Composed by Wayne
Busch
The
second weekend in August hosted a Black Dog Expedition to
Rocktown,
Georgia and to Sunset
Rock, Tennessee,. We had nine climbers meeting us at the Lookout
Mountain Flight Park Campground in Trenton, Georgia, Friday night.
Jim and Karin Waldrop, Jackie and I departed on Friday morning
for our commute from Gainesville, Florida, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
On our way, we investigated a popular climbing spot, the Lost
Wall. It's located on Pigeon Mountain, near Lafayette, Georgia.
It's a very promising crag for some nice top-roping, with easy
access. We agreed it would be a good place to bring our group
on Sunday.
Enlarge photo of
Josh
We
ate at the Big River Brewery in downtown Chattanooga that evening,
one of our favorite eateries. The downtown area hosts many fine
restaurants and pubs, museums, attractions, and a superb aquarium.
It was a sweltering 96 degrees at 6:30 PM. Wow!
See larger photo
of Jim
The group trickled in through the evening, setting up tents to
pass the night in the tall grass at the edge of the runway. Saturday
morning, we drove to Sunset Rock. Our group split here, with one
half climbing to the north, the other to the south. Jim and Karin
went South, rigging Blonde Ambition 5.7 and Jugular Vein 5.7,
two of the most classic southern routes. Jackie and I went north,
rigging ropes on Beginner's Crack 5.4, and Ghost Dancer 5.8. The
groups switched location 1 PM hiking the scenic trail along the
cliffs. Near the end of the day, I rigged a rope on Dirty
Dancing 5.6, a fun route nearby.
The
weather could not have been nicer. The oppressive heat of
Friday night had passed with a quick front, and a cool, calm,
clear day prevailed. It was a sweet whiff of fall, just a taste
of that wonderful season to come. Most of us went into Chattanooga
for dinner, visiting the convenient and popular Cancun Mexican
Restaurant, then returned to the flight park for the evening.
Sunday
morning, we packed up our tents, and snaked out of Trenton in
a caravan. We followed the small country roads atop Lookout Mountain
southwest through the Georgia countryside. It took about
an hour to drive to the Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife management
area near Lafayette, Georgia. A gravel road winds up the mountainside
to the small parking area near the trailhead. We rounded the last
switchback to find the road choked with cars. The Lost Wall had
been found! It would be too busy to climb here today.
See large photo of
group
Fortunately, Pigeon Mountain hosts two climbing areas - the Lost
Wall and Rocktown.
We continued up the road a couple miles, crossing the top of the
broad ridge, to the parking area at the remote Rocktown
trailhead. 
From
here, the level trail winds a mile through the woods, emerging
in an area strewn with enormous boulders and pillars. The friendly
rock is similar to that of Sandrock,
Alabama, another 30 miles south. I slipped through a couple
of narrow channels between boulders the size of buildings, into
a tiny amphitheater surrounded by rock faces. It was a great spot
to pass the morning. We had four top-ropes rigged within an hour,
and everyone enjoyed the variety of challenges.
We
packed up and hit the road at 1 PM, and were home by 9 PM. We'll
be planning future trips to explore more of the wonderful opportunities
at Rocktown.
Enlarge photo of Christine
Sunset
Rock, Tennessee climbing area page
Sunset Rock Gallery
Rocktown, Georgia
climbing area page
Rocktown, Georgia Gallery
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Trip
Reports - 8/15/00 - Pigeon Mountain, Georgia - Rocktown, GA and Sunset Rock, TN
