Midwest Mob-fest '07

“Cool. :)”

“Everyone still out on the trail?”

“They won't be out of the woods until tomorrow, I believe.”

“I came out yesterday about noon and have been in intense sessions with my therapist. LOL! I'll tell ya what, it's good it was a small group cause we were crude rude and disgusting the whole time. We basically drank and busted each other's balls all night Saturday. I was the only responsible one though and kept a close eye on the others...

"Yo MeanGreen [passing the Wild Turkey]",

"No thanks man I need to slow down a little."

"Awe come on! Don't be a pussie!" [sip,sip,sip]

The overall theme of the trip ended up being, "Phuck you Joe!".”

“it was great to see everyone. i am still pretty damn gimpy from the activities of the weekend. the gorge really kicked my butt. great to meet you in person, salem. also good to spend some time around the campfire with you nigal. thanks, meangreen, for setting this up and it was great to see you as well. i know my climbing partner had a great time as well. to the rest of you that bailed you missed a good night at camp at a great camp site on Saturday night.”

“When we were hiking out of camp Sunday I thought, "What would we have done with all those people had they not bailed?". We would have been strung all up and down that damn trail for a mile.”

“Jimmysan - I think it is safe to change your status from a maybe to a yes for this trip.....”

“well technically i didn't do the hike. i went climbing at lower south wall and left flank on saturday and met the group at camp saturday night... :)”

“cats + herding = TT”

“I was the only responsible one though and kept a close eye on the others...
Blah blah

Nigal

WOW I almost spit pop all over my monitor on that!

It was a great trip guys awesome scenery great company...yes EVEN you Nigal! lol and awesome bourbon...it don't get any better than that!”

“"spit pop"?

sound gross. must be a pepsi product.”

“It was a great trip guys awesome scenery great company...yes EVEN you Nigal!

What a gluten for punishment! LOL! I had a great time as well. It was awesome to spend time with you Jimmy San. I don't know why but I find it very refreshing that someone can go from explaining the chemical properties of something and then go straight into a joke about sodomy.”

“who was joking?”

“Wow, what a great hike and scenery. First time to the gorge, and I'll definately be going back. Jimmy san and Nigel it was great to meet you both.

UPluver where's the pictures?”

“We need trip reports and photos!”

“That's right you buncha slackers!!!
Where's the TR????????????
See ya later.
Randall”

“damnit! i shouldve gone!!!”

“Trying to do the Deam in Feb. Check the trip page tomorrow”

“Trying to do the Deam in Feb. Check the trip page tomorrow�

A bit too early for the PEEPERS but still sounds good.”

“damnit! i shouldve gone!!!�
brittc
11:57:36 AM
12/12/07


I phuking TOLD YOU!!!

Sat night was a party and a half, then Sunday and Monday was mind blowing scenery! Thanks to all who didn't bail.”

“Sat night was a party and a half, then Sunday and Monday was mind blowing scenery! Thanks to all who didn't bail.�

Now, THAT is a TR. Quick and concise.”

“OK, so it's been a while since i did one of these but meangreen is sort of being a bully so here goes.

i drove down to RRG Friday after work with 4assmonkey. we arrived late, like 2am so we opted to camp off of tunnel ridge road at what has become our usual camp site. we were hammock camping, each of us with a hennesy hammock. in no time at all we had camp set up but, of course, i left me medicine in the truck and had to haul back to the truck to fetch it before going to bed.

we were pretty tired and wound up sleeping in a bit. after quickly packing up camp we drove to koomer ridge campground but if the other tters were there they had already split. so we drove into slade to the shell station for coffee. while there we ran into my wife and kids who came up several hours before us. i had rented them a cottage in the state park. they were having breakfast at the subway (it looked good!) anyway, after chatting a bit 4assmonkey and i headed out for our day of climbing.

our plan was to hit lower small wall and climb "double cave crack", a 5.3 trad route. the wall was easy to find but it involved a very steep and grimy approach. my pack was very heavy what with all the trad gear, rope, and other junk associated with climbing. 10-15 heart pounding minutes later we found ourselves at the tipped-over pointed rock known as "lost dart" which was in of itself pretty cool... a must climb in my book but not the target for the day.

we walked down the wall and quickly located double cave crack. my first thought was "5.3? no way!" still, the longer i looked the easier it appeared. There was a distinct crack that led to a ledge, then another crack that led to a rockhouse and a belay. then a series of chimneys led to a large ledge and i couldn't see the climb above this point, or should i say there was no way the overhang i could see was the 5.3 route so i could not see the rest of the climb.

i took the lead and set a Jesus nut in case i fell on the start. i quick tug to test the nut proved disastrous... pulled right out! ok, so while my placement sucked at least i had the common sense to TEST the placement before i bet my life on it. i stuffed a cam into the same crack which was bomber and climbed on.

