Enchanted Rock is probably about the same size as Half Dome. Except damn near all of it is underground instead of out where you can climb on it! Although very wide, it's mostly 15 degree slabs. Fortunately on the back side there's a face between 50 and 200 feet high. It features mostly cracks on the right and lots of good friction climbing on the left. Paul and I started at the visitor center, where you have to agree not to sue Texas State Parks if you die. Fine by us. Then we ask to buy a guidebook. Oooops! Can't do that anymore - turns out the guidebook has *naughty words*! And this is a family park! Horrors! Without even an "X rated, adults only" back room to inspect the book in we're forced to find the climbs without help. (Hmmm - maybe I should lock up my guidebook collection before Eric starts searching for bad language ...)

No problem - I remember some climbs from a brief visit last year. We arrive at the "Triple Cracks": a burly 5.9 offwidth on the left, a 5.8 hand crack in the middle, and a 5.8+ corner (Owl Crack?) on the right. I'm keen to lead the middle crack - we're the first climbers to arrive and the weather is perfect. I pussyfoot around the crux (right near the ground) for a while before committing. I feel too wimpy to layback like I should! The rest is easier and I'm soon up, realizing that I have no strength at all. Easy for Paul - he laybacks and we're up. I decide to hike on to the summit and boulder a bit on some cool freestanding boulders (Lunar Rocks) before heading down. The bouldering is fun but we're too wimpy to do any but the easiest routes and too lazy to use the rope on the others. Back down to the triple cracks: I take the corner and am feeling a lot better. Paul, on the other hand, doesn't have it figured out and whimpers and hangs.

Paul's sick of cracks so we head for the slabs. Lots more climbers now but nobody has a guidebook! Everyone seems to know where all the climbs are, though, so we hunt for a 6 bolt 5.9 friction climb.

After talking to even more bookless climbers, we find the right spot for Ripple (5.9). I convince Paul to lead - he mumbles that he's no longer a leader (or even a climber - that hand crack really ate his lunch!) but finally goes for it. Once he gets started the confidence returns and he's a hero. Excellent route, too. Two other routes next door on the Wine Wall also prove to be good - I lead an 8, Paul takes a 7.

Finally, a climber with a book shows up and we head right for a few more climbs. I lead a very nice 8+ up friction over a small roof and Paul leads a very pretty 5.7 crack, Sweat. It's not dark but Paul is toast. Actually, I'm in agony too - new shoes. (Turns out I hadn't trimmed ny toenails - big mistake!). I want pictures on the Lunar Rocks (again) so we walk by them on the way back. I'm barely able to scratch my way up the easy routes and almost have to jump on Paul to get down the last one. Definitely time to head down. In the parking lot we both forget where the rental car was and we wander all over the place hunting for our ride. By this time, the place is covered with hundreds (if not thousands!) of boy scouts. Probably not a great place to camp if you want solitude.

At the conference, both Paul and I had impressive sets of gobies to brag about. All in all, a great mid-winter excursion. Definitely worth a visit if you're in Texas.