Sheep Rock Summit Dome Rock Climbing

It is a 1,400 foot climb from the Goose Creek Meadows ford to the summit of Sheep Rock. Start with the Helen's Gully to the cave campsite and then finish with the Acid Rock Arch route.  

Helen's Gully to Acid Rock 

 From the signed parking spot at Molly's Gulch, hike into the old campground, turn right at the ranch's power line, climb up and over the creekside slabs, and then down to the crossing at Goose Creek Meadows (7,500ft).  Contour up southward to the horse trail above the creek.  Follow the trail, first south to the ranch gate, then up north past the "House Sized Boulder to the gentle pass at the bottom of Helen's Gully.  Just past the boulder beware the poison ivy patch on the left.  From the horse trail's saddle, turn right and follow a nice path past a boulder garden and balanced rock into Helen's Gully.  After the garden, the path steepens.  The first third-class section is a right leaning chimney out left, about one hundred feet away from the base of Helen's mossy north face slabs.  After another hundred feet or so of elevation gain, find a junction with the traverse to Helen's lower bench - the first easy way through Helen's mossy lower slabs.  Cut left instead, soon passing Voodoo Ranger.  The path enters the burn zone.  Step over many small fallen logs and raspberry shrubs up to a talus-assisted step over a large fallen log.  Easier terrain leads up to the giant egg boulder under the start of Hokahey and more raspberry.    The trail sticks close to the wall for a bit of traversing under the ramp of One of Ours (5.9).  Don't drop left in the boulder filled gully below Baby Helen.  Instead, the path stays just a bit left of Helen's walls steeply climbing loose dirt under Smoke Screen (5.10) and Burning Love Letters (5.11).  After the final third class moves up a dirty crack, more second-class boulders are climbed.  The lower campsite cave entrance is passed only fifty feet below the comfortably flat campsite (old fire ring).

Acid Rock Arch Route

Hiking around Acid Rock's south side starts with a descent from the flat campsite passing steeply down left of a giant boulder. Staying close to the base of Acid Rock's west slabs is a much harder scramble. It is better to suffer about 200 yards of boulders, gravel covered slabs, thorn bushes, dead tree tangles, and a very difficult step out of a cave until a weathered signpost for the ranch's trail is hopefully found. Soon after the post, while it is possible to go left and find another ranch marker up a mini joint-canyon, a slightly better route traverses right. First the route traverses east, then north climbing some 3rd Class slabs near a gnarled bonsai pine. After the crux slab-walking, the summit dome and the Velcro Wall come into view. To reach the gentle gap between Acid Rock and Sheep Rock's summit dome, follow the south ridge of Acid Rock passing a window arch* along the way. Going through the hole from the west is a bit easier than avoiding the hole by passing the arch's east side. If the easiest final way is found, then the hike to the base of Lightning Bolts and Sheep Rock Finger Crack ends with a short descent. BTW, be careful of Velcro Gulch's barrier cliff guarding direct access to Velcro Wall. There is a new way into the gulch.  

Velcro Wall  

From the upper Acid Rock approach slabs, once you see Velcro Wall, it is possible to scramble down southeast to the South Ramp route and southern (right) half of the Velcro Wall. The CMC's nineteen sixties route, South Ramp, has one very old bolt somewhere above the climbers in Jeremy Hakes' photo.

Mike Walley's photo just shows one of the Velcro Gulch boulder caves that make it hard to scramble north from the South Ramp (past Velcro Strip and Sheep Just Wanna Have Fun).

Instead, use the Sheep Rock summit dome approach. From to the start of Lightning Bolts, hike down the slot below The Hubbel Route, and find two 1/2" stainless ring anchors below the Dunblazer-Bright Dihedral. One might want a belay to reach these anchors. A full 35 meter rappel is followed by a short downclimb into Velcro Gulch and the base of the Velcro Wall.

*Very interesting mini-trad climbs are possible at Acid Rock Window.