via Ferrata

Gripping

I know the 1-inch diameter rung of stainless steel I grip is bolted 6 inches deep, and that combined with the safety cable the system in place could hold more than 20 times my body weight, but I'm still paralyzed with fear. In fact, I'm shaking from it, even though I've been here at least 3 times before, gripping the same rung bolted to the same rock, hooked into the same cable. Looking around, I can see that nothing has changed about this place since the last time I was here. So, why in the world am I so scared that I must consciously focus on slowing my breathing in order to just go on?

 (breeeeeeathe in). . . (breeeeeeath out) . . .

After taking some time to get my wits about me, I force myself to marvel at what's around me. I'm lashed to a rock fin 20 feet wide and hundreds of vertical feet into the West Virginia sky. It's breathtaking (indeed; it's taken mine). Just then, a small bird floats along, takes a little rest on a narrow rock ledge, toddles around a bit, and then swoops away. "Little bastard," I think, because that bird has wings and can just hop off this rock and soar away. No fear whatsoever; the little sonofabitch has no idea what I'm going through!

Molly and Me

It's because we don't have wings that the via Ferrata, a non-climbing way to experience rock climbing, (and the sport of rock climbing itself) exists in the first place, and has attracted me, Molly, and four of our friends on a whirlwind mountain tour.

The idea started in our living room after a group dinner we hosted (steak, if I remember correctly). Molly and I were talking about the "old times," which were oddly only a few years ago, before kids came along, and all the adventures we used to take. Boating, backpacking, camping, and skiing took us to beautiful places on a weekly basis. It was then that we came up with the idea: let's see what we can squeeze into 36 hours while the kiddos do a slumber party with their grandparents. We'd rise to the challenge and the kids won't even have the time to miss us!

Months later, we sat at the the Front Porch restaurant in Seneca Rocks, WV, relaxing with the satisfaction of pulling it off. All we had left was the drive home. Our climbing guide for the day, Beau (dacious), pointed out climbing routes on the famous crag, stealing some of our pizza while we gazed across the North Fork valley.

The Front Porch is this way

It wasn't all relaxation. Nelson Rock's via Ferrata scared two members of our party into temporarily calling it quits. In both cases, however, a Hulk Hogan-esque resurgence from near submission to a successful climb of the entire course followed their breakdowns. The 4-hour trip through the course dished out emotional anguish equally as exhausting as the physical demand. The sun beat down on us, quickly draining us as we scampered up the rock, one rung at a time. We emerged at the top dehydrated, famished, sunburned, and grinning.

Our reward for the climb: a West Virginia Bath in the creek at the base of Nelson Rocks. In roughly 36 hours we packed it all into a 350 mile round trip.

• Dinner: Riverside Hotel in Friendsville, MD
• Camping: Seneca Shadows in Seneca Rocks, WV (with gruel!)
• Climbing: Nelson Rocks' via Ferrata in Circleville, WV
• Swimming: North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac in Seneca Rocks, WV
• Dinner: Front Porch Restaurant in Seneca Rocks, WV

Git r dun!