Travels Through A Place Called SmokeHole

Friends,

I have been a Hoot-N-Aboot in a place called Smoke Hole. It seemed to be a busy weekend for the old gorge, in a Smoke Hole sort of way. All of the campers and the cabins seemed to be occupied and a handful of fishermen seemed to be out along the river. I saw many trucks with floatation devices of all types from the pool floats to old inner tubes. Their seemed to be an abundance of beverages flowing all about. It is my guess these where brought in to make up for the lack of water in the river. The entrance walls looked to be getting a little traffic in the last few weeks, besides my own. The trail seemed to be getting enough traffic to keep the weeds down.
The purpose of my trip into the area was to see the dragon and let it know that I’m still thinking about him. I men after all it has been a while since I have been to visit him after all. So I drove up through the valley, Smiled as I passed William and looked up at the Eagle. I thought about the good times that have been had under his ever watchful eye. I thought of the story of him climbing the rock that carries his name and what it must have been like on the first trip up that rock that now bares his name. On down I went past the low water bridge hung a left past Shreve’s store and started my climb up the mountain. On past the old saw mill, wondering if this was the same place that had employed the town of Smoke Hole in a time gone past. Then it was further up, always going higher, on past the winter camp where Ronin and I spent the night in freezing temperatures and in anticipation of our first time into the area of the Mushroom Towers. Arriving at the top of the mountain I was thinking about how the mountain had looked that morning after the snow with the ice hanging from the trees.
So here I stand, on the edge of the road, looking downward, searching through the receases of my mind looking for the way. I draw my trusty machete and proceed down into the abyss. As I cut my way through the greenbriers and rhodo. I keep heading down and clearing trail as I go. One hundred feet, two hundred, I’m heading down into the darkness now. There has been thunder for the last several minutes, the skies have darkened and the clouds have rolled up the mountain, you can't see down into the valley now. You can smell the rain coming, but I am so close now, I can see the trees dropping away in front of me, I have reached the head wall, before me stand's the open expanse with the mushrooms staring back at me. It is a rough trail I think, but it is a trail. If I continue any further I am going to be starting down into the playground that is the Dragon's belly, which is not the place that I want to be as the storm rolls in I turn to head back up the mountain. As I'm turning away it is with a promise that I will be returning soon. Almost as soon as the thought went through my head I saw two things almost simultaneously, a perfect campsite at the base of the head wall and a huge flash of lightning. Is it a sign? If it was then I don't know what it means, to see a campsite and at the same time the anger of the weather. It left me feeling slightly empty inside for some reason.

On my way out of Smoke hole, the storm that rocked the high ground but strangely seemed to leave the canyon floor alone was just a memory and had passed I saw some new climber's that were working on something on the far side of the river. They were directly across from a cabin that is just passed Eagle. It is kind of funny that I saw them here on my way out as I had looked at the corners on this rock on my way in thinking that they would be fun to check out in the future. It would seem that there is someone else playing in this particular sandbox right now. I have seen the gear bags in the past but this was the first time that I could actually see someone else out on the rock.
Stay tuned for the continuing story as the dragon is greeted and an accord is reached.

P

What Dreams look like

Hey everyone, This is my Buddy Nathan.  Give him some prop's, He is a stand up guy.

Seneca By Grade

Seneca Rocks

5.0

East Face to Gunsight

Gurt’s Grungy Gully

Gunsight to North Peak

Pine Tree Traverse

West Face to Gunsight Notch

Worrell’s Thicket

5.1

Great Chimney

Oh Pooh

Pooh’s Corner

Reverse C

5.2

Christopher Robin

Expotition

Jane’s Route

No Dally Alley

Old Ladies Route

5.3

Heffalump Trap

Heffalump trap Direct

Humphrey’s Head

Old Mans Route

Question Mark

Roux

Skyline Traverse

Up Front

5.4

4 Me

A Christian Delight

Apricot

Cardon’s Rib

Cockscomb Pine Tree

Conn’s West

Ectasy Junior

Exit From the Victim

Gunsight to South Peak

Isadora’s Run

It Ain’t the Meat

Kauffman-Cardon

Kauffman’s Rib

Le Gourmet

Long Leggedy Beasties

5.4

Mistaken Identity

Up and Coming

Vegtable Variation

Windy Corner

5.5

Bear’s Delight

Cockscomb Chimney

Conn’s West Direct Finish

Easy Over

Eeyore’s Tail

Gunsight Notch East

Gunsight to South Peak Direct

Hero Pendulume

Irony

Jankowitz-Kamm

Lady Elaine

Lemur

LSD (lower skyline direct)

