40 – 60’s.
How to Get There
HP40 is located near Ashville, Alabama and is approximately two hours from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Once in Ashville, go north on US 231 for about 4 miles ensuring to look out for the HorsePens 40 signs. Turn right onto County Rd. 35 and go about 2 miles to County Rd. 42 (Hyatt Gap Rd) at the Horse Pens 40 sign. Follow it to the top of the mountain, looking for a rail fence and large HP40 sign on the right hand side.
Guidebook
There isn’t a guide book for the area besides the small Dr. Topo print out. I was fortunate and had a couple friends give me a tour, definitely the optimal way to understand the layout of the area.
Classic Climbs
I really didn’t spend enough time in HP40 to give a good list of classic problems, but a small handful include the following:
Bum Boy – a definite area must do. Don’t be discouraged, because even though it is rated v3 – v4, it seems to take everyone hours to figure out.
Centerpede – located on the same boulder as Bum Boy
Millipede – located on the same boulder as Bum Boy
Great White – beautiful line that you must at least look at, even if not climbing
Camping
There is camping at HP40, currently costing $10 per day. The campground is compact and social, lying adjacent the boulder field. However, if traveling with a dog (reference the dog section below) one must camp in a separate designated area.
Food / Drink
The closet restaurants are in Ashville, a 10 – 15 minute drive from HP40. Selection is slim! For better options, the best bet would be in Gadsden. HP40 does have a small store where food items, but not drink, can be purchased.
Personal Hygiene
Showers: HP40 has a good size facilities with many restrooms and a couple showers. The facility is clean, heated and has outlets.
Laudry: I am unsure on this, but assume the drive back to Gadsden would be necessary.
Dogs
HP40 is NOT dog friendly. They highly recommend you leave your pet at home. However, if traveling with your pet, simply ensure to follow their strict dog rules. The basic rules are dogs are allowed in one field (a very large field) and in the dog camping area. DO NOT even consider taking your pet into the boulder field. Please follow these rules as HP40 is private property and ignorance could threaten access.
Wi-fi
Wi-fi is difficult to find in this area. The closest I found was back in Gadsden, an approximate 45 minute drive. The best location was either of the two Krystals as the hours of operation are long, the stores are open 7 days per week and wi-fi is free.
Rest Day Activities
I didn’t stay in HP40 long enough to check out rest day activities, but had initially planned to check out Birmingham as it was a mere hour drive away.
If you have additional beta, please feel free to email me or comment.
I list this portion of my trip as a 2 week stop, but unfortunately I was only able to climb in HorsePens40, Alabama for 2.5 days as the rest of the time it pissed down rain. Blah. The rain was seriously such a bummer as HorsePens40 was hands down the most unique climbing destination I had yet to visit on this trip. The property was owned by a southern gun-toting family, the boulder field was accentuated by surrounding barns and sloping holds were in over abundance. Plus due to the sandstone slopers, it was not rare to see climbers with perfectly circular bleeding finger tips. Unique!
I have only a small handful of photos from my days there, none of which do HP40 justice.
Me “attempting” to send the hardest v2 ever. The name of the climb is Sandbox. Seriously… has anyone ever sent this climb? =)
Little Rock City was one of my very favorite climbing destinations on this road trip. The bouldering area is compact, the sandstone problems quite easy to locate, but mostly there are numerous aesthetic, classic lines.
Best Time to Visit Little Rock City is a cool weather bouldering destination making the best time to visit when the temps are in 40 – 60′s.
How to Get There
Little Rock City is very easy to locate as the boulders surround the Montlake Golf Course. From downtown Chattanooga head north on US-27. I believe I used the exit for Chickamauga Dam and then followed the signs for the golf course. However, the google map instructions differ slightly and can be found here.
How to Receive Access Currently only 35 climbers are allowed into LRC daily, with 20 parking passes given out. To climb there, you must do the following:
The day wanting to climb, WAKE UP AT 5am (no later!) and log-in to the site. Click “Get a Pass” and state if you need parking or not. (Note: I was visiting the area during Christmas break so perhaps there were more climbers than usual. All I know, is there were days when all the climbing passes were taken by 5:12am.)
Park at the furthest side of the parking lot (furthest from the boulders) as this is the climber parking area.
Rumor on the street is the golf course is going to start charging $5 per day per car in 2009. The registration process will still be necessary and supposedly they will not be increasing the number of climbers allowed in daily.
Camping
There is definitely NOT any camping around LRC, but possibly some in Chattanooga. I was fortunate enough to have friends to crash with while in the city. If not as fortunate, it looks like the following campgrounds are located in Soddy Daisy.