The climb up to the first ledge was just 2-3 quick moves, nothing really tough. the crack up to the rockhouse was wide so i stuffed a large hex in here for pro and climbed on (rope drag later popped it out! two bad placements in one day!) entry to the rockhouse was a snap. indeed this felt like a 5.3.

the rockhouse was basically a little cave and was very, very cool. inside were some girth hitched webbing loops with rap rings that would have made good anchors. one of the webbing loops was in awful shape and i would not have belayed off of it for my life but the other was good. rather than belay my partner up to here i opted to climb on since i was close to the next ledge.

i ignored the webbing in the cave and opted for an external cam placement to reduce rope drag. then i climbed outside the rockhouse and onto the face of the first chimney. the climbing was more vertical now and certainly more exposed. i hate climbing chimneys and this was hardly what i would call a chimney. a few tough moves and i latched up onto a ledge. a mantle got my knee onto the ledge, then the rest of me.

there was a good sized crack running up the next chimney segment so i slotted a cam in this ledge and then got ready to climb. i struggled a bit at the start, then pressed up to a solid place for my left foot. my right foot struggled for placement but i crammed it sideways into the crack and sought a place for my hands.

all of a sudden my foot that was wedged into the crack slipped out. i managed to stay on the rock using pressure from my hands but as soon as i did this i realized that i had screwed up big time. i had climbed too far past my last point of protection and a fall would most certainly hit the ledge below me. it was a really stupid move and i immediately wished i had found a spot to place another piece of pro. it was a mute point because i kicked the wall and wedged my foot in the crack again, but the move cost me my balance and i started to fall. my concentration really stepped up and i tried not to panic. this had to be planned... controlled. "take, take, take, take!", i called (to a belayer i could not see) and prepared for the fall. as i fell i pitched myself off the wall trying to throw myself clear of the ledge.

before i knew it i was sitting on my butt on the ledge. i had avoided "pinballing" on the wall but the impact of hitting the ledge was less than comfortable. i was still off balance as i hit the ledge and toppled over backwards off the ledge. i would up upside-down under the ledge.

"let me down", i started to say then stopped myself. "what?", 4assmonkey yelled. "never mind. i am ok. climbing.", and i turned myself right side-up, dusted off my pride, and climbed back to the ledge. i sat there for ten minutes or so and then yelled down, "i need to take a break, i am a little shaken up. why don't i belay you up from here?"

i rigged a bomber 4-point anchor using an equalette and set up for a belay. 4assedmonkey cleaned the route and quickly climbed to the rockhouse. "how the hell did you climb up from here?", he asked. "i climbed outside the rockhouse and up this chimney." well, he chose a different route, climbing through a skinny slot in the rockhouse... he is a skinny bastard and didn't have all that junk strapped to his belt like I did. soon he was at my belay ledge.

he scoped the area and then decided to climb up the chimney i fell in. it was slow going but he got to a stable place and set a Jesus nut (a cam actually). i breathed a sigh of relief. with a little effort he pressed to the top and was on the upper ledge.

he rigged a belay (off of a tree) and i broke down the anchor. tied in with a solid belay my confidence grew and i quickly climbed the chimney to the top ledge.

we explored the ledge for a while... a totally awesome place. we contemplated following what appeared to be more of a low 5 or perhaps class 4 route to the top but decided we would rap down and call it a day.

we broke down the anchor he created and using some fresh webbing and a rap ring i brought with us we rigged a belay station. the 60m rope, doubled over, easily made it to the bottom. 4assmonkey went first, tied in with an atc and petzl shunt (i use the same rig) and rapped to the bottom. i quickly followed.

we packed up and headed back to the truck.

i had called my wife and told her to head to left flank with the kids. we were going to fix a top-rope to "mr bungle" (a 5.8- route) and let the kids climb. when we got to left flank she was there with the kids.

