A Gym Rats Guide to North Carolina Crags

Let me make one thing clear before I get into this: as much as I’ve tried (and I mean seriously tried) I will probably forever and always be a gym rat…like forever. But hey, you gotta give a girl credit that I’ve tried to change that. Maybe I went out on days where the weather was too hot or too cold, maybe I didn’t prepare enough for the trip, maybe I didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Okay, so maybe all those things are true but hear me out before you click out of this tab.

I am undoubtedly a gym rat. I love climbing in control environments on plastic holds that don’t freeze your hands in the winter. I like to eat when I want, what I want, and always have a bathroom or water fountain steps away from my project. I like the familiar faces I get from always going to the same gym, and from working in a gym. I like my gym, I love climbing and I love nature, but maybe just not all those things together. So who better to give you a guide to crags other than a gym rat right? Yeah so maybe like literally another person other than me, but for sake of my argument, let’s go with me.

Pilot Mountain

Pilot was the first crag I ever climbed at so I will absolutely admit it holds a special place in my little climber heart. First thing with Pilot, it tends to get crowded really quickly (at least it has every time I’ve gone) so getting there early in the morning is a must. and you have to get to the route you want to climb quick or they will be gone before you can blink an eye.

Now I’m the type of climber who hates a long approach to a climb, especially in the middle of the summer in humid North Carolina heat. And Pilot’s approach is not for the fair of heart…basically anyone with asthma for that matter. The approach to the climbs isn’t bad since you’re hiking down the mountain, but the hike up can be tough after a long day of climbing.

I’ll never forget how purely magical it was to sit in my harness 100 feet up in the air, above the trees, looking out as far as the eye could see. If it wasn’t so hot and I wasn’t so tired, I think I would have been hooked on outdoor climbing right then and there. So all in all, the approach was rough and rocky (pun intended), the climbed were long but good and the parking wasn’t a horrible situation if you get there early.

Rocky Face

Rocky Face has to be one of my favorites by far. The approach is nonexistent, the walls are not too high and you can set up a top rope on just about every route without leading it first. Rocky Face is a great place to take new climbers, beginner climbers, and the little climbers. Whatever grade you project, you're pretty much going to find it here. There are also some really nice hikes at Rocky Face if you aren’t feeling like today’s a climbing day.

Moore’s Wall

Moore’s Wall, my first time bouldering outside. I am a boulder. No matter what I do, I just love bouldering way more than ropes. So needless to say I was super excited for this trip. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good victory whip but bouldering just gets me. Maybe I’m addicted to the adrenaline that comes with it? Maybe I like it because it’s easier to do alone? Or maybe I just trust myself better than an auto belay. Fair enough, right?

Let me set the scene for this particular trip, my first trip to Moore’s: it’s Friday afternoon, my sister tells me her teammate invited her to go bouldering on Sunday, she asks if I wanted to join, and I say sure. Then I quickly realize I did not come prepared for this. I packed climbing clothes only fit for gym climbing (if I hadn’t mentioned this already, I’m a gym rat) and left all my nice and warm climbing pants at college. No big deal, my sister tells me I can wear some thinner North Face pants and I’ll be just fine. She assures me I’ll be warm enough in them, even though the pants don’t even reach my ankles. So I pull out some pants, a shirt, my Patagonia jacket, a beanie, and my Evolv Approach shoes. Cut to the next morning, it’s freezing outside. Like 20º freezing. But whatever, she says I’ll get hot later…spoiler alert, I did not. Now before you say anything, this is not me blaming my sister for my unfortunate mistake of not planning ahead for the possibility of going on a climbing day trip nobody expected would happen. This is simply me explaining that for the whole day, I froze my butt off in the middle on nowhere, around a bunch of random boulders, when I could have been in a heated gym. But I digress.

All that aside, Moore’s Wall is still a really nice bouldering crag. It has a short approach to the climbs, routes graded for any experience and some of the nicest climbers you could meet. For the most part, it seems like a crag that has only climbers and no hikers so you get to skip the whole are you going to climb that?! conversation you typically get at other places. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to explain climbing to anyone who wants to listen, but when you’re focusing on a project, it’s nice to have other climbers around you filling the vibe with psych.