Long Branch and the Guide Walls: Discovering the Heart of Smoke Hole

Discovering the Heart of Smoke Hole Canyon:

Long Branch and the Guide Walls

 Looking upstream from the top of 'Shattered Illusions', at the height of summer; the route’s anchors sit near the top of the Long Branch Buttress, rewarding climbers with one of the most amazing views in the canyon.

Climbers are a quixotic breed. We are known to leave behind good jobs, family and loved ones to cross the country, camping in our cars or sketchy rest areas, pounding down twisting wash boarded backroads, living on fast food and cheap beer, bush whacking and hiking for miles, thrashing through thorns and stumbling across talus, to find great crags in unique settings.

Truly great climbs and climbing areas both challenge and inspire; they motivate us to push the edge, to ‘rage against the dying of the light’, and they return us to that quiet place inside, where wonder still lives.

These are the crags from which we return tired but renewed, exhausted and at the same time, restored.

The crags that sit on either side of Long Branch, two miles downstream from Shreve’s little store in the heart of Smoke Hole Canyon, are the perfect setting for this dualistic pursuit of peace and adventure.

Hidden behind a screen of trees and perched high on the ridge, the Guide Walls’ southern end soaks up sun all year long, and is dubbed, imaginatively enough, The Sunshine Wall.

The east end of the Sunshine Wall on a fall day, as seen from the approach trail; these conditions can persist into the middle of winter. Photo by Mike Gray.

Heather Jiles spots Andrea Nelson as she heads through cracks and buckets on the 5.8+ Arete of the Sunshine Wall. Photo by Tyrel Johnson.

Here you can shed those layers and dance up lines like the long-distance 5.8+ Guide’s Arete, 5.9s Zendo, Funboy and The Never Ending Story, huck and crimp your way through the Guide’s 5.11 or George’s Dilemma, another great bucket tour that leads to a challenging 5.10 roof crux.

Most of these lines were put up by the Seneca Guides of the early 90s, including Darrell Hensley, Tony Barnes, and Tom Cecil. Mike Fisher and I came back in 2003 to add ‘Funboy’ and ‘Zendo’ on an overlooked panel on a ledge in the middle of the wall.

The author and Andreas Czerwinski enjoying some fall sunshine on The routes of the Macdaddy Roof; the 5.9 Never Ending Story (R) and the Guide 10b (L)

Around the corner, on the crag’s middle section and northern end, the east-facing lines of the Ninja Walls offer climbers both summer shade and a haven from winter’s cold, as leaves and temperatures begin to fall.

Michael Fisher cruising the bomber moves and stone of 'Destiny', one of the original lines at the Ninja Walls.

Chris Beauchamp’s ‘Glossolalia’ kicks things off and Nick Kurland’s ‘Cu Rodeo’ ups the ante with thin holds on steep ground and a touch of run-out.

Beyond these wait classic Ninja lines like ‘Destiny’ and ‘Hummingbird’, the 5.9-  trad headpoint “Name Your Poison’ and mind-boggling roof of 5.10c/d ‘Carpe Diem’. 

For a final burn of all remaining rounds, hike out to the north end and jump on crusher Mike Fisher lines like ‘Slight of Hand’, ‘Defenders of the Faith’, or Chris Beauchamp’s thuggish ‘Pon Hoss’.

 

Tyrel Johnson fighting the good fight and looking for Zen on the steep Mike Fisher route 'Defenders of the Faith' (5.10d), at the Ninja Walls.

The incredible Long Branch Buttress, with 'Beautiful Loser' on the left end, and the overhanging Darkside on the right. Photo by Mike Gray.

On the south side of the creek, Long Branch is home to some of the tallest faces, as well as some of the most difficult technical lines, to be found in the canyon.

