Won't Get Schooled Again

Some years ago, I discovered some boulders on the North Fork of the Red River. What’s significant about these specific boulders is that they were the last group of small stones I found before I took a long hiatus from bouldering due to chronic tendinitis and encroaching adulthood. In late 2002 I climbed three easy problems there and then promptly left the faith for other pursuits.

Nineteen years later I wandered up to the long bench below the big cliffline knowing full well there were boulders there both from memory and from notes I made on a map in my climbing journal as well as the entries for the three problems I did in 2002 in an area I called “Schoolhouse Rocks” for the cartoon shorts I watched frequently as a kid. While in the same watershed as Schoolhouse Branch of the North Fork of Red River, the area was not in Schoolhouse Branch.

In November of 2021 I more fully explored along the bench and was pleased to find a number of nice looking boulders. What I considered the main area of boulders was only the central portion of about 20-30 boulders. At the far eastern end, separated by the remainder by a steepness of the drainage is a cluster of twelve boulders I am retaining the name “Schoolhouse Rocks” for. The center sub-area I’m calling “Downtown” and the far western end I’m calling “City Hall” with the whole overall area called “Boulder City.”

I spent most of the winter of 2025 putting my energy into cleaning and climbing the boulders in the Schoolhouse Rocks sub-area. Of the twelve boulders I’ve fully or partially developed eight of them totaling 51 problems. I only stalled out when the rains of spring and the early onset humidity of this weird summer obliviated decent bouldering conditions. And maybe I tweaked a joint or two.

The most notable gems are Punk Rock and Schoolhouse Rock. Both have excellent problems. Punk Rock is one of my favorite discoveries in my entire bouldering career. There are still some steep, harder problems on it to be sent, and I hope to have beefed up and knuckled down enough to send them all by the end of the year. Schoolhouse Rock has a slew of good problems with a little less variety and loads of consistency.

One thing that’s aided my development efforts most was the purchase of a collapsible 12’ aluminum ladder. That’s been the most distinct improvement over the development of my younger years. With the area being mostly unknown and off the beaten path I’ve been able to leave the ladder stashed amongst the boulders while cleaning. Once I’ve cleaned up the remaining three big boulders I’ll move over to Downtown and focus my efforts there. The 12’ ladder may not be enough on some of the bigger stones in the central section of Boulder City.

The current classics of the area are:

• Tackleberry on the Police Academy Boulder—a crimpy V1 up the center of the main face.
• The Anarchist Cookbook—a V1 arete on the Anarchy Boulder.
• Conjunction Junction V2—a nice, thin pocket stabbing problem on Schoolhouse Rock, and
• Schoolhouse Rock!—the obvious V1 outing on the main arete of the namesake boulder.
• And two V1 slab problems on the north face of Punk Rock called Never Mind the Bollocks and Bitter Divisions respectively.

There are some remaining classics to be sent in this sub-area and definitely more to be had further to the west. Overall, I’m more stoked to keep developing this area than to put more energy into Muscle Beach or the Group W Boulders, both of which are great areas themselves. I spent a whole lot of time at Muscle Beach last fall until the Indian Creek gates were closed for the winter. I only hesitated to keep working on Group W because of the mandatory creek crossing during the winter months and that the Boulder City area was more south facing and ultimately accessible. The one boulder I am sort of chomping at the bit to get back to is the War Pigs Boulder in the Group W area and the “Hero” boulder nearby. I’ll hopefully have more on both of those projects early this coming fall.

In addition to my bouldering exploits, Tonya and I did a lot of hiking over the winter, mostly to arches and waterfalls. We went to quite a few places I’ve previously visited but she had not including Red Byrd Arch, Hopewell Arch and the Copperas Creek Arches #2, 3, and 4 as well as Snow Arch and Double Deer Arch. We also visited Noah’s Spout, Devil’s Market House, Room With a View, Flat Hollow Arch, Sky View Arch, Star Gap Arch, Sky Bridge, Ramp Arch, White’s Branch Arch, the Hoodoo, Turtleback Arch and Pachyderm Arch.

