Rock/Creek Chronicle's November 2007 Archives

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November 12, 2007

Rock/Creek, Local Outdoor Enthusiasts Improve Sunset Park

Close to 50 volunteers show up for a weekend of trail maintenance & development in historic Sunset Park on Lookout Mountain, TN. Rock/Creek obtains funding through Chaco & Patagonia in conjunction with the SEC, NPS, Access Fund, Earthscapes & others.

Chattanooga, TN - This Saturday, close to 50 volunteers gathered at Sunset Park, a segment of the Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Park located atop Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, to complete several different trail maintenance projects.

Spearheaded by the Southeastern Climbers Coalition and the National Park Service, the day was sponsored in part by The Access Fund, Rock/Creek, PMI, Earthscapes, Black Diamond Equipment, with grants and funding provided by Patagonia and Chaco. Climbers joined with trail runners, hikers, and other trail users to improve the existing trail and repair sections that had been damaged.

Projects completed include the mulching of a significant portion of the Mountain Beautiful Trail below the headwall, the repair and establishment of waterbars, steps, rock walls and belay spaces in high traffic climbing areas, repair and painting of the information kiosk at the base of the headwall, and the closing off of several trail cuts deviating from the Mountain Beautiful Trail.

The majority of the volunteers worked from 8 AM until noon, breaking to enjoy lunch from Mojo Burrito. At that time, trail day prizes were drawn for, and included a 60m rope from PMI, Chaco sandals, Black Diamond equipment, and Nalgene bottles from the Access Fund. Afterwards, a core group worked until well after dark on Saturday, and representatives from Rock/Creek, PMI, Earthscapes and the Southeastern Climbers Coalition worked again on Sunday to ensure completion of the needed mulching and area clean up.

Dawson Wheeler, Signal Mountain resident and owner of Rock/Creek, explained: "It was great to see the various user groups coming together to improve this beautiful resource. We need to continue to communicate between user groups and nonprofits as Rock/Creek, the Wilderness Trail Running Association, SEC, SORBA, the Trust for Public Land, and others all have similar goals: to get people outside more often to enjoy human-powered, low-impact sports."

Randy Whorton of Earthscapes Mulch engineered a solution that involved blowing mulch from a blower truck at the parking lot about 500 feet down the trail and over the side of the headwall. Over 20 cubic yards of mulch were used, and as Whorton explains, the labor and cost savings were enormous compared to hauling bags of mulch that are commercially available: "How much labor did that save? It's phenomenal. Hundreds and hundreds of bags of mulch would have been used... it would have taken weeks to get all the bags down the trail with 50 volunteers." In addition, by using local organic matter collected curbside by the City of Chattanooga, this process cut down on fossil fuel emissions associated with purchasing commercially bagged compost that often comes to Chattanooga from North Carolina or as far away as Kentucky.

Samantha Christen, the Sunset Park Representative for the SCC and coordinator of the event, emphasized the importance of the volunteers and sponsors: "Many thanks and much appreciation go out to the National Park Service for all of their support, encouragement and hard work, and to The Access Fund, Patagonia, Chaco, Black Diamond Equipment, The Southeastern Climbers Coalition, Rock/Creek, PMI, Earthscapes, Covenant College Outdoor Club, The McCallie School and all of the individual local and regional climbers who came out to support this effort; all of your support, hard work, valuable time and dedication help preserve and beautify this historic area."

Photography available on flickr:
http://flickr.com/photos/rockcreek/sets/72157603109734728/

Join the Southeastern Climbers Coalition online:
http://seclimbers.org

Learn more about the historical significance of Sunset Park:
http://www.rockcreek.com/articles/climbing/sunset-rock.asp

About Rock/Creek:

Rock/Creek, member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, is an independent specialty outdoor retailer with over two decades of experience in the Southeast. Along with its online shops, RockCreek.com and ClimbingGear.com, Rock/Creek provides quality outdoor clothing and gear for a host of activities including kayaking, rock climbing, camping, hiking, trail running, and adventure racing. Rock/Creek is committed to making a positive impact on the environment. For this reason, it uses outdoor retail as a platform to encourage outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship and to improve public access to the backcountry. Rock/Creek supports worthy nonprofits such as the Southeastern Climbers' Coalition and the Wilderness Trail Running Association.

Posted by Mark McKnight at 5:57 PM

Sunset Rock History

Samantha Christen, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition's Sunset Park Area Representative, gives us a history lesson and exorts us to do our part for the area:

Reverence. While typically a phrase often associated with churches, graveyards and other such hallowed ground, this is not a word that readily comes to mind when referring to Sunset Park; however, it should.

