Adventures across a big sea

As many of you may know, I recently took a trip to the USA; the exact reason for the trip I am unable to talk about due to matters of 'national security' (how cool is that I can actually say that legitimately) however during my time off there I got around a few places, many of which were actually a lot of fun and totally relevant to this blog!


Devil's Tower

Now, Devil's Tower in South Dakota is a rare sight to behold. A solid spire of granite rising 1,250ft into the air. I really would try and convey just how tall and awe-inspiring this thing is, but in truth you'd have to see it to believe it. Legends say it was created when some children were saved from a massive demon-bear but whatever did create it certainly left its mark on the landscape.

It's certainly striking...

Up close it's an absolutely crazy prospect; we saw climbers
up it when we arrived but midday heat was too much

Unfortunately, despite incredibly inviting routes and some awesome weather, I had not the gear nor the partner in order to make a decent ascent; not that I think I'd like to at this stage. It's a thousand feet of gruelling multi-pitch climbing without a huge amount of space for protection and even less areas to rest. A climb to the top would certainly be intense!

The Southern side was a bit more forgiving, but not
much further up here the handholds dissappear

There is, however, a nature trail surrounding the tower which is still rather rocky, hilly and appropriately raised above the surrounding landscape to provide some amazing vistas.

Custer State Park

The main nature reserve in South Dakota, Custer State Park is a beautiful bit of the world. Not a huge amount of climbing that goes on there, but me and Bailey made a decent enough fist of it with what we had and tried a bit of scrambling over lakeside boulder formations. The thing that stuck with me the most in the state park was actually the surrounding mountainsides; whilst not being quite as impressive as the snow-capped French Alps or the Appalachians, they had a stark beauty and a unique draw all of their own - no crampons and ice axes for ascents of these; it would be down to shredded palms and skills in the legs.

Bailey makes an excellent job of scrambling up lakeside rock

Unfortunately not very much else on the trip was hugely exciting from an outdoorsy point of view...I ate a lot of food, put on some weight, had some fun and became a redneck for a few days. All in all a good trip though!

I do really apologise for the lack of Climbing-related stuff on the blog so far, but I promise this will change!

Until next time readers (soon)!