Blood Pool Rock Climbing

There are two options, parking off skyline is only a mile from the crag but a bushwhack. The second option avoids needing a park pass and is easier when it's time to go home. 

If you park off skyline, use the Keyser Run parking lot, plan for at least 45 minutes for the approach. You will not find the crag unless you save these breadcrumbs below, it will guide you around the most annoying briar walls and lead you to the anchors. 

Google Map Breadcrumbs

From the parking lot, walk on the trail for a few minutes, then turn left when you near the first check point. More or less follow these which will eventually take you to a steep gully. You only descend this for about a minute before making a right through two skinny trees that make a natural x. A small cairn is there to mark it, and there are still breadcrumbs past this on the map. This will put you on top of a boulderfield, that has descends to the top of the crag.

There are anchors are on both the north and south crag, but the north crag anchors are for leading/cleaning, they are extremely dangerous to approach from above. For the south crag anchors, see the attached photo to show the rock you must scramble up. From here, you can rappel to the bottom of the cliffs ONLY with a 70m rope. Be careful tying knots at the end, as they can easily get caught in the trees below. Another alternative for south crag is instead of climbing up the rock continue downhill for another minute and enter a natural keyhole from a large rock leaning against a tree. From here here you can directly gain the gunpowder ledge where you can rappel. These rappels are fairly exposed, so be careful, or better yet get a body belay.

To go home, it's probably easiest to ascend around the right side of the cliffs. Do not enter a narrow ravine that's a about a dozen feet long as its almost always wet and sketchy, go around to its right and you can stay on steep hiking terrain. It will only take about five minutes to get from the bottom to the top this way. Another alternative is to lead one of the easier climbs, but with a pack it of course will feel much harder. An easy way to the top, like a 5.3 is being sought out.

The second option which some believe is easier is to park at Little's Devils Staircase and hike the trail to the bottom of the climb. The only challenge here is you will have to do several stream crossings with a backpack, then ascend steep slippery terrain to the crag. Once at the crag, it's logistically easier to get home since its all down hill. If you try this option, use the final GPS point and when you are directly south start heading up the hill. Generally there is a wet waterfall that appears below the cliffs and you can ascend to the right of it to reach BP. When you're going home you can easily do two short rappels and reach the trail to hike out.