4assmonkey led mr bungle and quickly fixed the top rope. the wall was wet and very cold. it was a tough climb for him because of this, but he made it.

we tied in my 8 year old (james) and he made an impressive show. we had to give him a boost to get on the wall (the start is a little tough for a little guy) but after that he flew up the first 1/8th of the route before the cold got to his little fingers. his form was impressive. he is going to be a great climber.

then i tied in to climb up and take down the top-rope anchor. darkness had set in and the rock was cold and wet. i couldn't see the wall other than dark features and it was very cold... all pins and needles in my hands. i climbed to the top quickly (wife, kids, and 4assmonkey said it was so dark they could not see me). i wished to hell i had a headlamp... stupid move on my part. in the dark (TRIPLE CHECKINGE EVERYGHING), I anchored in, took down the top-rope, and rapped to the bottom.

we packed up and stumbled down to the truck by the light of my wife's cell phone. what a hike back! it was darker than the inside of a polecat!

i gave the wife and kids a bag if jerky fro the shell station for a snack and sent them off to get dinner. 4assmonkey and i sent an SMS message earlier to meangreen and got back a set of GPS coordinates for camp. i asked what datum was used and the reply came back that on the garmin unit they could not tell. i knew then it that upluver was at camp with his wrist garmin gps.

so looking at the map i decided to park at grey's arch trailhead and hike in on 100 (which crosses tunnel ridge road just a ways down from the parking lot) to the camp site. we hiked down 100 and i managed to find a use trail that looked like it let to camp.

there were the rest of the tters, tarp spread out, tents set up, bourbon and eggnog being passed around.

4assmonkey and i were starving, having skipped lunch (we seem to always do this!) so we set up our hammocks and prepared dinner. then we sat around the campfire generally having a good time, drinking, smoking, and acting up. it was a chilly but comfortable night... basically perfect.

man, did i ever sleep well when i finally turned in some time past midnight. my hand was puffy and red.. really hurt. i whacked it good on the fall. the hammock was warm thanks to the down quilts i brought with me. i dozed off and didn't wake until the morning.

the next morning i awoke to the sounds of people chatting. i don't know what time it was but i think nigal had packed up and others were making breakfast. i joined them (mooching water from salem... thanks!) soon 4assmonkey was up. we all packed up and parted ways.

4assmonkey and i were the last ones out of camp. as we headed out we say meangreen's backpack by a tree. he had said he was going back to his car so we figured he would be somewhere along 100... we ran into him on the way back to our truck.

we loaded up the truck and set out for the hemlock lodge. there we met our family where we decided to make a quick .6 mile round-trip dayhike to "hensen's arch" (well worth the trip). it's just down the road form the turn-off to the hemlock lodge. the campground was closed there but we parked at the entrance and hiked in. this arch is set in the ground in a sinkhole. stairs are set there so you can climb down and under the arch. it's really chilly in there and there is a pretty cascade of water that goes into the sinkhole and vanishes into the ground... very cool. there is also a small cave you can look in. people ("bad" people) had torn up the railing of the stairs and tossed it into the cave so they could climb in and out of it. some people...

we returned to the truck and drove back to the hemlock lodge where we gorged on the buffet lunch... fried catfish, roast beef, fried okra, green beans, fried chicken, cobbler, banana pudding, soft serve ice cream, and of course sweet tea!

then the ride back... what can you say about an 8 hours slog. well, we made it home alive and only slight injured. another great weekend in Red River Gorge!
last edited: 12/13/07 7:58:07 PM”

“Good report Jim. Here's mine:

I breezed into Slade right at noon on Saturday, called Nigal to find that he, UPlover and Hiknmachine had taken off to Gray's arch to play tourist. Hosers. So I bought my pass, and changed my duds, and scared Nigal by telling him that I couldn't find his car where he left it. (haha) They finally showed up and we set up the various shuttles that would be required by leaving Nigal's car at the suspension bridge, and mine at the Bison way TH then we all piled into Hiknmachine's car and off we went to pinch'em tight TH with many a "phuk you Joe's" thrown in there for good measure. LOL!
On the trail finally the four of us mosey along joking and looking for a good campsite. We passed up a couple that were right on the trail and finally found a really great spot 3/4 mi from the parking lot that is way off the trail on a cool point with some nice views that we couldn't see because we were fogged in! Tents were pitched, we griped about the fog, rain and slightly cooler than expected temps, then we all decided to take a nap one by one, and when we woke it was nearly dark! Oops! Well Nigal got a very nice blaze going while the rest of us hung a tarp, and made dinner, and then the libations started appearing. Well after dark, and well after at least Nigal and I were, ahem, feeling no pain as they say, we hear someone coming close and hear the distinctive call of the Jimmysan: how you go?! As Jim said, UP had sent him GPS coordinates of our location so he and 4assmonkey had no trouble finding us despite the fact that our glow stick had gone missing. Jim's hand looked pretty sore from a fall that he related to us. It was about twice as thick as it should have been, and was turning purple in different places. The evening continued with many a joke, and drink and the occasional "phuk you joe" thrown in for good measure and we all drifted off to bed some time around 2AM I think.

