Hound Rock is the large formation directly behind Baskerville Rock and is home to a number of good crack climbs. The two most popular are Tossed Green (5.10a) a nice thin crack and Crescent Wrench (5.10d) a curving crack with a difficult finish. Additionally there are a number of moderate cracks on the backside which despite having been climbed for many years have not seen any real documentation.
A novelty from the olden days is the "Valley Of Trash", a collection of rusted cans, bed springs and assorted metal objects which lie in the depression at the base of the east face. Please leave these undisturbed for others to enjoy as they are protected by law.
This is a good wall to visit in conjunction with a trip to Baskerville Rock and/or the White Cliffs Of Dover as there are many excellent cracks to do in this area.
Getting There
Approach as for Baskerville Rock but skirt it on it's left side (passing the Baskerville Cracks) and Hound Rock will come into view. The approach takes about 15 minutes from the parking area at Trash Can Rock.
There are two difficult routes on the right end of the formation, Animalitos, 11b and Animalargos, 11c. These are shown as leads in the 92 Vogel guide and as TR's in Bartlet and most subsequent guides. Last year (03) we were on Baskerville and heard a commotion. A climber had come off (not sure which route) and decked zippering all his gear. He was able to make it out under his own power, miracuously avoiding any serious injury. The rock on this formation deteriorates in quality to the right of Tossed Green.
Actually, both Animalitos 11b (the one the climber fell on) and Animalargos 11c are lead climbs. However, they both deserve (and are assigned in the new guide) R protection ratings. They have both been lead several times, but are more commonly top-roped. As for the quality of the rock, both of these climbs have very good quality rock.
I would daresay that Animalitos (11b) deserves an R/X rating. There is NO pro at the crux and the rock quality in the initial crack where some gear can be placed is not that good. The rock quality improves dramatically at the face transition to the other crack which extends to the top. It is a miracle that the climber was able to walk away from a lengthy plummet into the "Valley of Trash."
There are a half dozen or so crack lines on the back side. They look grainy and unpleasant down low, better above, and from the looks of them have obviously been done more than once.
Hound Rock
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