Tom Cecil’s world-class ‘Beautiful Loser’ checks in at a sustained 5.11 with 9 well-spaced bolts, nearby ‘Shattered Illusions’ requires a full bag of 5.10 tricks over the course of 11 bolts and a V-slot through a roof, while ‘Big Johnson’, ‘The Ron Jeremy Arete’, ‘The Darkness’, ‘The Lightness’, ‘Gone Sniffin’’, ‘Local Hospitality’ and Parker Smith’s new addition ‘Shorty’s Lament’, all lay solid claim to territory at 5.12 and above.


Troy Johnson and I first came here in the very early 90s, at the invitation of Darrell Hensley, the Seneca Rocks guide and WV native who explored Smoke Hole and climbed here before most people knew the canyon existed. Franklin Gorge, where we had all been climbing for years, was filling up with people and the number of new routes left for development was down to maybe a handful of good lines and a dozen or so more mediocre routes.

Troy and I drove up to Smoke Hole on a windy, rainy day, waving at Franklin as we passed, grabbing coffee at the Shell station at the light, then rolling up 220 through pastureland and river bottom farms. We stared up at Reed Creek and wondered again if the “No Trespassing” signs were bogus (it turned out that they were, but that is another story), waved at the old men of the Liar’s Club, drinking coffee on the bench in front of Kile’s Grocery in Upper Tract, and turned off just before the old iron bridge.

We rounded the curve, crossed the hill by the old Alt farmhouse, and dropped into wonderland. Cliffs rose up on both sides of the river, the nearest just ten feet from the car windows as we stopped to stare up at the huge roof of the Entrance Walls. Another shower drove us back into the car, and hid most of Eagle Rocks and the French Fin from our gaping view as we passed. 

Eventually we reached Shreve’s Store, got our bearings, and had almost returned to sanity when we dropped into the lower canyon, and saw that all that had gone before was just a prelude.

We gibbered. We pointed, craned our necks and pointed some more, making nonsense noises and banging our heads on the windshield, spilling coffee. 

Two miles beyond the store, we reached the destination Darrell had described and a breaking point at the same instant; parked, grabbed water bottles, and scrambled madly up the talus slope leading to the base of the Long Branch Buttress.

After half an hour of absolutely speechless wandering, we nodded to each other, returned to the car, and headed home to gather allies and supplies.

Troy came back and bolted “Local Hospitality’, ‘Big Johnson’, ‘Pigs on the Wing’, and began the task of ground-up bolting the visionary project that would eventually become Mike Farnsworth’s ‘The Lightness’. He took off from the start of my mixed route “Through the Looking Glass’ and gave us the superb 5.11 ‘Pigs on the Wing’.

Rachel Levinson and Melissa Wine joined us, as did Mike Fisher, Greg Fangor, Chris Riha and a host of talented climbers from the Shenandoah and Albemarle valleys. Together, the group of us cleaned and put up ‘Shattered Illusions’, then Melissa and I produced ‘Hippo Head’ (the wall’s first all-female FA by Wine and Levinson), ‘Batteries Not Included’ and ‘Overtime’.

Taking a break from developing routes on the far side of the creek, at the Sunshine Wall, Tom Cecil, Tony Barnes and Darrell came over to bolt ‘Beautiful Loser’ and put up a 5.8 mixed line in the cave to the left.

Mike Fisher had dubbed our group the Five Deadly Ninjas, a tongue-in-cheek nod from his deep love of Kung Fu theater. Troy, Rachel, Melissa, myself, and Mr. Fisher decided that we needed a look at the walls they were developing on the other side of the creek, and the classic lines of the Ninja Walls were born in the following months.

Life went on, our little crew drifted apart, and I moved off to the west. I would call Mike Fisher on my occasional trips home, and we would invariably wind up at Smoke Hole for a climb or three, plotting on the remaining lines in this apparently forgotten corner of West Virginia.

In 2003, I returned to the Valley, and we put up Funboy and Zendo on an overlooked ledge at the Sunshine Wall.  Four years later, we bolted and led the routes of the Corvinus Cave, at Long Branch.