I'm pretty sure I was the last of the hikers to roll out on Sunday. I peeked out under my fly to find that Nigal had already packed his tent and everything! I made my way back to the fire ring and made breakfast only to find that I had forgotten my spoon. damnit! So out came the knife and I ate my oatmeal off that to everyone's amazement. UP and I decided to take some things back to the car so we took off, and caught up with every one else a bit later. We passed Jimmysan, and 4assmonkey out our way back in and said our goodbye's, then it was "hike on!" We caught Nigal and Hiknmachine in the valley at the first water, and continued on to the suspension bridge at a leisurely pace. Nigal had to leave us then.
The remaining three of us decided to have lunch and continue on north to try to camp on cloud splitter that night. Well, when I dropped my pack I realized that my butt was wet. This was not just your normal sweaty hiker cheeks kind of wet either. My back and butt were soaked! A moments search revealed a pin hole leak in my plattipus right where the neck is bonded to the bladder. Great. It's full but I'm screwed because that is all I have to carry water in. We press on across the road and the views really begin. None of us have ever been in this part of the gorge, and let me tell you, I will be back here. The trail follows the cliff bases in and out of numerous valleys and it is absolutely beautiful. Finally Cloud splitter comes into view and we don't see a trail but decide to bushwhack up to a ridge top and try to loop around. This is where the real fun begins. These ridges are remote, completely unused, and really rugged. In short, they're perfectly beautiful. Shortly after hitting the ridge top we found a burned area (probably lightning) that was interesting to go through, but very sooty. The vines and thorns scratched the crap out of my arms and legs as I get excited and rush through with out noticing. I slipped and fell a couple different times, once I fell on my trekking pole and hurt my hand and put a 20 degree bend in the center section ruining it. Following the contours we managed to find A point but not the one we were looking for. UPlover checked his GPS and found that we were 3 miles off the trail, and the clouds were hanging heavy again, and light was begining to fade. We headed back the way we had came but couldn't seem to locate cloudsplitter. Finally I said screw this and threw down. The rain had picked up in earnest , and I was wet hungry mad and tired. We pitched our tents and I told the guys I'd see them in the morning if the rain didn't quit. It didn't. Ever.

This may be one of the most miserable nights I have ever spent in an tent. The rain was constant, and there was even a little thunder thrown in to add to the pucker factor of being on a ridge in a storm. My tent leaked, there was zero room due to my Enormous pack and boots trying to fit in the vestibule, and ended up crowding into the tent too. This didn't leave me any room to set up my stove for a hot meal. Instead I ate the last of my jerky, combos and a cliff bar. I caught rain water off my fly in a mug to drink, and accepted the fact that I was going hungry in the morning. I don't think any of us slept much because all our tents leaked, and my bag was definately wet despite all my efforts to keep it off the floor of the tent. Thank god fleece is warm when it's wet. If the temps had been 10 degrees lower we would have all been in real trouble.

Our trip back to the car on Monday was pretty uneventful. We were out of water but we drank right from the fast flowing streams that were swollen from the rains. The scenery was mind blowing, UP has pics of an incredible arch that vaults off the side of a cliff like it was made if putty then froze. There are some beautiful walls, that the trail passes right along the foot of, and valleys that feel simply primeval (the rain probably contributed to this effect). Finally, soaked to the bone we made it back to my car, and worked our way to the lodge for cheese burgers the size of my head and a plate full of fries, and bottomless glasses of pop refilled by a cute waitress with a soft drawl guaranteed to melt any man's defences.
Great trip fella's. As UPlover said: "this is what backpacking should be". The only question now is when do we go back and actually get to the top of that bald?”

“MG,

In the Spring. Great TR, and trip.”

