For those that can make it, Mid-October is a beautiful time of year to go too

 

55.5 miles; better than 1 1/2 hours drive, via the Tail of The Dragon, Foothills Pkwy, and Townsend. Cades Cove is more than half way there.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...,1.680908&om=1

 

Where is the best place to watch the Derby? ...and get a little pick the numbers out of the hat pool going?

 

The bar in the lodge at Fontana is really nice. Lots of stone and wood and a TV. That would be my vote!

 

The biggest areas near Deal's Gap are Looking Glass Rock near Brevard, NC (~2.5 hours) and Tennessee Wall near Chattanooga (~2.75 hours). Both of these areas require natural gear, and Looking Glass offers quite a few multipitch climbs of all ratings. I've visited each area once, so I am not full of much useful information.

My local crag is the Obed River area which offers several cliffs of mostly bolted single-pitch sport climbing. The ratings cover the intermediate to advanced range, with a few 5.7s on the low end. There is also a popular boulder area, Lilly Boulders, that is only a few minutes from the parking lot. Also, this area is a popular location for whitewater folks, but I know next to nothing about that aspect. The drive to the Obed would be roughly 3 hours from Fontana.

Lilly Boulders

Clear Creek - Obed Area

Tennessee Wall

Looking Glass

 

Lynn Hill calls the climbs around Chattanooga some of the finest anywhere in the East and she has been here a few times.

 

wow- they sound like sweet stones... i dont thingk ill have enough time to get to them on this trip though... ill have to plan another trip for more time with the rocks... : )

Lynn was just up here-@ sport rock in n va... . she rocks@ ( pun inteneded )

 

Be aware... I was at the Biltmore a couple days ago on my Pre MOTD Dragon run. The gardens were wiped out April 6-9 by a exteneded freeze. The greenhouse are OK of course. But outside only the tulip gardens survived. All else id dead dead dead. Thoe house and winery tours are alone worth it of course.

 

The Azelias Garden(sp?) are about mid-bloom right now, those got hit by the frost too though. 5 days of record low temperatures here, temps in the teens in April!

I think we are going to drive over MOTD on Saturday for the day and just hang out and bystand. Never been on MOTD. My planning all this spring was screwed up with moving to Asheville from Michigan, changing jobs and bunch of other life altering events.

 

It's a shame to be so close and not ride Tsali, but I'm not bringing my bike. It sure would be handy if there were nearby rentals.

 

hey. For those of you getting ready to head out to the dragon, Stop by www.motoringfun.com and check out the chat room. In there you can ask all those questions you need answers to about the upcoming Dragon