20090813 Stoddard Peak, and a crag by the road

Post by **Taco** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:31 pm

I took a hike up Barret-Stoddard Road, trying to get into Cascade Canyon. Couldn't find a simple, non-bushwhack way into Cascade CYN, so I kept going and hiked up Stoddard Peak.

Stoddard Peak (erm, the two northern false peaks)

The crags across the way

Stoddard Summit

Five Ten Guide Tennies (kick ass). Stealth C4 rubber.

Some familiar names in the register:

And a funny entry:

Hiked over to the crag, and scrambled most of the way up a line until I felt uncomfortable without a rope.

Scoping the crag out. I went up just to the left of the white waterfall in the middle of the crag.

???

Cool overhanging boulder with nothing on it whatsoever.

Looking up underneath it

Side view

Evil Weevil

Something else that moved like a robot. I think it too was a bug (uses a proboscis).

Some 11mm or so dynamic rope at the base

Climbed up to the left of the black streak

Chilling after downclimbing

Cascade Canyon

Hiked down to Waterslide, where there are routes in the 5.11-5.13+ range.

New Petzl draws on far left project

Overhanging.

I found no bolts or pro on the crag. I saw two small holes that looked like someone had tried to place bolts in the rock, only to go into bad rock which turned to sugar.

yobtaf · Post by **yobtaf** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:55 pm

The page after that was my name. Did that on the 4th of July. That was my first peak register, forgot to do a TR for my first

Post by **Taco** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:15 am

Now you know for next time.

8)

lilbitmo · Post by **lilbitmo** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:17 pm

Must have been one hell of a spot for TACO to say these words

Hiked over to the crag, and scrambled most of the way up a line until
I felt uncomfortable without a rope

Great Pictures, nice TR

Glad that all that stuff you sold last year in the "Fire Sale" has kept you out of the wilderness and off mountains

Good to see you getting out there TACO

AW~ · Post by **AW~** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:27 pm

nice find....looks like another trip is in order

Post by **Taco** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:06 pm

Dude, anyone can tell you I suck at rock climbing. Snow+ice=home.

Anyone up for some climbing here?

platypii · Post by **platypii** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 5:23 pm

I'm totally down to check out that crag with you taco! "Unfortuantely" I'm headed up to the Sierra this week though... anytime after that!

Palisades Traverse here I come!!

Rumpled · Post by **Rumpled** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:23 am

No blood? It's just not a taco report.

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:55 am

Looks like a BLAST!

Post by **Taco** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:24 am

Rumpled wrote:No blood? It's just not a taco report.

I did scrape a knee a bit. Barely any blood.

Platypii, you're doing the full traverse?

Matt, what could've done that? Some sort of road building blast?

mattmaxon · Post by **mattmaxon** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:56 am

TacoDelRio wrote:Matt, what could've done that? Some sort of road building blast?

Yes that is a Dynamite blast no doubt about it, almost certainly road building

They just don't do that sort of thing any more....way, way, way too dangerous

Sends high velocity debris for quite a distance

Lots of simialr marks along trails and roads if you look for'em

Mt Whitney trail wouldn't have been possible without it, nor Forester Pass

They'd be constructed totally differently these days, low explosives. ANFO, Boulder buster, hydraulic & pneumatic hammers

Post by **Taco** » Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:01 pm

Harumph. Thanks for the info, Max. I figured it was some sort of blast to make a road cut.

Sewellymon · Post by **Sewellymon** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 1:38 pm

Good on you for even trying to find the Cascade Canyon crag. I went up off the dirt road once into an obscure canyon which might have been Cascade Canyon. After a short thrash, I said screw this music. Never been back. That said, the crags developers from BITD (Keith Kunning, Ed Kaufer) knew their stuff. If they said it was fun stuff, I tend to believe them. Just now the fun stuff has 30-year-old bolts on it.

And the overhanging crag with the bolts is the secret "Jack Crag" aka the "Jack Hole". It's been getting a lot of love lately (tho not by me; I'd be hard-pressed to get off the ground on those routes.. .

Post by **Taco** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:38 pm

Yeah, I talked to a climber down there, and he was busy cleaning stuff up and putting up new gear. I tried one route, and couldn't get off the ground.

I read yer posts on SuperTopo, BTW.

Sewellymon · Post by **Sewellymon** » Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:59 pm

"I read yer posts on SuperTopo, BTW"

yea I can never get enough of spewing about San Gabs obscurities. Not that I am very motivated to visit any of them. Tho actually, I would like to check out Mt Pacifico w/ a rope. I mt bike on it pretty regular, and i used to have a bouldering circuit on it. The other obscure crag I'd like to revisit is Alder Creek (between Chilao and Charleton). It was sorta popular 35 years ago, but I bet it sees little traffic these days...

Post by **Taco** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:47 am

Yep. About the same. It's all good training.

I have no idea how the Cascade Canyon guys made it in there. I'm assuming they just bushwhacked straight up the canyon from the road. There were tons of bees, so I didn't even bother.