Today we went up to Pisgah National Forest, Looking Glass Rock and did some climbing. This is one of Ples' favorite places to climb in the South; it doesn't quite compare to Colorado climbing or out West, but for the South it is pretty impressive! For some reason we both are just not into rock climbing at this time, I think it is just a phase; we both just want to ride our bikes! We climbed on the Sun Wall, the rock is granite slab with what they call "eyebrows" on the rock. The "eyebrows" are short, flaring, horizontal cracks. There is a lot of climbing in this area and a lot of classics. The hike was about 2 miles through lush forests with a waterfall at the beginning of the approach. After climbing we went into a cool bike town called Brevard, NC. The bike shop is called "The Hub". Brevard is the mecca of biking according to the locals and to Bike Magazine; we plan on riding there this weekend; I am so ready for some technical riding. Everything we have been on so far has been non-technical, and I am craving some "nar-nar". Anyway, the bike shop has the perfect combination - BEER! I have not had a beer in weeks! I miss the biking community in Colorado, I miss going on an awesome ride and sharing it with friends and drinking beer. So we went into the shop and they had a small brewery in it! So I got my beer, watched some bike videos and talked to the locals; I really needed that! Anyway, we are back in Franklin, NC where Ples' parents live and we are going to pack up and head out tomorrow. We will ride in Dupont State Forest tomorrow and back to Pisgah on Sunday and then we are headed to see one of Ples' good friends in Hickory, NC. Then we will be in Snowshoe West Virgina for memorial day weekend to downhill! Stay tuned for more.....
5/21/12:
Table Rock; Morgonton, NC:
Peek-a-boo Route:
We went to Table Rock with Scott who is an old climbing buddy who lives nearby. This is a three pitch climb with one spectacular move. The climb is pretty easy at 5.5, but the one crazy move has you stepping out into a void and pulling up on to a ledge across the gap. We skipped the third pitch because it is covered in lichen due to being rarely being climbed. Scott has been wanting to see if the climb was all it was hyped up to be. It was a fun route.
We drove to Trout lake to the ranger station to pick up our permit for climbing Mt. Adams then we went to the base of the climb and started going through gear and getting stuff together. 7/31: we started the hike at 1330 and climbed to the lunch counter and set up bivy for the night. This was my first time in a bivy and I enjoyed the experience. The camp spot was soft and sandy and there was no wind.
I didn't sleep very well, not sure what the reason was but Ples slept well (he always sleeps well -rrrrrrrrr). We got up at 0300 and started the climb at 0400. We were the first people on the mountain, it was perfect timing. We climbed in a full moon and we got to see the sunrise while we were climbing a 45 degree slope. Ples taught me some stuff about mountaineering and we got to the summit around 0700.
It was a great view at the summit, we were way above the clouds at 12,278 ft. We really didn't have any trouble with the altitude and felt pretty good. I was just tired from not sleeping.
Descending was fun as we got to glisade down the icy slope. My shell pants got shredded to pieces; it was a bad idea. 
Anyway we got back to the trail head around noon. We were famished, hungry and sore. I don't think it would have been so bad if we did some training but we did this off the couch. I was so tired I took a nap and Ples made me a great shower when I woke up. We went to bed around 7 and we slept sooooo good. The next day we were very sore and swore that we would never do this again, but we say that every time! So we are probably not going to climb Rainier, mainly because it just takes so much time to climb and there is so much more biking to be done!
We drove to Trout lake to the ranger station to pick up our permit for climbing Mt. Adams then we went to the base of the climb and started going through gear and getting stuff together. 7/31: we started the hike at 1330 and climbed to the lunch counter and set up bivy for the night. This was my first time in a bivy and I enjoyed the experience. The camp spot was soft and sandy and there was no wind.
We watched an amazing sunset and had a freeze dried dinner that was pretty good. Settled down to some hot chocolate and down jackets.
It was a great view at the summit, we were way above the clouds at 12,278 ft. We really didn't have any trouble with the altitude and felt pretty good. I was just tired from not sleeping. 
Anyway we got back to the trail head around noon. We were famished, hungry and sore. I don't think it would have been so bad if we did some training but we did this off the couch. I was so tired I took a nap and Ples made me a great shower when I woke up. We went to bed around 7 and we slept sooooo good. The next day we were very sore and swore that we would never do this again, but we say that every time! So we are probably not going to climb Rainier, mainly because it just takes so much time to climb and there is so much more biking to be done!
Can't believe you called me 'old'.
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