Our adventures have been run-of-the-mill, mundane, pedestrian, but satisfying and fortifying. I have an adventure partner who doesn’t shy from adversity. She will hike in the rain. She’ll wade creeks. She’ll meet me in the woods after work. There’s a lot more to tell about that aspect of my life, but I’ll save it for down the road.

Regarding my remaining goals for 2025—once I summit the Grand I have a few more things I want to try to tick off this year:

Summit Mount Washington, New Hampshire. I was thwarted on my New England high point trip last fall. I want to go back and do a full send, hiking up from the valley, and claim the final New England summit I need. I’m going to try to pull it off in four days later in the summer.

Four southern high points. I still need Brasstown Bald, Georgia, Driskill Mountain, Louisiana, Magazine Mountain, Arkansas, and Taum Sauk, Missouri in the south. These four represent a single trip entailing thirty-four hours of driving between them. We almost ran to Brasstown Bald this past weekend, but in the end it was a couple hours out of our way and would only save three hours on the greater southern blitz. I believe I can knock this trip out in a long weekend. Once I tag Mount Washington and these four the only high point east of the Rockies I’ll have left is Black Mesa, Oklahoma and I plan to visit it on a longer western high point trip either in the fall of 2025 or in 2026.

Thru-hike Pine Mountain Trail. I got a taste of it last summer. I haven’t returned other than to drive over at Jenkins last weekend, but I want to hike this amazing trail by the end of the year. Worst case I’ll shoot for Thanksgiving.

Local sends. There are a couple of older boulder problems I want to send/re-send. I’ve never climbed The Pearl, though I did work it a couple of times years ago. I want to resend Dreams. It’s still maybe my proudest first ascent and an iconic problem in the Red River Gorge. I also have an old aid line I want to reclean and try to free. It’s basically a 20’ shallow crack boulder problem to a 5.4 two pitch run to the top of the cliff. More on that to come…

In addition to all of that I want to keep developing new boulder areas and problems. That’s my real passion. Then I have my writing projects. I’m trying to reintroduce myself to mountain biking again. There’s a lot of ADHD detritus floating around that may surface as the months click on. But for now that’s the summation of how 2025 has gone so far and what I see for the remaining months of this year. Keep your eyes peeled for a trip report in the next few weeks from when I return from Wyoming. Flash or fail my next attempt on the Grand is bound to be noteworthy.

Mid-Year High Point Cleanse

We’re halfway through the year, and I have failed to write here regularly as I intended.  The last half of last year was an incredible time in my life; I did a major course correction, and it has paid off. I’m happier, I have less stress, and I am finally able to move forward on reaching the things I want to accomplish while I’m still able.

I’ve not ticked off any of my 2025 goals. Yet. I listed those in my journal but was hesitant to put them out in the universe prematurely. But I think it’s time to visit them and note any progress toward said goals.

Number one at the top of the list is: SUMMIT THE GRAND TETON. This has been a goal of mine since 1998 and before. While the journey orbiting around this dream is worthy of a book (in the works) I will say succinctly that I am closer than I’ve ever been to realizing this one. Last fall as I was plotting a new direction for myself and taking bold steps to being the person I had fantasized I would be at this point in my life I finally began to feel the confidence I needed. My Cloud Peak ascent was a major feather in that cap as was the last three days of my New England high point adventure when I summited Katadhin, Mount Mansfield, and Mount Marcy in three days’ time, clocking in 28+ miles of hiking and about 9,700’ of elevation gain.

See, the Grand Teton involves 14 miles round trip as best as I can tell and roughly (roughly) 7,000’ of gain. That ascent would be spread out over two days with an approach to camp at Garnet Meadows of close to 5 miles and 2,500’ of gain, leaving 2 or so more miles and 4,500’ of gain on summit day. Nothing I’ve done to date comes close to the steepness and difficulty of the Exum Ridge route on the Grand Teton, but no experience I’ve had in the recent past convinces me I won’t be able to summit. Ideally, I would have made an attempt after a brief rest back in the fall, but of course I was starting a new job and didn’t yet have the time off or cashflow to pull it off. Now I do.

