Showing posts with label crag 1. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crag 1. Show all posts

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Middlesex Fells - Rock Climbing


The left side of Crag 1

Met up with Nuno and we spent the morning climbing at two different crags in the Middlesex Fells. We started at the left side of Crag 1 Pinnacle Rock, and then onto Crag 3. As with our last climb together, in the parking lot, we didn't do any hugs, high-5's, or handshakes, but we never did anyway. We hiked to Crag 1 (Pinnacle Rock) maintaining social distancing and there was no one else on the trail. We were the first two climbers there, but soon after two women showed up. Later, two more guys showed up, and they set up a top rope to the right of us on Fern. Despite being new to outdoor climbing, they were doing great on their own. But one of the women in the other group started spraying beta, poor guys! Even as Nuno and I headed out to Crag 3, she continued loudly spraying her beta - she actually got louder as we walked away. I guess she wanted to make sure Nuno and I knew that she knew what she was talking about. So rude to put others (especially new climbers) in the position to have to say no or to make them feel awkward or uncomfortable for having to listen to unwanted climbing advice.


Nuno at the top of Crag 3

At Crag 3, Nuno and I climbed two routes. It was our first time climbing at Crag 3, it was hot and muggy, but it sure was fun to get back to climbing slabs. And since the slab wasn't under a blanket of trees like Crag 1 Pinnacle, it wasn't as muggy and the rock here wasn't too slick. There were no other climbers there but we did see 3 hikers. 






Nuno brought along this Thermacell Patio Sheild Mosquito Repellent and it worked beautifully! 



Friday, May 29, 2020

Black & White Rocks - Rock Climbing

Beginner's Class, rock climbing, middlesex fells, black and white rocks, pinnacle
Climbing Beginner's Class with Iskuhi on my belay

Nuno, Iskuhi, and I met up for some climbing at Middlesex Fells. We all live in Massachusetts and when we meet up to climb, we usually head north to places like Rumney, New Hampshire to climb. But with the pandemic, Rumney and many of our favorite climbing crags in New Hampshire are closed. So we met up to do some climbing at Pinnacle Rock, in the Black & White Rocks crag. In the parking lot, we didn't do any hugs, high-5's, or handshakes, but we never did anyways. We hiked to Crag 1 (Pinnacle Rock) maintaining social distancing and there was no one else on the trail. We purposely chose to climb on a weekday because it would be less crowded as the weekends here are mobbed by hikers and climbers.

I'm sure Nuno and Iskuhi came prepared, but in case they didn't, I had extra facemasks, hand wipes, and hand sanitizer - which I also carry in my truck, golf bag, and hiking backpack. 

At the crag, we were the only climbers, and the only other people we saw that day was a group of 6 hikers on the main trail. I bought my trad rack with the intention of doing some trad leading but decided not to because the rock felt really slick and I personally don't like the idea of leading in muggy weather - I have a fear of slipping off the rock in muggy weather. After two hours of climbing, we called it quits because it just got way too muggy. Enjoy some photos of our day of climbing. 





YouTube Channel - Hawaii Girl Adventures

Check out my YouTube channel at:  Hawaii Girl Adventures I will eventually be phasing out blog posts and be posting videos of my climbing, h...