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My car was broken into at Tennessee Wall on Saturday January 10th, 2015

Rhett Burroughs · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 230

Your in the south, expect retarded tweaker rednecks. Plan accordingly. Sucks that it happened. Hope you get your gear back. At least you have your health :) My friend got pistol whipped at Boat Rock once.

DavisMeschke Guillotine · · Pinedale, WY · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 225

Just remember, it could always be worse.

webdog · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 0

Rhett I bet that wasn't redneck tweakers. BR is in SW Atl, they had to make some paper to pay for new rims. On a side note, during the summer it's fun to get an ice cream cone at the McDonalds by the hwy and watch all the hookers work the streets

Beau Trivers · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 21
Br'er Rabbit wrote: Sir..... Please do not get me started on Sandrock. Gee whiz.
Oh hasenpfeffer!

I wasn’t suggesting we make Sand Rock the model for all southern climbing any more than I would want to take AL cultural norms and dictate them across the globe, my good Mr Rabbit. Progress? I did hear you can buy a beer close by these days - that’s some progress - in my book anyways.

What I experienced was better than what I had in mind; my expectations were in fact very, very low. I do not have the fortune of your long ago recollections of the place (nothing but respect here) and so was ready to climb while 4wheelin meth heads were shootin off guns and their kin spray painted hearts on my partner. It may simply have been too cold last month. This big blue ball keeps spinnin round and round and that ain’t always good.

I’m not advocating all of SR’s practices - hammocks, boom boxes and ill informed climbers receive none of my support. I would however like to park a car without what seems to be the imminent threat of break in. SR’s $5 toll (per car, cheap annual pass (maybe $25)) as a provision for some supervised assurance I won’t come back to a shattered loss would be money well spent imho.
Beau Trivers · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 21
TomCaldwell wrote:I was hoping that the fee would filter the riff raff
Places I've paid fees:

Red Rocks NV - climbers were cool, Vegas drunk 'falling' screamers and mafia hookers in Lambo not so much.

LRC - Golf balls, Bud and chalk all behind one register worth the $5.

Leda - Happy to drop the $5 less so for the drive time to clubhouse and back.

Lower Leda - Catch me if you can.

J Tree - Lots of drama - boom boxes(climbers), crowds, trash peeps. Going back in April.

Sand Rock - interesting Bama anomaly, and not.

All of that spend might buy me one tank of petrol.

pic of chicks

Vegas babies
Marlin Thorman · · Spokane, WA · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 2,415
Thomas Gilmore wrote:Any update on the twall break ins?
This problem has been going on for years. My friend got his Xterra broken into back in 2008. I used to climb pretty consistently out there in 09' and 10' and there were plenty of issues. Numerous break ins were reported to the cops but there was really nothing ever done about it. It is just the way T-wall is. As others have said don't leave anything valuable in your car.
Thomas Gilmore · · Where the climate suits my… · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 1,034

Thank you marlin. I climbed at twall a few times last summer without any problems and to my understanding the theft hasn't been a problem for a year or two until this most recent round. I just camped there the last two nights but it was raining so noone else was there and no climbing to be had...

Creed Archibald · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 1,016

I was thinking of going there in a few weeks, but we'd be sleeping in the truck. It would be impossible to empty the truck while we climb. Unfortunately I might take Twall off the table because of this.

Tom Caldwell · · Clemson, S.C. · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 3,623
Thomas Gilmore wrote:Thank you marlin. I climbed at twall a few times last summer without any problems and to my understanding the theft hasn't been a problem for a year or two until this most recent round. I just camped there the last two nights but it was raining so noone else was there and no climbing to be had...
Wait... You go to TWall in the summer? Even the meth heads aren't that crazy apparently.
BirminghamBen · · Birmingham, AL · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 1,620

Beau's summation of "fees" and the resultant outcome, I reckon, is central to my slow, redneck, backwards, Alabama perspective.
(And we all know I like pictures).
Fees...
Usually, fees = nice facilities = family-friendly hoopla environment = big clusters.

Bringing the attention back to the TWall, let's address something that I consider painful and, thusly, a sort of payment.

As Bstriker points out...Y'all park a bunch of heavy-ladden Prii, Elements, and Tacomas along the River Road, sticker-decorated, on a sunny weekend, and are surprised that TAG-tweakers git all riled up and steal yer stuff?
Hogwaller.