Penatoidal Membranes

R2D2

Sally’s Peril

Southwest Buttress Variation

Thais Escape

Traverse Pitch

5.5

Wap Suck

Wap Suck Direct

Wind Up

5.6

2^nd Time

Banana

Banana Down Under

Candy Corner

Cockscomb Overhang

Conn’s east

Critter Crack

Dirty Hairy

Dirty Old Man

Disccontent

Finger Lichen Good

Front

Grandiose

Heartburn

Initiation

Le Gourmet Direct Start

Mrs. Robinson

One Stop

Planet Gong

R&R

5.6

Rox Salt

Roy Gap Chimney

SJM Ecstasy Connection

SJM Traverse Finish

Soler Escape

Thais

Tony’s Nightmare

Vision

Wolery

5.7

Amazing Grace

Appendictis

Bee Sting Corner

Blue Eyes

Breakneck

By-Pass

Clarke’s Climb Direct Finish

Cockjob

Conn’s West Corner Start

Craving for Pink

Crispy Critter

Debbie

Dirty Rat

Dufty’s Popoff

5.7

Ecstasy

Expletive Deleted

Flying Teapot

Fragmatist

Gephardt Duffty

Good Morning

Green Wall

H&H

Hang

Herpes

Horrendous Traverse

Into the Mystic

Keds

Lazy Daze

Low Rise

Midway

Neck Press

Pentatoidal Membranes

Pleasant Overhangs

Poor Man’s Critter

Promiscuity

Prune

Rappel Downs Horserace

Really Flaky

Rhododendron Corner

5.7

Road Kill

Roof Traverse

Scuttle

Seldom Seen

Simple J. Malarkey

Snakebite

So What

Soler

Stoney’s

Thais Direct Direct Finish

Traffic Jam

Victim

West Pole

Z Hole

5.8

Alcoa Presents

Block Party

Boardwalk

Burn

Burrito Man

Captain Trivia

Conn’s East Direct Start

Day of Future Past

Discrepancy

5.8

Famap

Fear of Flying

Finger Stinger

For Slab Rats only

Lichen or Leave it

Lox

Nova

Old Timers Luck

Peach

Praying for the Aliens

Quit Dogging the Scene

Rasp

Rear Entry

Rolling Rock

Scrambled Leggs

Seneca Trail

Shambler

Short Stuff

SJM Cave Start

SJM Overhang Finish

Springtime

Talk Dirty to Me

Tapps

Tomato

Triple S

5.8

Triple S Direct Finish

West Pole Direct Finish

Ye Gods and Little Fishes

A re-visit of Bear Haven and poor bolting

I stumbled upon this video when I went to youtube.  It brought to my mind again how easy it was to pull the bolts their.  Which also reminds me, I need to go back up and see if the bolt & hanger fairy has brought ma any more hardware yet.

http://www.indiegogo.com/Dan-Osman-The-Real-Life-Spider-ManPlease check the link. It will show you an amazing man and the love of a daughter

The Road Most Traveled

The Road Most Traveled

There is a road in Life;
It is the road Most traveled;
A road of Comfort and Familiarity.

Created with Caution;
Paved with Planning;
Groomed with Purpose;
Kept with Care.

Every step Measured;
Foreseen and Expected;
Taken with Certainty;
Every step, Known.

The road of life…

There is a road in Life;
It is a road Least traveled;
A road of Unease.

Created with the Wind;
Paved Extemporaneously;
Groomed with Indifference;
Kept with Relinquishment.

Every step Adventurous;
Foreseen and Unexpected;
Taken with Heart;
Every step, Breathed.

The road of living…