As Alastair is now spending all his vacations seeing Susanna off in Germany, we had to find a new victim to help watch the kids. The unfortunate traveller was Conor Walsh, a high school junior that climbs and kayaks with us. His parents didn't seem to mind sending him away for a week so off we went.
The first day we went kayaking at Harper's Ferry. I had done this last fall with Eric and had a great time. Since I had done it before, I sent Marti, Eric, and Conor on down with lots of good (?) advice while Jay and I played around. Unfortunately for Eric, the water was a lot higher than the last time we did it and it wasn't nearly as easy for him this time. The main rapid is "Bull's Falls" - a huge river-wide ledge about 3 feet high with various chutes. Last time Eric and I had no problems taking out on the rocks between the chutes. This time, those rocks were just barely out of the water and it was a lot harder to stop. Marti hopped out, chose a line, and led the guys on down. Unfortunately, the current was strong and Eric didn't get his boat turned around and ran it backwards. He did fine, though, and was just recovering when he got stuck on a rock in the middle of the river. This wasn't too serious (no danger of getting sucked under or anything) but it took Conor and Marti a long time to get him going again - this involved using the throw rope to get him and his boat out of the rapid. Eventually they pressed on and Jay and I met the gang in the middle of the "Staircase", a long class III (at this water level). Eric was doing fine and followed Marti with no problems to the beach where Jay and I were.
I talked Conor into trying to surf a fairly big wave for the camera. Conor has a good pool roll but doesn't have a combat roll yet. Unfortunately. After a couple of heroic pictures, Conor flipped and washed out. He sort of thought about rolling before popping the skirt. Another boater came to help (Marti had gotten out for a bit) but Conor simply climbed back in the waterlogged boat and paddled to shore, unassisted. Sure wish I could do that!!
The takeout is a bit further down so I drove with Jay and waited. Hmmm - this seems to be taking a while - whats up? I walk upstream and eventually see everyone. Turns out Eric was flipped in a big wave just below where I had met them and took a short swim. Conor towed Eric and his boat while Marti grabbed the paddle. Didn't bother Eric too much though and everyone was OK. It was getting late so we loaded the boats and started the long drive to Ashville, North Carolina.
Sunday was very rainy and we were in no hurry to get moving. We found a very nice motel (at $30 a night it was great!) where we ended up staying for the next 5 days and then set off in search of the Nantahala river and the fabled NOC (Nantahalla Outdoor Center - major boating store and much more ...). We finally arrived at the NOC around 2pm (even though it's only just over an hour from Ashville!) and promptly spend way too much money on some new gear. The store is at the takeout of a 10 mile or so class II - III run with only one serious rapid: Natahalla Falls, right above the takeout and store.
The water was high (3.9 on the guage) and we decided to be cautious. Conor took the inflatable and I took my hardboat while the kids stayed in the car with Marti as she chased us down the river. No problems, though, with the run. The only tricky bit was just below the putin and we had scouted from the road. The rest was lots of easy class II with some nice big waves. It was very pretty with lots of cascading side streams rushing into the steep gorge. Marti gave us a lot of warning before the falls (turns out it was well signed so it didn't matter much) and we took out for a look. It appeared to be solid class IV - we watched a boater run it and he get crunched in the wave at the bottom. Of course he rolled up just fine but Conor and I were already cold (it was rainy and cold all day) so we decided to take a pass and headed back to the motel.
The next day (Monday) it was warm and sunny. I was a little worried about high water so we headed for something mellow: the Chatooga, section II. This river is the border between South Carolina and Georgia and is a designated Wild and Scenic river. While there is lots of hair downstream (sections III and IV), this run is class II with one class III. The level was high (probably a bit over 3 feet) so Marti and I went first to see what it was like.
The run was easy but scenic and fun. All of the rapids were ledge drops, often with good surfing at this high water level. The only big one, Rock Shoals, had some big stuff but there was a fairly easy line that we found when we scouted. Conor and Eric were up next - Conor in the hard boat and Eric and I in the inflatable. Another fun run - we tried to get Conor to surf but after his flip at Harper's Ferry we was a bit shy about it. Finally at the end we found a perfect wave and we all spent over 20 minutes parked in it.
When we reached the car, Marti had managed to rustle up a psuedo-cake and some candles to celebrate Conor's 17th birthday. It was a suprise party and we all had a great time. After the party we stopped over at Whitewater Falls (which was really cooking!) and headed back. It was a two hour drive back to the motel and we arrived late and wasted again, as usual.