A recent surge in activity saw four new lines at or above 5.12, bolted and led by Michael Farnsworth, the guy who conquered one of the steepest routes of Seneca Rocks. Added to the already impressive set of routes in place, you have an area to test the mettle of climbers from around the globe.

Mike Farnsworth, on the crux of "The Lightness", 5.12d, Darkside, Long Branch Buttress.

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh eyes the long road ahead, facing the first of many cruxes on ‘Shattered Illusions’, the longest 5.10 on the Long Branch Buttress. Photo by Tyrel Johnson.

But don’t worry, moderate climbers and fun seekers… there’s still plenty of good times to be had, with enjoyable lines tucked in amongst the test pieces and enduro routes. 

Smile your way through sport warm-ups like 'My Silver Lining' (5.7), 'Lost World Arete' (5.7), or ‘Batteries Not Included’ (5.8+), mix things up with bolt and gear offerings like the 5.8 'Through the Looking Glass', or take a break from the bolts and pull out the whole rack for the long trad adventure of 5.7 'Cherry Lane'.

Racked up and ready for ground-up adventure; the author clips in for the first ascent of 'Cherry Lane', 5.7, Darkside, Long Branch Buttress.

Now beta for the heart of the canyon is available in a new, stand-alone phone app from rakkup.com, with all the info on new routes, great navigation features, and plenty of eye candy action shots:

http://rakkup.com/…/smoke-hole-canyon-long-branch-and-guid…/

Although the road is a bit bumpy, and even dusty and blessed with more than its share of potholes, from the crags of Long Branch and the Guide Walls, climbers are still less than an hour from hot food, showers and all the comforts of modern life.

Volunteers are constantly working to protect access, maintain the trails and improve old routes with new hardware.

No bushwhacking, no epics, no ‘scene’,  just great lines of all levels on great stone, a zen garden in which to find a bit of peace and quiet, in the beat of your heart, in the heart of the canyon.

Gypsy Rain; Another FKA

We now return you to The Gyspy Channel:
"Adventure Mrs. Gray?"
"Adventure, Mr. Gray."

Cindy eyes a potential line, hidden under thick lichen and moss, downslope from the incredible Rainmaker roof crack.

A thick bed of moss and lichen provides added challenges on the opening moves. 
Minimal cleaning revealed enough nubbins to gain the face.

Roof and face left of the Rainmaker

After half an hour of scrubbing on lead, a rest stance above the crux mantle, with over half the climb to go and clouds moving in from the east.

"Hon, did you ever look over there?"
"Nope."

Lake George, from the rappel.

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Eye to eye with the Rainmaker, above the roof.

Miss Pink Pants, on her way back to the base; first trad line, first ascent, and rappel since her surgery in March of this year.

Gypsy Rain, 5.8+, 23m, wired stoppers #3-12, Camalots .25 to #4, Lowe Tricams #1-4, fifteen slings eight to eighteen inches, one 10' loop of 1" webbing for the anchor. First known ascent Mike and Cindy Gray, September 6.2016

Reed’s Creek: Summer Fun and Winter Sun

Petite determination: Andrea gets after it, with Leah providing dynamic belay, on the gymnastic opening of Michal Stewart's Rain (5.8). Photo by Tyrel Johnson

 

South of Smoke Hole Canyon and the town of Upper Tract, Reed’s Creek Road intersects with the old Petersburg Turnpike, after winding down from the shoulders of North Fork Mountain, meandering through meadows of clover and wheat grass, past grazing cows and sheep held in by sagging fences strung across the steep ridges that surround proud old family homes and weathered barns, clusters of trailers, chicken houses and the occasional honeysuckle-draped ruin of a log cabin. 

 Trevor Albert cuts loose on Ryan Eubank’s Golden Horseshoe (5.10b/c)

The road is busier than it once was, but there are days, late summer evenings and pristine winter afternoons, when the sound of a tractor is more common than that of an automobile, and there is a sense of timelessness, the smell of honeysuckle, livestock, strains of gospel music and southern rock in the air. Tired climbers wander back towards their cars, with thoughts of cold brews and hot grub whirling among the visions of hard sends and great lines.