And all of this in the name of...
Fecal matter and TP all over the woods around the camping area.
Permadraws (at the TWALL!!) funded by the very organization dedicated to the 'preservation of climbing areas for future generations".
iPod speakers and hammocks.
Teams on every single route right of the waterfall to Mrs. Socrates.
Etc., etc., etc.

I hope people will keep risking it at the TWall.
Keep doing the car shuffle from the BiLo.
Keep tempting those tweakers and keep them closer to city centers.
This is the toll....
And it is being paid by the very folks not heeding the warnings.

These issues are all symptoms of overcrowding, the explosion of the climbing population, and centralized use.
Target-of-Opportunity theft is also symptomatic of the same.
As Tom mentioned, not even tweakers go to the TWall in Summer.
You are safe then...
Maybe.

Beau Trivers · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 21

Thank you Mr Rabbit for the wisdom of your experience. I feel informed; the T in TWall is for Tweaker. Hell, everyone here deserves a cut, I guess: somewhere to call their own. If the meth head hillbillies have a claim there then so be it. I cede this particular band of sand to window bashing thieves; surely won't be rolling change for a Tweaker proof beater. Twall is stricken from my to do's, climbing probably isn't that good anyway.

Since it's worth lots of words, likeness of my transport. If you come across it at any of our regional trail heads, take-outs or crags please do stop over. There's always a box of beer inside; I'd be happy to hand ya a cold one. Not sure it's me - walk around to the back and note the absence of stickers - been driving round these parts near 35 years without 'em.

As an aside - yours is nice style, very e.e. cummings.

Castles in the Sand

Thomas Gilmore · · Where the climate suits my… · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 1,034

I like your style. Feel free to say what's up if you see this one rolling around...

BirminghamBen · · Birmingham, AL · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 1,620

Likewise....
If you ever find your van pointed towards Steele, AL, lemme know.
My briarpatch is nearby.

Alexander Blum · · Livermore, CA · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 143

Br'er,

I was out with a friend in an old, busted to hell civic with no stickers on a rainy Saturday in December with hardly anyone out there.

Is that a sign of the over crowding? Thieves are thieves, and victim blaming is always lame.

BirminghamBen · · Birmingham, AL · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 1,620

Your being there almost alone on a drizzly Saturday, in and of itself, is not a sign of the overcrowding, I suppose. The fact your stuff went missing is.

Note, on the TWall page, I made statements to this effect in 2008 and 2010. This issue has been raised repeatedly in this forum throughout the years. Ask any TWall regular, some of whom have taken the time to comment here, and they'll say the same thing.

You may think victim blaming is lame, but it's no more lame than being the victim when the warnings have persisted for years. Better safe than sorry, yesterday, today, and in the future.

Don't want to heed my suggestions or don't agree? Keep on keeping on....I'm merely trying to help. You've fueled the problem.

bernard wolfe · · birmingham, al · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 265

I had the Mexican lynch mob experience once......but it was at Sand Rock.....and it wasn't a mob, it was one guy. It was this past winter, before Christmas......fairly cold out. It had been raining the day or so prior so it was wet and the combo of wet and cold meant there was hardly anyone there. At the end of the day, while concluding the day in the corridor by Holiday Block, me & partner hear echoing through the passageways what sounds like two people arguing.....I couldn't make out the words but the tone and forcefulness of the banter was fairly extreme......like someone was really mad at someone else. The sound/people/person seemed to get closer as we were rappelling and I expected to see the source at any minute.....and then as we were bagging up our gear and heading back to the car I realized all the consternation had subsided.

Oh well.

My partner commented about how it seemed like only one person was doing the talking and that person seemed to be speaking/yelling/exhorting....at least some of the time.... in Spanish. I said I thought we were surely about to witness a fight break out. We never saw anybody though.

Later we settle in at the loop campsites....we are the only car in the place. Everything is dreamy until about 3:30 or 4am. I wake to the sound of a car pulling in, making the loop....I couldn't tell what time it was, the sun wasn't up yet.....I figured it was late climber/travelers or more local folks wanting to get an early start. I kind of visualize the activity related to the new arrival by listening. I can here the car adjusting itself in a nearby campsite....and finally car doors opening and closing....followed by the irritation of the car alarm sound. I thought to myself, what asshole makes this much noise this early. Minutes later i hear what I think is conversation beginning amongst the new arrivals......its kind of normal conversational tone.....can't make out what's being said.....but my irritation escalates because again, whoever this is, is awfully inconsiderate.

