August in the NE. A couple questions from western dirt bag desert rat.

I'm a desert rat dying in the humid heat in DC while I do non-climbing shit. I'm planning on spending most of August or longer climbing around the NE. I want to get all the way up to Acadia. I'm thinking of shooting up there at the start of August and working my way down. I have a couple questions for anyone kind enough to take a minute. 

1) My favorite places to climb are Indian Creek, Squamish, and Yosemite. I was getting into leading 11 at the creek, and tens elsewhere. Style dependant of course, and I'm three months out of shape. What areas might one recommend for that? 

2) How easy is it to find partners? Do I need to work out a schedule and nail down partners? Or can I just show up and be personable like out west?

3) Anyone recommendations for areas to go or avoid? Trad multi pitch is my jam, but I'll climb bolts on single pitch if I must. 

4) Wanna climb?

I'd recommend Seneca Rocks, the Gunks, the Adirondacks, Cannon, and Cathedral Ledge. It is easy to find partners to climb at the Gunks, and probably at Cathedral as well, but I don't know of anywhere where you can just show up and find people to climb with. You're gonna need to use resources such as this website and climbing partner groups on Facebook. I'd avoid the Gunks on the weekend. 

NE climbing has very few of the amenities of areas out west. There's very little public land so there's almost no dirtbag scene, and quality climbing is few and far between. Most climbers are weekend warriors who have their usual partners planned weeks ahead of time. Also August is horrendous in most places - the Gunks and Cannon get sun most of the day so you'll roast. That being said, there's good climbing to do in the Whites in NH, Adirondacks, and around Maine. Find the shady cliffs, use MP partner finder to line people up, and get comfortable single pitch cragging in the trees. Expect trad grades to feel more like Yosemite than Squam or the Creek.

Speaking from having experience with the western areas you mention liking, and also the eastern areas you are likely to visit:

- The northeastern crags will still be warm and humid in August, but it'll be worlds better than DC. Expect sweaty-but-tolerable conditions. Seek shade and go as far north and high elevation as possible (or, alternatively, go oceanside). Adirondacks, White Mountains, Acadia will be the most tolerable places in August. Adirondacks have many crags with different elevations and aspects to let you seek shade.  Cathedral Ledge mostly faces east and gets afternoon/evening shade.  Gunks is warmer - further south, fairly low elevation, sunny and SE-facing - but evening climbing in the shade can be tolerable. I haven't climbed at Acadia so can't say much about that; though it does have the reputation for being a decent summer option.

- The nightmarish north country black flies are generally gone by August, but there will still be mosquitoes. Bring bug spray.

- Based on the climbing areas you mentioned enjoying, I would highly recommend visiting the Adirondacks. There's a lot of steep, physical crack climbing on great rock with good protection. A ton of climbing up there - many crags to choose from. It also offers a more wild and undeveloped feel than most other east coast areas.

- I disagree with the poster above saying "quality climbing is few and far between". The Northeast has a lot of great climbing in a fairly compact region. While none of it has the height and grandeur of Yosemite or the North Cascades, pitch for pitch there is some outstanding cragging to be found.

- Partners: There is less of a travelling-dirtbag scene in the northeast; it generally isn't like Camp 4 or the Chief Campground or Creek Pasture where you can just show up and find partners easily in the campground. A bit more advance planning may be useful. 

You are going to want to hit Canon pretty hard. It's got more elevation than cathedral and much cooler. 

If you like trad multis - North Conway + Kanc + Cannon gets you a ton (buy the handren guidebook). Cathedral, Whitehorse, Cannon Cliff, White ledge (both of them), Huntington Ravine etc. etc. Not to mention a ton of single pitch options. TONS of good granite in slab and crack form. 

Searching 2+ pitches in NH >2 stars between 5.9 and 5.11c gets me 5 pages just on Mtn Project (and I know there's a bunch of guidebook stuff not on there). Adirondacks also look like a good option with 3 pages for the same search. 

First, along with JCM, I take exception with Big Red's 'quality climbing is few and far between' comment, as pitch for pitch, the quality of the climbing matches that anywhere, and there is a lot of it.