This is Reed’s Creek; a series of south-facing arêtes and dihedrals and a high-quality selection of sixty sport and trad lines on featured metamorphic limestone, with a reasonable approach hike, a serviceable trail and ample parking, just off State Route 220 in West Virginia’s historic Pendleton County.

One corner of an old log cabin that still survives, hidden in the National Forest near Reed's.
Photo by Mike Gray

Guides and climbers from Seneca Rocks first put bit to stone on the walls of Reed Creek in 2002 and 2003, creating Welcome to Reed Creek, One Page at a Time, and Catfish Strangler, the original Boneyard Routes.

Unknown climber stretched out on the crux of Catfish Strangler (5.10c)

Although visited once or twice by some local legends, the crag languished for years after that initial burst of development, hidden behind the thick summer canopy, layers of old fence, greenbrier and 'No Trespassing' signs. We looked at it from the road, even drove along Reed's, but there was so much rock nearby in Smoke Hole that new crags weren't really in short supply.

So things continued, until one fine autumn afternoon in 2008 when I took a break from Franklin, where I had been working on 'Davey Jones Locker' with Mike Fisher for several weeks.  I found the three original lines after spotting the NFS boundary marker and hiking up the wash about a hundred yards beyond the existing trail, Wandering along the base back towards the road, I was blown away by the untapped potential of the other walls.

The following week, I made my way to the Cheat Potomac Ranger Station, where records indicated that the land was public, part of the Monongahela National Forest. After a brief dance of joy that riased eyebrows in the NFS offices, I wasted no time getting back to the crag. 

After a day of onsighting the existing lines with The Maestro, Michael Fisher, I began working on extending the trail, cleaning lines and developing routes, starting with the 5.10 Reaching Conclusions, the premier line on the Reach Wall. 

Chase-ing jugs on the final section of Reaching Conclusions (5.10a/b). Photo by Tyrel Johnson

The following spring, Lyndon State College sensei Jamie Struck brought an eager crew from Vermont to create the lower trails around the Gypsies Wall and top-rope the line that would become Shaved Scamper.  

Mister Fisher and NoVA’s Ryan Eubank soon joined the development push with routes like Second Rule, Shaolin Mantis, Little Purple Flowers, Hunter’s Moon and Grapevine Massacre.  Cindy Bender was there from the start, with hot coffee and snacks, spending long hours on belay and building trail, dancing up some of the first ascents of lines like A Horse With No Name, Second Rule, Winterharvest and Fire On the Mountain.

Cindy reaches for welcome jugs on the roof crux of 'Welcome to Reed Creek', 5.7

Pennsylvania climbers Michael Stewart and Randy La Force added excellent moderates like Dr. Taco and Superman, as word of the crag began to spread among locals and visiting climbers from across the region. 

Following the proactive precedent of Franklin Gorge, The First Spring Send-a-thon and Trail Daze event was organized and attended by Ryan Eubank, Mke Fisher, Cindy Bender and my unworthy self, supported by a coalition of strong climbers from Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia, as well as “locals” from Charlottesville and Harrisonburg. 

Once the day of major improvements was finished, the cranking began, culminating in the first ascent of a new line, Disorientation 101, one of the best and most challenging 5.11s at Reed's.

 

Whitney Moss, reaching for hope on the crux of Disorientation 101 (5.11)

Trails around and leading to the Boneyard were improved and expanded, and trash was collected along Reed Creek Road.  The National Forest resurveyed and marked the boundaries along the private property line, making it easier for hunters and climbers to avoid trespassing.

