"... haven't you ever been lost?..."
"... hmmm... been fearsome confused for a month or two, but I ain't never been lost!..."
- The Mountain Men (1980 movie)
... had some fun gettin' a bit confused last Sunday...
... took the short hike in to this small maze of boulders that we haven't visited for probably twenty five years...
... first visited this location in 1984 at the recommendation of iconic SWPA climber, Cal Swoager, who referred to it as his "secret bouldering spot"... remember the date exactly as we had to return home early that day to attend the first birthday of a young gal who presently kicks our ass most weekends...
... always referenced it as 'Liston Rocks'... with reverence to the late man, we'll refer to them as 'Cal's Secret Boulders' from here on out...
... MGS adding some scale to the surroundings...
... ZMan as well...
... have no idea what Cal may have put up - we visited maybe three times and climbed probably over a dozen obvious lines... didn't return much as we were usually occupied places elsewhere...
... took a good look about this visit through a "modern boulderer's eye"... hey - some good stuff here...
... a bit frigid day - MGS sampling a bit of the quality of the rock...
... doesn't appear that anyone's been here in a while - definitely no climbers...
... it's a bit of fun when finding a few of these old places "newly discovered" when lazing about on-line, especially when they include "modern" difficulty ratings - we've seen one old route or two rated as difficult as v10 now'days...
... the majority of the new (and overhanging) stuff we see, though, we wouldn't have touched back in the day (but who knows with modern crash pads?)...
... we usually didn't rate anything over the 5.10 scale, anyway (if we rated anything at all) - although many things would occasionally get whittled away to the 5.12 scale when working subsequent "eliminate" holds (particularly if 'Mr. Goodman' was waiting in line)... we always compared climbing difficulty to "near-distant" Seneca Rocks, WV, where the ratings were always said to be a bit stiff...
... MGS happened to be totin' a pair of rock shoes this day and couldn't resist hoppin' on at least one route...
... a great "re-discovered" place - maybe we'll be back in the Spring... maybe not...
... thanks Cal...
... note: heavy black bear and rattlesnake habitat...
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