Hanging Rock! This time for climbing.
We haven’t ventured out in North Carolina much recently, (the western part of the state is still mostly shut down due to Hurricane Helene), but Alex and I had a couple days off and wanted to go camping for a few nights. We decided to go to Hanging Rock State Park, about an hour north of Greensboro, NC. This is an area we’ve visited before, but we had a new adventure in mind for this trip: outdoor bouldering!
Many people outside the area or sport may not realize it, but North Carolina is home to some of the best rock climbing areas on the east coast. A couple weeks ago Alex brought up the idea of getting a bouldering pad. Bouldering is a rock climbing discipline where there are no ropes, but the climbs are typically “only” 10-15 feet high. As the name suggests, you’re climbing up a boulder. I tend to boulder more often than she does in the gym, but we both thought it could be a fun idea. A little hiking, combined with some climbing, what’s not to like?
On Sunday afternoon Alex packed up the car (I was still working) and we headed for Hanging Rock. On the way we ate Panda Express and checked the weather for the first time. Rain. You’d think by now we would know better and check the weather ahead of time, but no! Our rain jackets were hanging in the closet at home and unfortunately it was slated to be 50 degrees and raining when we got to the campsite. So, we got there and set the tent up in the dark while getting drenched like the doofuses that we are.
It was still raining off and on when we woke up in the morning. Rocks aren’t great for climbing when it’s wet, so we decided we would use Monday to scope out the bouldering area. Hopefully finding a few things to come back and climb on Tuesday. We’ve never been outdoor bouldering, but luckily there is a 280 page book dedicated to the Moore’s Wall bouldering area with maps and guides detailing how to get to each boulder, the starting holds of each climb, and the grades of the bouldering problems on each boulder. Without a guide it wouldn’t be realistic for Alex and I to come climb here. It’s not like the boulders are sitting in an open field. They’re strewn throughout the forest, and connected by a labyrinth of trails created by climbers over the decades. There are over 500 named boulder problems in the Moore’s Wall area.
The downside of exploring after a night of rain became readily apparent as we trekked through a thick layer of wet leaves along the rocky trail. If there is one thing that brings Alex’s spirits down, it’s slippery footing. As (bad) luck would have it, at one point we turned down the hill too early and ended up off-trail, trekking through the undergrowth. There is a fire road that runs along the downhill section of the climbing area, so you can’t really get lost, but the detour did lead to a premarital failure to follow the “happy wife, happy life” saying! After scoping out a few boulders, we headed back to camp for lunch and a rest. We ate pasta with meatballs and Alex found a trail for us to hike in the evening.
The trailhead was walkable from our camp, so we set off to Indian Creek trail to see the Hidden & Window Falls. Hidden Falls turned out to be a nice two tiered waterfall that was gentle and quiet. Window falls, lower down the trail, had an obvious hole in the rock face, but otherwise seemed unremarkable. I climbed up a rock scramble to get a better look at it and discovered the real “hidden” waterfall was at Window Falls! Over time the water has cut back the rock face and created a bit of a tunnel effect. Very cool! There were also a couple grown men having a whale of a time with their tricked out RC cars in the shallow water pools below the falls. We headed back to camp for a dinner of ramen and canned calamari. It gets dark early this time of year, so we were asleep before 9!
Alex, in a tent.
The morning included yogurt and sausage for breakfast, but more excitingly it also included seeing 6 deer. In typical Cody fashion I was doing my own thing and looked up to find myself 10 feet from a deer staring at me! A few moments later another couple deer bounded down the hill and hung out for a few minutes before wandering off. Fifteen minutes later while eating breakfast a beautiful eight point buck jogged by.
Thanks to the scouting mission of the prior day, our journey to the bouldering area was a lot less eventful on Tuesday. Our plans for the day included trying climbs on two boulders in close proximity to each other. The first of which is called the “Brink” boulder. We chose these boulders because they had multiple climbs we thought we could do, and also would have the least consequential falls. As outdoor newbies used to gyms covered in pads, we were a bit nervous!
Boulder grading starts at VB being the easiest and then V0, V1, etc. The hardest boulder climbs in the world are currently a handful of V17s! Climbs are named by the first ascensionist of a particular line. To get us started I climbed On the Brink (VB). It was pretty easy and straightforward, but being the first outdoor climb it felt good to get one done. Alex quickly followed with a top of On the Brink as well. From there, we both climbed Brink Crack (VB) further along the front of the rock face. I followed with a top of The Brink (V0) and Almost There (V2). By this point Alex’s hands were starting to hurt. Outdoors, some of the holds can be sharp and we started to understand why climbers talk about their skin a lot. That was it for today at “The Brink”, but there are a couple other climbs on this boulder that I’d like to try in the future. Until then, it was onto “Warm-Up Boulder”.
Alex sending Brink Crack (VB)
The Warm-up Boulder is one that much better climbers than Alex and I used as a warm-up boulder back in the day. For us, it’s a main attraction! We started on a climb along an arete called Warm-up Traverse (V0). You never know if you’re doing a climb the easiest way (how it’s graded), but this one was definitely a step up from the other V0 climbs so far. Alex tried it a few times, but didn’t manage a send. Buoyed by my success, I tried Snoop Dog Mantle (V2), but a lack of flexibility really limited my chances and I didn’t make much progress. Alex was the next to send with a top of Shotgun Eliminate 1 (V0), and I was able to follow with a send of Shotgun Betty (V0) after several attempts. To finish off our day I was able to work out the sequence on Angry Angel (V1) thanks to Alex spotting a potential hold I hadn’t seen and topped it on what I had deemed my final attempt. Overall, I think we had a pretty good first outing and we plan to come back.
With the bouldering done, we hopped in the car and stopped at Floor & Decor on the way home to get another box of tile. I can finally finish the tile in the guest bathroom shower! Happy wife, happy life….. :)
