In Search of Climbing
Today DS and I decided to explore. We haven't really done this enough since moving here. He had read that there was some decent climbing in Ralph Stover State Park, which is about an hour from here. Today turned out to be crystal clear skies and a high of nearly 60, which is perfect hiking weather in my opinion. We layered up just in case, grabbed the camera, and went off in search of adventure.
The climbing guide we were following took us to the picnicking and white water section. This part was home to a late 18th century water-powered grist mill, and the park takes its name from its owner1. However, the climbing section is in the "High Rocks" section. While there is technically a road that connects the two, there is a pedestrian only bridge in the way. So we bundled back into the car and tried again.
The High Rocks area is, as you might have imagined, high. It overlooks a horseshoe bend in the creek, and there are 200-ft drops down to the river. The rocks were often a bit purple, and reminded me a lot of Devil's Lake because of that. They didn't seem nearly so slick though, so they are probably not quartzite. There were quite a few climbers there, though not as many as we would have expected for such a nice day. That looks good for us being able to find places to set up once we start going there to climb. There were a lot of bolted routes too, which isn't something I've personally encountered much. It will be nice to use their built in anchors and not have to spend 45 minutes setting up the rope just to get started.
The day was lovely, both because of the weather and because the leaves were still hanging on and beautiful. I tried to get a good feel of the place for you in these photos.
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1Ralph Stover State Park Recreational Guide
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