Established between 1890 and 1898 by Civil War Veterans, the sites that we collectively know as the Chickamauga/Chattanooga National Military Battlefield (CCNMB) became the first National Military Park in the nation, with the sole purposes of preserving our nation's history and memorializing the catastrophic battles which took place in this region.

In the planning stages, great care was taken by these Veterans to ensure the accuracy of facts on the placards, signs and monuments, battle and skirmish sights, and even cannon placement. Because these men and women took the pains that they did, the territory included within the CCNMB offers a surprisingly accurate look into our country's past through many venues and sources. Spread over two states and 4 counties, the Park is not only the oldest and largest National Military Park in the United States, but also home to one of the most historic climbing areas in the Southeast: Sunset Park.

It was because of Sunset Park that a more recent battle took place between the NPS and the climbing community and the Southeastern Climbers Coalition came into being. Climbing in general has always been considered extreme. A renegade sport pursued by only the most cavalier of personalities, those who climb at Sunset are no exception. From the early development of the 1940's, through the 1960's with pioneers such as Tom Martin and Tom Kimbro, into the 1970's and 1980's and the likes of Rob Robinson, Stan Wallace, Bill Smith, Forrest Gardner, Chris Chesnut and the Eiseman brothers (who never would take ME climbing as a kid�), and to the present, climbing at Sunset remains for most the standard to which traditional climbing in the Southeast is held.

It was at Sunset where the region's test pieces went up. In their day, Alpha Omega, The Pearl and Jennifer's World were the test pieces of their grades; other routes in the Park have the distinction of being the first of their grade in the region.

Unlike anything else in the Southeast, the climbing at Sunset, while for the most part only single pitch, is superb; the rock quality unparalleled; the grades stout; the view from the anchors indescribable (especially on a crisp fall afternoon); both the routes and the bouldering (surprise!!) incredible; and the proximity to downtown Chattanooga absolutely priceless (we should be sponsored by MasterCard�!) The aura being incomparable to anywhere else; Sunset is special.

In recent years, there have been innumerable, and growing, complaints to the Rangers at Point Park regarding climbers and climber behavior; there have been equal numbers of remarks made among the climbing community regarding the Rangers. Unfortunately, though we definitely are not the only user group to enjoy the natural resources of Sunset Park, we are most often the scapegoat due to our high visibility.

The lack of understanding by climbers of the historical significance of the CCNMB, and more particularly of Sunset Park, from the point of view of the National Park Service contrasts greatly with what we climbers view as the historical significance of Sunset Park. In order to maintain the privilege of climbing in this historic area, we must be good stewards of our resources and good ambassadors of our sport. Please help us to foster and maintain good relations with the National Park Service and with the individual Rangers by honoring the Park regulations which are posted on all kiosks and are available online:

Continue reading "Sunset Rock History"

Posted by Mark McKnight at 4:35 PM

November 5, 2007

Rock/Creek Grand Opening Nov. 10

Rock/Creek would like to invite you to our Grand Opening festival this Saturday, November 10th. We'll have exclusive sales, with proceeds benefiting Community Kitchen and the McKamey Animal Center. Live bands, family atmosphere with performers and activities for kids. See the new Rock/Creek and Greenlife Grocery. Also stop by Bill Shores Frames & Gallery, Larimar Medspa, New Moon Gallery, Wiggle Worm, and Willa Collection.

Also, we'll be offering tours of the new development, highlighting the green elements of the design. Here's the press release on that:

CS & Associates, Steve Arnsdorff and green | spaces warmly invite you to a tour of Two North Shore, the premiere green development of the Tennessee Valley. A tour schedule will be offered in conjunction with their grand opening celebration November 9-10.

Each walking tour of the site will highlight specific elements of the structure that are points towards their anticipated LEED certification. This promises to be an excellent opportunity for connecting with like-minded people in the community as well as gaining practical knowledge about green building.

The Friday, November 9 tour will be offered from 5-6 p.m. Tours on Saturday, November 10 will take place at 12 noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Friday�s tour will be limited to the first 20 people who RSVP. An RSVP is required by Tuesday, November 6 for tour participation on either day and you may do so by contacting Meleah Smith at meleahvsmith@hotmail.com.

The general grand opening festivities on Saturday, November 10 are open to the general public from 12noon-6 p.m. Activities will include the �Greenlife Stage� with local Chattanooga bands, a family activity area including face painting and a hot chocolate bar, geocaching (a high-tech GPS scavenger hunt hosted by Rock Creek), and many samples and open houses hosted by the local vendors of the development. Proceeds will benefit the Community Kitchen and the McKamey Animal Center.

And remember to RSVP for your preferred tour time!

Posted by Mark McKnight at 11:20 AM