Today, Reed’s has over 40 routes, in a wide variety of grades and styles, from Mike Fisher’s  5.7 funfest dihedral Second Rule and my own trad 5.7 SuperNatural to technical challenges like Fisher’s 5.11+ Shaolin Mantis, Eubank’s burly 5.11 Grapevine Massacre, and Michael Farnsworth’s 5.12+ cave line Harlem. The project Cold Day in Hell, originally bolted by Eubank, has yet to see an ascent, despite repeated tries by strong 5.12 climbers who say the grade may be as high as 5.13. Newcomers Chris Beauchamp and Tyrel Johnson have been adding bold trad, mixed and sport lines like Invasive Species and Mare Imbrium.

Now beta for this wonderful crag is available in a brand-new, stand-alone phone app from rakkup.com, with all the info on new routes, sweet navigation features, and plenty of eye candy action shots:

http://rakkup.com/guidebooks/smoke-hole-canyon-reeds-creek-rock-climbing/ 

Check it out, pick up your copy, and start planning your next climbing trip to include a visit to one of West Virginia's newest crags, today!

Sunny winter days and shady summer mornings, easy access, great lines and an incredible setting, just off the beaten path; Reed’s Creek has something for every climber.

(Author's note: Tyrel has been instrumental in continuing the tradition of trail work and stewardship, and tireless the editing process; hiking trails, correcting errors, and tweaking all the details of the app. He also does a mean Spider Man impression.)

Another Step in the Journey

Well, the day’s journeys are over, and we are back in the burg.

The details of Cindy’s surgery have been explained, tweaked and finalized.

In a week, we begin prep as Cindy starts taking Plavix and aspirin to thin her blood, in preparation for the procedure, known as a pipeline embolization. An incision is made in the femoral artery, a sleeve is installed and a catheter is inserted into this. A stent is then moved up through the artery to eventually reach the carotid artery inside her skull, where the stent or sleeve will reduce blood pressure and flow from the inside, reducing pressure on the base of her brain and returning blood flow through the brain to normal.


This should take care of the double vision, headaches, and speech difficulties from which Cindy has suffered since the aneurysm two weeks ago. It will also greatly reduce the likelihood of a rupture and stroke at the sight of the aneurysm.


We’ll check into the Doorways at VCU (kind of like a Ronald McDonald House for patient’s families from out of town) on Wednesday, March 30th, and sometime that evening, the staff will confirm the exact time of Cindy’s procedure on Thursday, the 31st.


We’ll hang around for a day or two after the surgery, until such time as the doctors get sick of her sass and wacky sense of humor and decide Cindy can recover just as well at home. After that two week recovery, if all goes as planned, we’ll be hosting a trail work weekend in WV before casting off for Colorado, where we plan to attend a fantastic June wedding, a Greek festival, and several other events during yet another incredible season as campground hosts in Colorado.


Thanks to my family, to Joyce and Gilbert Gray for meals and wheels, beds and a roof over our heads,; to Mathea, Marty and Diana Breeden for their comfort and prayers, and to all the friends who have sent prayers, positive vibrations, good energies, well-wishes, messages, texts and an outpouring of love our way over the last couple weeks.


Finally, hats off to my girl, Cindy; you are my inspiration and my strength. I stand in constant wonder and awe at your patience, endurance, good humor, love and calm acceptance.


Thanks for making me the luckiest man alive, Miss Pink Pants.

If I had it all to do again, I would, in a heartbeat.

Things Change

Life is funny, ya know?

A week ago, my life was fairly normal; laundry, dishes, cleaning up after cats and kids, reading posts on Facebook and the internet, watching the debacle of the election cycle, trying to finish some anchor replacement at the older crags in WV and making plans to hit the road for Colorado the day after tomorrow, to begin another season as staff in Pike National Forest's 11 Mile Canyon.

An hour later, I was in an ambulance with a wife who I did not know would live to see another day, holding her hand as EMTs worked on her, my heart in my throat and all plans for the future annihilated and scattered to the winds.

Late that night, the doctors at RMH told us their diagnosis; not the worst, but not the best, not by a long shot.

