| Description: |
Top rope area and lead area on great rock |
| Location: |
Approximately 60 minutes northwest of
Washington, D.C. near Frederick, MD. |
| Directions: |
From D.C. get on 495 north towards Silver
Springs, MD. Veer left onto I-270 towards Frederick, MD. Stay on 270 for about
45 miles until you merge with Route 70. Get off of I-70 at the Myersville exit (#42)
and turn right at the end of the off-ramp, if you are coming from D.C. or Baltimore.
Go through town and make a right on Rt. 17. Follow to the stop sign at the
Rt. 40 intersection. Turn left and follow Rt. 40 for about 2 miles. Go up and
down a couple of rolling hills and start looking to your left for the fairly well defined
parking area. Make a left and find a space. If you cross the bridge over Rt.
70, you've gone too far. Turn around at Greenbrier State Park on your left and try
again. |
| Approach: |
After you park, look west for the large bulletin board.
There is a connector trail to the Appalachian trail just past the board. Follow the
old paved road for about 100 yards then look left and follow the foot trail down the
hill. At the bottom make a right and head northward on the AT paralleling
I-70. Do not go across the pedestrian foot bridge that spans Rt. 70. Follow
the mowed greenway path under the underpass, up the hill and veer left. Follow the
path for about 15 minutes and veer right at the Pine Knob Shelter. Start heading
uphill for about 20 minutes. Once the trail flattens keep walking for about 20
minutes more. On your left you will find a sign reading "Annapolis Rocks: View
and Spring". Follow this clearly marked, blue blazed trail down to a camping
area and beautiful overlook. The trail spits you out approximately above Faint's
Roof. There are trails to your left and right which will lead to the base of the
cliffs. Total approach time - 1 hour. |
| Note #1: |
We thought we missed the turn to Annapolis
Rocks, but the left turn is very well marked so hang in there. The spring does
exist. We thought that it would be located in the campgrounds. It is
not. Keep following the blue blazed trail south through the camp sites and look to
your left for a 2" white PVC pipe coming horizontally out of the ground. We
refilled our water bottles directly from the spring and did not get sick. In
hindsight, I would recommend filtering.
|
Faint's Roof
(south to north)
| Unknown |
(5.4-5.8 / toprope / 40 ft / PP ) |
| Location: |
50 feet left southern end of the
wall |
| Anchors: |
Top rope 160+/- feet of webbing
around a rock and two trees |
| The Run: |
Start at the base of the rock and
climb the stair like slabs to the first mini-overhang. Climb through the overhang
and up to the large platform beneath the second overhang. Start right of the larger
overhang and work your hands up to the horizontal crack just above the slope of the
overhang. Work your feet up to top of overhang and you are done. |
| Comments: |
"The bottom section is beyond
easy. The first overhang looks very difficult from above, but isn't. Make sure
you set up your anchors so you can pull the second overhang. This is the hardest
part on
the run. Maybe a 5.8 series of moves." - MGNote:
To the right of the climbs is a relatively large overhang. This is a great
place to rappel down to the bottom, even if it's just for fun. You get to suspend
yourself over the edge and it is not as scary as Faint's Roof. |
| Ounce of Perception |
(5.9/ toprope / 60 ft / PPPP) |
| Location: |
50 feet left of Unknown and 20 ft
right of Faint's Roof |
| Anchors: |
Top rope 150+/- feet of webbing
around two rocks |
| The Run: |
Start at the base of the rock and
climb the arete pulling through three or four small overhangs. |
| Comments: |
|
| Faint's Roof |
(5.10a / toprope / 30 ft / PPPPP ) |
| Location: |
20 feet left of Ounce or
Perception under the massive roof |
| Anchors: |
Top rope - kind or tricky - use
250+/- feet of webbing around rocks at the top of the ledge or carefully downclimb a
little from the top and use some medium sized pro in the lower rock and medium length
slings. |
| The Run: |
Start at the base of the rock and climb
the easy vertical face to the bottom of the roof. Follow the hand-sized horizontal
crack out to the edge and up and over the roof. Once you have pulled the roof, the
run is over. |
| Comments: |
"The first hand holds are
pretty solid, the next is either a stretch move to the horizontal crack or an intermediate
crimper. After you get to the second tier of the roof the next hold is in the base
of the vertical crack that runs to the finish. The finish is where I got pumped and
is a bit awkward to try and keep you feet on the rock as you thrash about for a medium
hold above the vertical crack. The first moves have a high fear factor, but are
pretty solid, so go get them." - MG |
|
