October Jamestown

The three of us at the end of a great day

On October 14, 2017, Nick, my son Malcolm, and I drove up to Lost Wall near Lafayette, GA. We also brought along Nick's cute golden-doodle, Locks. Lost Wall turned out to be a mistake! The entire area was closed for hunting. We decided to turn lemons into lemonade, so we drove an additional half hour to another nearby climbing area called Jamestown. This is an area I had heard some good things about in the past but had not yet had the opportunity to explore. It was also my first chance to climb in Alabama. To access this area, we needed to unlock a gate and drive along a dirt path for a few hundred yards. At one point, I tried to continue up a big, muddy hill with deep ruts, but I had to back up and park when I got concerned that the Subaru couldn't handle the terrain anymore. We got out, packed up our trad gear, and hiked the short (15 min?) walk to the crag.

Nick led Truth or Consequences (5.8) for the first climb of the day. This climb has a mini roof. Malcolm followed after Nick, and we managed to get him over the roof by hauling on the rope. The rest of the climb he did with no problem! I went next and cleaned the gear.

Malcolm following Nick on Truth or Consequences, with the mini roof 10 feet above him. Plain Truth is visible to the right.

I led Plain Truth (5.9), a crack climb with a roof, just to the right of Truth or Consequences. I actually had to hang on gear at the roof, because I got too tired and sketched out! Malcolm followed the route after I had come down. I had to help him a bit over this roof, too. Nick cleaned this one.

Malcolm following on Plain Truth

Locks, getting into the climbing spirit

Nick tried to lead a climb called Pigsty. This had an off-width crack which was very wet. Rather than push his way through, he lowered from the climb at this point. I tried to finish it for us and had to pull on a bunch of gear to get through the scary wet section. Maybe this would have been fun if it hadn't been wet, but as it was, I don't recommend it.

For the last climb of the day I led Medusa Tree (5.9). This climb is very fun and well protected. I managed to place 4 nuts on this route! It follows a path straight up, then traverses to the left, over a mini roof and finishes right up a ramp. I did have to hang once on gear when I got nervous at the crux. Malcolm followed me and managed to get halfway up the climb. Awesome! Nick cleaned the route.

All in all, it was successful day of climbing. I recommend Jamestown as a fun trad area close to Atlanta. I will definitely be heading back there to finish the climbs I didn't complete cleanly.

We ate dinner at Pasquale's Pizza and Pasta in Rome, GA. This didn't turn out to be my favorite restaurant, but Malcolm loved the all-you-can-eat buffet. He ate three pasta bowls, one salad, two pieces of pizza, and two ice-cream cones. He loved it.

Pasquale's all-you-can-eat buffet