Cindy, a fourteen year stroke survivor and Multiple Sclerosis fighter, had suffered a brain aneurysm; a massive swelling in the carotid artery just inside her skull, like a loaded cannon pointed directly at the base of her brain. She was transferred to Richmond's Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center for more tests and scans, her condition analyzed by some of the leading neurosurgeons in the country.

On Saturday, her pain was minimal, her condition stable, and we came back to the Shenandoah Valley.

Eight years ago, I met a funny, beautiful lady with a heart of gold; taught her to climb, shared her battle with Multiple Sclerosis, supported her fight to stop using the medications that were killing her, and listened as she fought with the darkness that had been poured into her soul by demons in human form at such an early age.

In turn, she accepted me for the bipolar, sardonic, irascible, irreverent fool that I am; reached down into my well of isolation and self-pity and drew out the very best of me. If I have failed to live up to that ideal, the fault is mine; Cindy has always believed in me, no matter how badly or how often I have failed.

We have traveled the country from coast to coast, climbed and hiked, laughed and cried at the folly and loss of friends and family, celebrated victories and struggled to find a silver lining surrounding the storm clouds of our occasional defeats. We've learned more about friendship, hardship, love and life in the last few years than either of us suspected could be known in a lifetime.

Today, Cindy and I have a slightly clearer picture of a much different future, and in the light of that knowledge, we are living each day to the fullest, loving and appreciating each other, so thankful for the family and friends who have put aside their own burdens and reached out to support us in our darkest hours of need.

The Road ahead is uncertain; there are trials and storms on our horizons, without a doubt, as there are for every person living in this consensual illusion of reality that we share. But for now, we are holding each other in this safe haven, cherishing each touch, each kiss, each word, and together, we will get through whatever may come.

No matter what may transpire, each of us knows the other will be waiting, there in that forest meadow at the end of the Road; waiting and calling, "Come home".

You and me, kid; forever.

And, for now, that is more than enough.

Anchor Replacement; or, A Midwinter's Tale

Just back from Smoke Hole and Reed Creek where, despite sunshine, the temperatures were in the upper teens and low 20s throughout the afternoon. Wanted to do some trail maintenance, but just too bitter to do much of anything when, even in gloves, my fingertips went numb in about 15 minutes.

Replaced anchor on Spanker Right at Darkside of Long Branch yesterday, while Miss Cindy, my lovely wife, wisely waited in the RV and read Asimov, monitoring the radio in case things fell apart on me while in the air. Temperatures in the shadow of the north-facing ridge were in the upper teens by noon, with high cloud cover moving in and snow flurries starting just as I shouldered my pack at the road.

Despite keeping drill warm all night and morning, by the time I got on rappel, had to warm it inside my jacket again to thaw the grease in the hammer drill enough to operate. Pulled both old cold shuts and bolts, all very rusty, especially at point of contact between cold shut and bolt shaft.

First new bolt hole went south when ice formed in the hole from my breath through the blow tube.

Finally got in two new anchors and rapped with just over 1/4" of dry snow fallen and beginning to blow around, making the descent through the talus field a challenge to say the least.

 We inhaled a pot of coffee and snack for energy as the engine warmed up for our escape, then retreated to Thorn Spring Park for large servings of chicken Alfredo and strong libations, sending out texts and sitreps while watching The Martian on my computer's DVD player and huddling next to the wood stove.

Returned to Reed's this morning, but bitter temps had once again plunged the area into nuclear winter, and we retreated after a short hike.

Back across South Fork Mountain and over Shenandoah Mountain to Virginia by early this afternoon.

Now we're tarping up the Lindy, watching the approaching storm and all the frenzied last-minute preparation and doom-saying. We'll just have to see what happens back there in our little corner of Heaven; talk in Franklin is of a possible 2 feet or more, with drifting, and that kind of accumulation will linger for days, even weeks, in the lower canyon, with the ground frozen by a week of temperatures in the 20s and teens.