Now for climbing: Looking Glass rock. Conor and I are the advance party and when we arrive at the nose area we find three parties on various parts my main goal, Sundial Crack (5.8), and "The World's Slowest Climbers (tm)" on the Nose. Also, topropes festoon the lower 60 feet of the rock between the Nose and Sundial, occupied by a large group of `at risk' youth (hoods in the woods) who are soon to have their young lives turned around by exposure to the world of rock climbing. Conor and I decide to go looking for obscure routes off to the left where there's a starred 5.10 crack in the guidebook.
We eventually find the route - not promising. The two bolts at the crux are hangerless and the crack is a typical Looking Glass one: just a shallow, rounded groove that's hard to either protect in or climb. I arrive at the crux, meditate, and descend. Next climb - there's a 5.8 just left of this, first route in the nose area. We see a short, wet, grotty vegetable infested crack. Hmmm - maybe the crowds back by the nose aren't that bad.
Marti and the boys have now arrived. Eric is in a foul mood over the grueling 10 minute approach hike (well, 20 at his pace) and refuses to participate in any climbing. Jay, however, is eager to climb! The first pitch of the nose is free (in the hour Conor and I futzed around the TWSC party had moved about 60 feet up the rock) and I cruise up to the belay. Jay is really keen to climb and almost runs up the pitch. Although it's fairly low angle, he has to climb some pretty nasty vertical steps. He reaches the belay and lowers down in triumph. Next is Conor (Marti has already done the Nose so she stays with the kids). Oops! Conor is gripped! He's never had to do friction before. He finally reaches the belay but it's obvious that he's been shown up by a 5 year old. The rest of the climb in uneventful but slow. We soon catch the TWSC party (who are actually pretty nice) but Conor is no faster and soon we all rap down.
Sundial Crack is finally free and Conor heads to the car with boys while Marti and I climb. The topropers are still in the way but they are actually pretty nice about letting us climb through. This is the best route I've done at Looking Glass - more interesting that the Nose. The pro looks dicey from the ground but turns out to be plentiful. The `Sundial Crack' is only 15 feet long but it's the only recognizable feature in the route I guess they had to use it in the name.
On the way back, we pass by `Slide Rock', a recreation area in the valley below the rock. It's early in the year so there's nobody around but Conor puts on his trunks and takes a 30 foot slide down a slab in the frigid river into a deep pool at the bottom, freezing his butt off in the process. It's big fun, though, and we all enjoy watching him suffer.
The next day is cold and rainy again. Back to the Natahala: at least we know what we're going to find there and it's pretty close. It's lower (3.5 feet) and the run is easier. Marti is in the hard boat and I take Eric in the inflatable. Seems really easy this time but pretty cold. No problems - Eric doesn't want to run the falls so Marti joins me. Conor is next and he does fine in a hard boat. We're cold and take out well before the falls and head back to Ashville.
While the Ashville area is great, I'm itching to go somewhere new and talk everyone into looking into the Obed area in Tennessee. It's a 3 hour drive away but what the heck: there's both climbing and kayaking. As we cross the border into Tennessee we discover that you can get cheap fireworks! Conor and Eric go wild and we now have lots of illegal stuff for the 4th. Anyway, we check the flows at the visitor center and find the Obed at about 5000 cfs (quite high) and Clear Creak at 1000 cfs. We don't know what this will mean but head out to the climbing rocks and hope to scout the river while climbing.
Like the New River, this is steep sandstone. We head for a wall above Clear Creak and look at the river as we hike along the canyon run. The rapids look fun but it's time to climb! The first crux is getting to the base of the cliff. The access to the cliff is via a long ladder - quite gripping! I lower Jay on the rope just to be safe. While the kids play, Conor and I look for a route to do. All of the easier ones look bogus - I settle for a nice 5.10a bolted sport route.
There's no point in elaborating on my ethical decline as I ascended the line of bolts. The climbing was good but my arms turned to Jello. Near the top I couldn't even do a clip from a bucket hold - I had to hang my whole arm through the sling to hold on and clip a biner! Boo, hiss!!! I bailed out just below the top and Conor couldn't get any higher so I taught him the use of a "poot sling" and bailed. Nice area, fun climbing, wasted climbers. There was no point taking Marti of the kids on the steep sandstone so we packed up and headed back to the car.