Guidebook
There isn’t an official guidebook to the area, but there is a Triple Crown Series comp guide that is available in the club house. I might scan a copy and put it here on my blog, but I don’t have an access to a scanner at this time.
Wi-fi
Internet Access can be found at a handful of locations in Chattanooga. I usually went to GreenLife as their wi-fi is good and they have excellent, healthy food.
Rest Day Activies
Rest days are easily filled with Chattanooga site seeing.
Tennessee Aquarium – this aquarium ranked as one of the best I had visited in the US. Current cost is $20.
Walnut Street Bridge – this pedestrian bridge is located on Walnut Street. Take a couple minutes to saunter across as it gives a great view of downtown and the riverways.
Civil War Sites – Chattanooga was a key city during the Civil War, resulting in many historical sites.
Restaurants – there are a good amount of great restaurants in Chattanooga. For hamburgers, definitely hit up Tremont Tavern as it is far superior to Hair of the Dog. The best pizza joint is by far Lupis, plus they have a good beer selection. An excellent affordable Italian place is Tony’s in the Bluff View Art District. Good seafood can be found at Blue Water (the lobster mac and cheese is phenomenal!) but it is probably on the pricey side for a dirt bag climber. There is a fabulous authentic Mexican place, the name of which I forget, that is down the street from the sushi joint Hiroshis.
Other
Little Rock City does NOT allow dogs. Most climber simply leave their dogs in their vehicle, walking them in the adjoining field. This seems to be allowed.
If you have any additional beta, please feel free to post in the comments.
December 9th, I left Rock Town and made the hour drive to fabulous Little Rock City. The sandstone problems are aesthetic and compact in an easy to access area. Little Rock City immediately became one of my favorite destinations visited on this trip.
Keenan, a friend I met in the Red River Gorge, on classic line Tri-Star. Fun, fun, fun line!
I joined up with the Atlanta crew to work on Dragon Man. The climb was definitely out of my league… but why not hop on it? Here John is making a hard move to a small crimp.
Another aesthetic line, Decepticon, located in the Back 9 area.
Instinct was beautiful, but hard! Perhaps it felt so hard because the day we were climbing it the temps were 30 degrees. I know bouldering is supposedly best when cold, but I started to lose motivation on this day.
Daryl, pictured here, LOVED the climb Space. I must admit it was a cool line, but I got nervous the higher up I went. One day we had a whole crew of 10+ people working on it. Good times!
Justin, a fabulous artist, sending The Wave. (You can check out Justin’s artwork here and join his fan club here.) =)
I was fortunate to meet so many great people in Chattanooga. Prior to hitting Chattanooga I had only stayed in a house on 3 nights, but in Chatty (where the camping is hard to find) I had a place to crash for almost the entire time. Thank you! Here are good friends Tommy and Eric sparring with icicles on one freezing cold day.
My all time favorite picture of Eric, chilling in his local pub, Tremont Tavern, after climbing. Tremont Tavern cooks up the best burgers in town.
I met John and Matt while volunteering on Christmas. I became good friends with John (in the middle) and joined him a couple times for a night out or breakfast. Here is part of the Christmas karaoke crew.
I had so many great times in Little Rock City and Chattanooga, that I caught myself having a real hard time leaving. I finally moved on, making the trek to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arakansas, but would suggest a stop in Little Rock City and Chattanooga to all you readers.
Rock Town, GA is known mostly for its bouldering though there is one wall, The Lost Wall, that has traditional lines and easily rigged top-roping. The boulders are sandstone with lines of iron deposits, with the majority of the problems being steep with sloping top-outs.
Best Time To Visit
The best time to visit Rock Town is in the in the fall, winter and spring when temperatures range in the 40’s through 60’s (Fahrenheit). The winter is the rainy season, so expect a handful of stormy days.
How to Get There
The closest town to Rock Town is La Fayette, which is the best city to use for a weather forecast. True temps in Rock Town will be a bit cooler than La Fayette.
The exact location of Rock Town is in the Crockford Pigeon Mountain Wilderness Management Area.
To get there from Chattanooga, follow Broad Street through the small town of St. Elmo at the foot of Lookout Mountain, toward the Georgia State Line. At this point, Broad Street becomes Georgia Route 193 south. Follow Route 193 south for approximately 24 miles until you reach Uncle Jed’s Convenience Store on the left. Take a right on to Chamberlain Road at this point and then turn right into Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area. Follow this dirt road via switchbacks up the mountain for about 5 miles to an obvious fork. Turn right at the fork and continue for 1.3 miles and make a left turn onto Rock Town Road. Rock Town road can easily be missed if coming up the mountain. Look for a silver box with signs signifying the station and something else (I can’t remember, sorry). The turn on the left is the Rock Town Road. The road dead ends and this is where you can park your vehicle.
