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corpse
Jun 2, 2004, 9:49 PM
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As I nurse my back into fully working order, I'd like to find the easiest approaches up at the lake. Lugging my climbing pack up to potholes trail is quite hard my lower back, so lookin for the easiest approaches up there. I went to 1 bluff, can't remember which, but you walked up hill a bit and rapped down to climb (or coulda scrambled down too I suppose). Thx for the suggestions..
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brianthew
Jun 3, 2004, 12:10 AM
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In reply to: I went to 1 bluff, can't remember which, but you walked up hill a bit and rapped down to climb (or coulda scrambled down too I suppose). I'm guessing that's the west bluff. If you park in a little grassy parking area near the southern end of the lake (take the south bluff road in from the west, you'll see it on the right just past the bottom of the windy downhill road. If you go past the big parking area/pavillion, you've gone too far) there's a trail that goes up a hill for a ways to the top of the west bluff, where you can access the entire area. It's still a calf-killer if you have lots of gear, but it's not too steep and mainly dirt save for some log stairs.
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twink
Jun 3, 2004, 12:26 AM
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This is not the area you were describing but for a bad back its the best access area at the Lake. The Railroad Amphitheatre located on the East Bluff. Park at the south shore beach area. Follow the railroad tracks along the river. There are a few other areas higher on the cliffs before you reach the amphitheatre which is right off the tracks. The downside is there are not a lot of routes and it gets busy this time of year. Hope this helps.
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climbfrog
Jun 3, 2004, 1:36 AM
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If you want to climb the west bluff, there is a really easy trail just off of south shore road, it's the ranger access track. It's not steep like the main west bluff trail. It will take you to the geological survey marker that is just in front of The Lost Face. I think this is the easiest approach in the park. It's probably not nearly as steep as any of the trails in the park. Its nice soft ground, not paved like all the other trails, so it'll be easy on your nack and knees. Balanced Rock trail isn't too bad. It's relativly short, but it is a hike up. There are some classic climbs on that wall. Otherwise, just stick to the tracks and you'l find the Birthday Rocks and The Railroad Ampitheater just about 100 meters further down the track. There are plenty of great climbing areas with approachs that won't kill you. I definetly suggest you check out the Lost Face, you can do three different climbs on one top-rope. Or, if you are leading, it's very safe to do the main 5.6 on that wall. Nice and long, BOMBER pro. No cams needed.
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ramylson
Jun 3, 2004, 2:19 PM
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In reply to: If you want to climb the west bluff, there is a really easy trail just off of south shore road, it's the ranger access track. It's not steep like the main west bluff trail. It will take you to the geological survey marker that is just in front of The Lost Face. I think this is the easiest approach in the park. It's probably not nearly as steep as any of the trails in the park. Its nice soft ground, not paved like all the other trails, so it'll be easy on your nack and knees. Balanced Rock trail isn't too bad. It's relativly short, but it is a hike up. There are some classic climbs on that wall. Otherwise, just stick to the tracks and you'l find the Birthday Rocks and The Railroad Ampitheater just about 100 meters further down the track. There are plenty of great climbing areas with approachs that won't kill you. I definetly suggest you check out the Lost Face, you can do three different climbs on one top-rope. Or, if you are leading, it's very safe to do the main 5.6 on that wall. Nice and long, BOMBER pro. No cams needed. Now that's the stuff right there.. :) Follow what this says. The access from the South Shore Rd. for the West Bluff is very easy. And, will definitely give you access to the majority of the West Bluff without many issues, considering you're basically starting from the highest point on the bluff. Only bad thing.. parking. There isn't any parking along the road, so you really can't get a bunch of cars there. Also, be sure that you still have your park sticker, as you need it to park anywhere in the park "safely". If not, just expect a ticket. Also, Railroad Amp and Birthday Rocks (both on the East Bluff with access directly off of the railroad tracks) are both great areas. They really don't get as busy as you'd think, espeically considering the ease of access. That, and some of the routes there are great..
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quickclips
Jun 7, 2004, 1:57 PM
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Yeah if you're nursing a back, hit up any of those places, the approches are actually good.
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corpse
Jun 7, 2004, 6:44 PM
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I made it up there - with the kids for some climbin yesterday.. Too bad, didn't run into any other adults, so I couldn't climb. I'm not sure of the area I made it too though.. I ended taking the paved trail up, because last thing I needed was to get lost with the kids :) From the paved trail, I made my way up some, near a tree with a branch hanging down over the trail you can swing on (saw some kids doing that), and right @ a tree stump, you go off onto a "climber" type trail? with a pink bow about 10-20 ft off the trail to mark a tree. Then walked ahead for about 5-10 minutes to reveal some pretty easy climbs.. Does this one sound familiar? I was so confused looking at the guide book for this area. Would be nice to attach route names to what the kids were on. Is the ranger access trail the drive way lookin road, or is a faint trail that starts right at the begining of the paved trail?
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climbfrog
Jun 16, 2004, 10:59 AM
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Sounds like you hit Stettner Rocks, Or Misery Rocks. The two are relativily close. Most likely it was Misery. Was there a big Slab? Otherwise know as the pillow? That branch is FUN FUN FUN! The ranger access trail is no where near where you've parked, it's on South Shore road itself. Where the houses are, before you hit the first 90 degree left hand turn. It has a gate in front of it.
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rokklym
Jun 26, 2004, 5:03 PM
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Registered: Jun 1, 2001
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I've always wondered about that ranger access trail. I figured it must head up to the area where the geological survey marker is but wasn't sure. How far of a walk is that? Seems like it would be a quick access route.
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wildtrail
Jun 29, 2004, 5:36 PM
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Registered: Jul 6, 2002
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In reply to: As I nurse my back into fully working order, I'd like to find the easiest approaches up at the lake. Lugging my climbing pack up to potholes trail is quite hard my lower back, so lookin for the easiest approaches up there. I went to 1 bluff, can't remember which, but you walked up hill a bit and rapped down to climb (or coulda scrambled down too I suppose). Thx for the suggestions.. If you want an easy approach, climb at Railroad Amphitheater. There is no approach. You follow the railroad tracks (shorter from the North Shore parking lot) about a half mile or so. Then it's a short boulder scramble to the base of the climbs (like 50 feet up or something like that--it's very close to the bottom). In the area you'll get climbs from 5.4 to 5.12b with decent length (not the typical real short stuff either).
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