I’m planning to head west in the near future. As always, I’m struggling with chronic pain, doubt, and fear. What I’ve never had before is the rooted confidence I feel now. Everything else is a veneer of neuroses that I intend to break through and obliterate.

This past weekend my girlfriend and I took a four-day weekend and toured the southeast. We started out in Virginia, revisiting (for me) Mount Rogers. Nearly twenty years ago I bagged my third state highpoint while leading a university outdoor rec group almost immediately after discovering I had lived with undiagnosed ADHD for 30+ years. I was surly and depressed and bagging that summit was bittersweet with all its baggage. When Tonya and I started out from Massie Gap this past Thursday I hoped for spiritual redemption. Through the wind and rain and uncertainty I created by being unprepared for a summer ascent of such a low peak we trudged and triumphed. Our descent was blessed with blue skies and sunshine. One memory mended.

Grayson Highlands, Virginia

Near the summit of Mount Rogers, Virginia

 The next day we did the Table Rock of Linville Gorge march from the winter gate up the steep paved road and then traversed around the East Face to the base of the North Ridge. I had hoped to do some climbing with my friend Tony on the trip, but he had to bail at the last minute leaving me with limited options. I hauled in my climbing gear with my rope solo kit, but once we reached the base of what I consider my all-time favorite climb the heat had sapped most of my ambition. The road being closed due to Helene damage meant there were no other viable climbing partner options. It was just us, a couple of hikers, and a young man guiding a client. I contented myself to calling the hike a scouting trip, with full intention of returning ASAP to climb at Linville again.

We left the Linville area and drove over to Bryson City on Saturday, eventually meeting up with Tony to paddle the Nantahala River. It’s been more like thirty years since I first and last paddled the Nantahala, back in my whitewater kayaking days. The NOC has grown. The area is less wild and much more commercialized than I remember it being. It’s also a bit disheartening knowing that my own beloved Red River Gorge is destined to similar commercial violations. All that aside, we had a great time running the river and finally (finally) running Nantahala Falls.

The tail-end of the trip was a side visit to Kuwohi on Sunday as we drove toward home. I visited Clingman’s Dome as a small child but have no recollection of it. I only know because there are family photos of the trip. In 2005 (or maybe 2006) I tried to climb the highest point in Tennessee from the valley but turned back within half a mile of the summit due to leg cramps. To date that’s still probably my best single day athletic feat. I hiked 28 miles in about 30 hours, and 21 of those miles about 12 hours gaining and losing 3,500’ through rain, snowy conditions, fog, and mostly alone. I finally have memories of the summit of my very first state high point. That’s another memory repaired.

When I go, there won't be an
announcement, but there will be signs

This Juneteenth trip wasn’t quite on the magnitude of my New England or Cloud Peak trips. It helped me refresh my confidence somewhat. While still a far cry from the mathematical effort needed to tick off my top bucket list item, it did show me that I’m not out of shape. Am I a little wrecked by the effort? Absolutely. A strange twinge of pain sprung up in my back on Monday. I’m nursing it this week, trying to rest as much as I can, and getting ready for my final conditioning push for the Tetons beginning toward the end of this week. I’ll be ready. I’ll summit this year.

To mitigate the failures of my last attempt I will be better prepared, have better beta, and reduce all barriers to success that I can between now and summit day. There are no reasons left for me not to summit the Grand Teton.

What about my other 2025 goals? In the short term, I’ll make a subsequent post or two revisiting backyard adventures this year and other things I hope to accomplish. Through the winter I put a lot of effort into new bouldering development near home. That and hiking with Tonya has been the focus of my outdoor attentions these past few months. I’ve not ticked any new peaks or high points since last fall, but I have some solid plans laid out to check off more and more. Stay tuned for more fun and games in the world of Ascentionist!