In my half-sleep I think about getting up and out of the tent and going over to confront these folks to get them to pipe down.....and as I lay there wondering about that, the tone of the "conversation" begins to rise.....the volume rises, the degree of anxiety in the speech rises.....and within a minute or two I recognize it.......its the angry, passionate vocalizations I'd heard earlier the day before.....the same tone, the same zeal.....the same sort of maniacal speech pattern. Then I begin to worry. As the now loud talking is rapidly becoming accented by the occasional yelling and growling (all in Spanish).

As I lay there thinking about what to do, I can get a bearing on whoever this is. They are walking around....at first around the campsite where their car is parked.....then beginning to range out a little. Whoever it is, and at this point it seems like only one person, they are pacing around.....and are having what sounds like a fearsome argument.....with.....themselves??? Maybe they are on the cell phone with someone else??? Voices in their head??? I can't tell.....but the tone and ferocity is alarming. It is the tone of passionate, maniacal anger.......growling, pleading, screaming, shouting.

At this point its only a matter of time before I feel this person's random wanderings are going to put him in our campsite. I wake my partner and say lets simply get out of the bags, out of the tent, quickly make way to the car, start it, and pretty much floor it to get out of the campground. We'll come back for our gear. The tone of this visitor is around axe-murderer crazy at this point. I don't want to spend any time trying to get a visual on this guy, his car, or anything else but a line of sight to the road and the campground gate.

When we get out of the tent, we can tell by the sound of his voice that he has wandered more towards some distant campsites.....so we look at each other for a second and decide we think we have enough time to partially break down the tent, ball it up, and throw it into the back of the car. We pile in right after and make out way out. Just as we were loading up, we could hear the maniacal monologue getting louder, coming out way. We bolt.

On the way out we see one other car beside our visitor.....a car belonging to what appear to be cliffside campers in the area outside the park gate. I hate leaving anybody else up there unbeknownst.....so at the county road intersection just off the S Rock ridge, we call 911. We wait there for awhile......an unmarked car cruises by but takes a wrong turn, heading away from the park. We aren't sure if they are the law......but we don't want to hang around any more so we move on.

Its about 4:30am when we get to an open convenience store near one of the communities near Little River Canyon. My partner darts in to use the bathroom and run down the episode with the clerk. We head over to one of the Canyon overlooks and sleep on picnic tables.

Later that day we go back to SR and have a discussion with the girl manning the entry booth at the gate. She is very alarmed by our story. She related that there are occasional Mexican evangelical types that gather for some sort of outdoors services they like to hold out there.....but that none of those groups have been there for awhile. I told her that the tone and manner and forcefulness of this guys monologue made it sound like you were listening to an exorcism. It was damn spooky. Never got a look at the guy.....but the sound alone made you feel like you were in imminent danger. I told her it sounded like someone having a very bad episode on drugs or maybe an insane person.....the vocal mannerisms were very distraught.

Later that day while climbing at SR, we ran into another couple. They were the ones whose car we saw during our getaway. They didn't notice the late night visitor but did see the sheriff patrolling just before sunrise that morning. They'd also experienced the maniacal monologue around the end of the day from the day before..... They'd been climbing nearby and heard the yelling and screaming in Spanish echoing through the passageways the same time we had.... and had been worried....were thankful when it seem to subside finally. The girl spoke Spanish and she said some of the phrases she picked up were religious in nature.

Very weird experience

Chuck Parks · · Atlanta, GA · Joined Jan 2008 · Points: 2,190

If you got chased off by their early morning church service, does that make you the Devil?

These cats seem to have become a regular fixture at Griffin Falls. That's who leaves all the flowers under the waterfall. Seem like nice enough folks, but the loudness levels are off the charts.

Having someone down below plaintively wailing to God in Spanish while you're pulling through the crux definitely adds a melodramatic flair to the send. Feels like you're in a spaghetti western.

Tom Caldwell · · Clemson, S.C. · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 3,623

Ever see the big white sign right at the beginning of the approach... "Do Not Leave Valuables In Your Car". It is always a great reminder for me, "did I leave anything in plain sight"? If your the only one in the parking lot, odds are against you. I still think game cameras are the way to go. Most thieves will be looking to get in and out quickly, only looking for other people. Not some camera posted high up in a tree.

BirminghamBen · · Birmingham, AL · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 1,620

I have encountered these folks at Griffin as well. Much less harmful than tweakers.

bernard wolfe · · birmingham, al · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 265

This guy didn't seem like a Mexican version and a Sand Mountain snake handler......and it wasn't Roman Catholic liturgy he was carrying on about. Believe me, if you had heard it.....you would have been worried.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Southern States
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