A New Crag
Sometimes its hard to realize that the blog is about one thought at a time. Otherwise things get wordy. Nobody likes a wordy blog.
Rockclimbing, this post is about rockclimbing.
When I lived in Arkansas I use to love going out and rockclimbing. Most of the time I would either scamper over to Riverside park and sometimes out to that hill by the lake- I forgot the name. Sometimes it was hard finding the time or people to go with you. Luckily Mandi P would ussually be up for climbing whenever.
When I firt got to the island I saw all of these rock walls that I thought would be great to climb. See volcanic rock is especially susceptible to errosion. This leaves random large rock formations. At first I thought it would be cool climbing on these rocks. Nobody else had probably ever sumitted many of the walls. I could be the first.
So I started climbing. I started at beechside rock formations that are scattered about around the island. Unfortunately there is a reason volcanic rock errodes easily. Its actually very loose compared to other rock. Its worse then sedimentary rock. Ask Ron Staggs I'm sure he can explain it to you why its like this.
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The first few climbs I did ended in the same way. I would find a solid outcropping that held the initial weight I put on it. As soon as I went to push off to occupy the next step a piece would inevitably break, putting me precariously off balance. And by that I mean almost threw me to the ground 20ft below. Luckily, wait, Skillfully I always managed to catch myself, but not before my body was slung against the wall. In the end I wound up with matching scars on my shins where I slammed into the jagged volcanic rock; permanent reminders of how fragile rocks can be. So I gave it up.
Until now. Down at the beech behind the house (Its really a walk through the jungle a few hundred yards) I found a piece of rock that is sticking out past all the others. It runs right down to where the waves roll up after breaking. The bottom is ussually wet at high tide. But something is a bit different about this one- its harty and has stood the test of time better than the surround rocks. So I've started climbing on it. I should get a picture.
Its definitely a 5.9 or higher climb. Holds are few and far between and it slants backwards. But a few more days of working my arms out on the rock and I should have regained the strength and endurance to make it to the top.
Paul "A bit rejuvenated" Murphy
Sometimes its hard to realize that the blog is about one thought at a time. Otherwise things get wordy. Nobody likes a wordy blog.
Rockclimbing, this post is about rockclimbing.
When I lived in Arkansas I use to love going out and rockclimbing. Most of the time I would either scamper over to Riverside park and sometimes out to that hill by the lake- I forgot the name. Sometimes it was hard finding the time or people to go with you. Luckily Mandi P would ussually be up for climbing whenever.
When I firt got to the island I saw all of these rock walls that I thought would be great to climb. See volcanic rock is especially susceptible to errosion. This leaves random large rock formations. At first I thought it would be cool climbing on these rocks. Nobody else had probably ever sumitted many of the walls. I could be the first.
So I started climbing. I started at beechside rock formations that are scattered about around the island. Unfortunately there is a reason volcanic rock errodes easily. Its actually very loose compared to other rock. Its worse then sedimentary rock. Ask Ron Staggs I'm sure he can explain it to you why its like this.
The first few climbs I did ended in the same way. I would find a solid outcropping that held the initial weight I put on it. As soon as I went to push off to occupy the next step a piece would inevitably break, putting me precariously off balance. And by that I mean almost threw me to the ground 20ft below. Luckily, wait, Skillfully I always managed to catch myself, but not before my body was slung against the wall. In the end I wound up with matching scars on my shins where I slammed into the jagged volcanic rock; permanent reminders of how fragile rocks can be. So I gave it up.
Until now. Down at the beech behind the house (Its really a walk through the jungle a few hundred yards) I found a piece of rock that is sticking out past all the others. It runs right down to where the waves roll up after breaking. The bottom is ussually wet at high tide. But something is a bit different about this one- its harty and has stood the test of time better than the surround rocks. So I've started climbing on it. I should get a picture.
Its definitely a 5.9 or higher climb. Holds are few and far between and it slants backwards. But a few more days of working my arms out on the rock and I should have regained the strength and endurance to make it to the top.
Paul "A bit rejuvenated" Murphy
posted by Paul Murphy at
3:17 PM
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