Eric didn't want to kayak so we decided to have Conor and I take the inflatable; Conor wasn't comfortable running class IV in a hardboat. Clear Creak was absolutely wonderful: big water, clear, fun rapids, great canyon. We scouted the three class IV's but none of them were too bad. After that, there was another mile of continuous class III to the junction with the Obed. The rapids in the Obed were easier but the waves were big! The canyon was all wilderness with many sidestreams cascading in on either side and more cliffs. Great place - I'm eager to return someday. We were lucky to catch such a nice level - it had flooded at something like 40000 cfs earlier in the week and we could see a lot of debris high in the trees on the banks. As it was, there were many trees growing out in the river channel.
We took out after 7pm so there was no more time for fun. It was a shame we had wasted time (sport) climbing when the kayaking was so remarkable. On the way back we stopped to visit Dave Roller, a friend from many years ago in Salt Lake City.
Friday: only three days left! Time to start slowly working back to Connecticut. We clear out of our motel room and head for Stone Mountain. This is Jay's day: Eric and Conor go off hiking while Marti and Jay and I head for No Alternative (5.6). Jay is really jazzed and flys up the first couple of pitches, climbing next to Marti. He finally slows down just a little near the top as he realizes how high up we have gotten but all is well and we hike back down to the base.
Eric and Conor are missing but I really want to take on a hardcore Stone Mountain runout. We leave Jay alone at the base and climb to Tree Ledge. Conor and Eric finally show up: having hiked up to meet us, they passed us somehow and hiked down the wrong trail and had to walk a long way back to the rock. Anyway, now there's someone to watch Jay and Marti relaxes. I look at Rainy Day Woman (5.10-). Wow - that first bolt is a long way up! I make it about 20 feet before chickening out. To the left is Mercury's Lead (5.9-), one of the more moderate slab routes there. However, it has only two bolts on a 120 foot lead so it's still pretty serious. I ask Marti if she's interested in the lead and, to my suprise, she says yes. About half way (20' up) to the bolt she slips. Whoa! Fortunately she stays on her toes and stops at a slightly lower angled part of the slab. Now I'm sure she's ready to back off but no, another try. This time she cruises to the first bolt and on past the second one to the belay. Wahoo! Following, I think the climbing is pretty darn hard! Marti quotes Zan: "Takes Boobs!". Guess that was my problem on Rainy Day.
Eric gives it a halfhearted try but lowers off. The long hike has him tired and gloomy. Oh well. It's late and we rap off. Conor redeems himself on friction by blasting up the 5.8 slab under the last rap. Eric emulates Conor's foolishness at Looking Glas and shows us a place to go butt sliding in a nearby stream, cheering him up considerably. More driving: we make Roanoke before I crap out.
One place left to go: Seneca. We arrive around 11 and fortunately the good campground is open. Marti and the boys set up camp (Jay has been wanting to camp the whole trip) while Conor and I head for the rock. First on the agenda: West Pole: 5.7+. Huge roof, big holds, great climb. Marti and the gang arrive: Eric is steamed about the approach (again) and goes back down but Jay is eager to climb again. We head up Conn's West (5.3). Some pretty serious stuff for little Jay but with a little help from Marti we all make the summit. Marti isn't keen for Jay to climb the last little bit to the true summit but I spot him and we're up. Jay loves the view and enjoys signing the register. On the raps down I tie him under me like a haulbag (this is what I did with Eric on Devil's Tower). Jay thinks this is hilarious.
That night we roast hotdogs and marshmallows over a fire. The kids are in heaven.
Last day: Eric really wants to yak again. Conor and I get an early start and bag Candy Corner (5.5) - excellent route! - and the top of the Skyline Traverse (5.3). These easy Seneca climbs are just as good as Gunks routes. Marti has packed up and we're ready to bag a very quick run at Harper's Ferry again on the way home.
Eric's a little worried about being in his hard boat again but Conor and I promise to let him scout Bull's Falls. We take out well above the falls and have a look. Lots higher than when I was there last year but about the same as a week ago. There's an obvious easy line on the leftmost tongue (we really should have run far right - live and learn!) but it's narrow with a fairly big wave to punch if you miss it. We watched Conor run with no problems and then Eric and I put in. I screwed up and hit the wave. Dang! I punched just fine but it stopped Eric cold and dumped him. The rescue was easy though - I grabbed the paddle and Eric held on to his boat and we made it into and eddy just downstream a ways. Eric gave me an "I told you so" speech but wasn't too flustered. He didn't have any more problems and we took out in the middle of the staircase where Marti was down to watch us - it was getting late and we had a long drive ahead of us.
We finally dragged back home around 10:30. Not too bad but everyone was wasted the next day. Another trip bites the dust!