The only available guidebook is a small Dr. Topo guide. I found the guide to be just ok, if that. It definitely only lists a handful of the problems and includes a topo that is not easy to navigate unless you somewhat know the area. I am considering compiling some better information, but not sure if that is taboo according to locals. Perhaps if you are heading there, jet me an email and I will try to augment the Dr. Topo guide for you.
Camping
About .1 miles past the Rock Town turnoff, there is a turn on the right for SawMill Campground. After making the right hand turn, the road will fork with a sign for camping and horse camping. If you merge left towards the camping, there will be a big flat plain where many climbers camp.
Food / Drink
Restaurants – The closest city of La Fayette has all the usual chain restaurants. I didn’t eat out much there as there weren’t any spectacular finds.
Beverage – Beverages (including wine and beer) can be bought in all grocery stores. However, alcoholic beverages are not prohibited in the Crockford Pigeon Mountain WMA.
Personal Hygiene
Showers – There is a recreation center in La Fayette with showers. I don’t know if they usually charge, but they let me in for free. They also have an air hockey table where I hear you can whiddle away many hours. =)
Laundromat – There is a laundromat on main street that is open 24 hours.
Sites of Interest
Chattanooga – Chattanooga is about 45 – 60 minutes away from Rock Town and has many cool sites such as the Walnut Street Bridge, one of the best aquariums I’ve visited and many excellent restaurants.
Wandering through Rock Town – Rock Town is a maze of cool rocks and trails, perfect for some wandering on a rest day.
Chickamauga Battlefield – This 5,500 acre Civil War battlefield was the scene for the last major Civil War battle. The battlefield has a 7 mile road that winds through the battlefield, allowing the tourist to dial in for a mobile tour.
Other
One of the biggest things to note about Rock Town is it is often closed for hunting. Make sure to call the ranger station prior to making the trip to ensure that climbing is allowed on the days of your visit. The number is 706-295-6041. (But to be honest, I have yet to get someone to answer this line and there sadly isn’t a voice recording with information.??)
If any of you readers have additional beta, please feel free to comment or email me.
A couple days prior to Thanksgiving, I moved locations from Rumbling Bald, North Carolina to polar opposite Rock Town, Georgia. Good bye granite crimps, hello sandstone roofs. Goodbye sending, hello ass-whoopin’. =)
Issa on The Scoop.
Tommy crushing an extension to Crock Bloc. Awesome.
One of the Ohio boys climbing Turkish Resin.
Eric working The Vagina. He is so close to sending this one.
Joe on a crimpy warm-up near the Hueco Simulator.
Issa on Double Trouble.
Me working Police Brutality.
CB’s first encounter with Balsam. Um… yeah.
Amy and Trip, from Sheffield, UK. Such a cool couple who I hung out with for quite a few nights, including Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving feast included good pasta, sushi, chips and salsa, wine and Lindt chocolate. Quite the eclectic culinary mix but it was all so delicious. =)
And, of course, the obligatory picture of the CragBaby. Here she is soaking up some sun while I worked in La Fayette.
I strive to be a tech geek (though I am an amateur one at best) plus I am a climber. The two worlds RARELY collide, but when they do it is so fun! One place where they are currently merging is Twitter.
Twitter is a micro-blogging site that I have found to be of utter value within the last year. Most of the value I receive is through tech talk and following start-up chatter (I actually wrote up a post concerning this on the WasatchGirl blog). However, it is real fun to see people tweet (meaning to post something up on Twitter) about going climbing or recent climbing news.
A friend of mine and fellow blogger is The Climber Girl. She is a lawyer based in Oregon who climbs, blogs and tweets. She wrote up a fab blog the other day called Twitter 101 for Us Outdoorsy Types and then provided these lists of us bloggers and twitterers in the subsequent post. I was amazed at the list of us geeky climbers… Sweet! Nice post, girl! =)
If you are on Twitter or want to come check it out, I would love to connect. I am (as usual), The WasatchGirl.
Oh my…. I just swung by Jun’s blog and saw the best post EVER! It is a video of SLC locals bouldering and I LOVE IT! I love watching Severhead and Jun crushing, giggled when JamesMonster cut her feet on a v0, smiled when I saw ShutUp at the Wrinkle in Time area in Joes Valley …. and then laughed out loud when I saw I was actually included in this video. HA HA HA! I do have two questions though…
Why does everyone in this video send EXCEPT me? =)
How in the world did I miss this strip show by Severhead?
Thanks for putting this together, Jun. I can’t wait to get out and boulder with the local gang.