“Thanks dude. Lets shoot for spring but before the leaves are full so we can still see where the hell we are going. Sound good? LOL!”

““Thanks dude. Lets shoot for spring but before the leaves are full so we can still see where the hell we are going. Sound good? LOL!”

Yeah, like we never get lost anyways! LOL”

“temporarilly misplaced! we weren't actually lost. It takes a day or two before you are officially "lost" I think. LOL!”

“Wow, what a trip. Now that's adventure.

Did you ever catch back up with cloudsplitter? What did he do that night?”

“Cloudsplitter is a nearly bald peak DH. It looks really cool from the couple different vantage points we had and we were trying to find the right ridge that would lead us up to it. Perhapse UPLover can overlay our actual route traveled on a topo map and then we can figure out exactly where we/I screwed up. I say I because I was in the lead most of the time not because I claimed to be some kind of guide.
In hind sight maybe it was a good thing that we weren't up there due to the couple thunderboomers I heard that night. Wait till we get some pics up then you will see just how super cool it is and why we want to go back. Hopefully you will be able to make the return trip.”

“Ahh, I thought cloudsplitter was a person you got seperated from. My bad.”

“Nope it was a peak we got seperated from while trying to get closer to it.

pobody's nerfect...

Really it just gives us a really good reason to spend 3 days just running all those awesome ridges down there.”

“I had a 14x14 tarp packed just in case. Nothing worse than a winter trip with no tarp and it rains. Everyone is stuck in their tents for the night. I know that's just what you wanted to hear, btw.”

“hell, I had a tarp the first night and took it back to the car along with a chair, and a spare nalgene! I could have used all three that night! Ain't that a bltch? LOL! We definately could have used one that YOU carried too though! LOL!”

“I couldn't have fit another nickel in my pack but was suprised how light it was. I wound up packing Enertia meals instead of real food since the temps were supposed to be higher. When I got out of the car in TN on Sat morning I immediately thought of yall and how the weather man was a bit high on his temps”

“good tr dude. this was a fun weekend. my hand is almost healed now. left wrist is pretty bad still. zero climbing this weekend. it took me two hours to clean off my climbing gear and wash my rope.

cloud splitter: 37�50.268'N -83�37.267'W

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=37+50.268+-83+37.267&ll=37.835751,-83.620033&spn=0.033826,0.060253&t=p&z=14&iwloc=addr&om=1
last edited: 12/14/07 2:38:35 PM”

“That's ok Jim. I've washed my rope for 2 hours before too...


Hey thanks for the coordinates! Maybe someone with a GPS can use those to help us find it in the spring. I'm still using a map and compass and my EYES. I kinda like the old school like that. LOL! Dude you should come with us on the return trip. I really think you would like it.”

“I finally got my photos online!
http://picasaweb.google.com/UPluver/RedRiverGorge

Btw MG I took a look at our route on Google maps and I'm pretty sure that trail right after that last big up...the one we started down and then turned around....is the one that goes out to the point of Cloudsplitter...we'll find out in the spring!

And Nigal...will you for gawd's sake quit giving out my number at truck stops!! You wouldn't believe the phone call I got! LOL”

“cool pics upluver! thanks.”

“Nice photos UP

Nice out of context quote MG.”

“Great Pictures Joe, makes me wish I would have made the trip. Looked to be much warmer than our trip, with highs around 25deg and lows down to 10deg.

Here's some pic's from our trip that same weekend.

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561744262GywYNg


http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561738634RpWMSk”

“Great pics UP! Thanks for posting the link.

We will definitely be back that is the coolest place I have been in the gorge yet, mostly because of it's remoteness. It feels nearly untouched in many places.”

“Why am I not surprised someone got lost? :D”

“Finally, here's a link to my pics:

http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd249/meangreen3800/mobfest%2007/”

“i like the pic with nigal with the umbrella...

thanks!”

“We will definitely be back that is the coolest place I have been in the gorge yet, mostly because of it's remoteness. It feels nearly untouched in many places.”

UP told me he got touched quite a bit Sunday night so I don't see how you make this claim. LOL!”

“UP told me he got touched quite a bit Sunday night so I don't see how you make this claim. LOL!”
Nigal

Lol....only by myself...MG refused to come out of his tent!”

“UP,

Great pics. Thanks, for posting them. Yeah, we look a little wet there at the end. LOL”