As others have said, overall August tends to be hot and humid, but there are also wonderful days of great conditions. Acadia is definitely your best bet for good conditions. Otter Cliff and Great Head are right on the water and usually are very pleasant---often pile jackets are welcome at the base of Otter in the afternoon shade, even if it is hot in the sun on top. Otter is very popular and in the past it was usually easy to find folks to share belays ( short pitches, usually top-roped), but these days it is often over-run by guides and camp groups. Still it is a short walk down there and you may luck out and find folks who will let you join them. Great Head--across the bay, is a much more serious sea cliff and you would need to line up a partner in advance. A bit inland, Precipice Wall on Champlain ( not the Precipice Trail, but further left) is the main multi-pitch option on excellent granite. Also a short approach. You might find folks to climb with there, but best to line up something in advance. There are other crags, but those are the main ones.

In New Hampshire, the North Conway ( main crags are Cathedral and Whitehorse Ledges but there are many others nearby) area is your best bet to find partners for multi-pitch trad--very quality climbing. People park along the road below Cathedral, so a good place to troll for partners. Also several climbing stores in town. If hot, not far away the climbs in Huntington Ravine on Mt. Washington are always cooler. Cannon is about an hour west --the biggest, most serious cliff in the northeast, but should go with a partner. About a half hour south of Cannon, is the major sport climbing area of Rumney. Very popular and pretty easy to find partners in the lot or the AAC campground across the street.

The climbing in the Adirondacks is great---many crags, very spread out, no central camping/meeting place, so I think it would be a problem to show up there 'unattached' . There used to be a campground below the major cliff of Pokomoonshine, but sadly that has been closed for several years now. But if you have a partner, Poko has many excellent multi-pitch trad routes. Other good areas are the many crags around Keene Valley and Moss Cliff in Wilmington Notch---many other areas as well.

The Gunks is likely to be warmer, but are extremely popular --deservedly so--though very different from the areas you are familiar with, and is usually an easy place to find folks to climb with. The Uberfall area below the main cliff called the Trapps is the normal hangout/meetup spot. Great climbing store in town ( Rock and Snow in New Paltz) might also be a good place to meet other climbers or the AAC campground below the cliff ( reservations usually needed).
Also many good shorter cliffs in Mass and Connecticut as well. Contact me if you want to check out the crags in western MA on your way north or back south.

Many years ago I spent a summer working in DC---you have my sympathies!!!

Acadia and Cathedral/whitehorse/Conway have the highest concentrations of fellow dirtbags during August, go to the crags and chat folks up. Tons of guides with evenings and days off, fast-track your way in and hire a partner for the day even. You definitely have a better chance for finding partners in person up here, its still pretty old school that way

Wow MP always comes through. Thank you all so much for the excellent advice! I'm stoked to make some plans and get out on some rock -- it's been too long! It sounds like I'll focus on Acadia, Adirondacks, and Cannon and see what else lies in wait as I meet folks!

Keep in mind Acadia is a very busy National park and all that entails..  MM must know the work arounds but we have had issues finding parking in the off season  and never tried in august.  Its not too bad of a commute to van camp at the Ellesworth wall mart.  while you are in DC you should try to finagle a trip to Seneca 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

Keep in mind Acadia is a very busy National park and all that entails..  MM must know the work arounds but we have had issues finding parking in the off season  and never tried in august.  Its not too bad of a commute to van camp at the Ellesworth wall mart.  while you are in DC you should try to finagle a trip to Seneca 

Difficult parking in the off season, like when the loop is closed? The right lane is parking galore during the season for most crags,  in the off season its all just a short walk in from various spots outside the park loop road. The biggest bummer crag in the park is the South Bubble where you either have to hike in from Jordan pond or just arrive early for a spot, luckily its the smallest crag. During the high summer and into fall taking the park bus(Island Explorer) from Trenton or the visitor center is unbelievably easy and free, let the bus driver deal with the crazy ass tourists! 

Definitely feel free to PM me on spots to bivy besides Walmart

the times we have gone there was usually May and late october. I called that off season because the campgrounds are mostly or all closed.  Yea we got really frustrated trying to park for south bubble and bailed out of the park one time and went and got in line@4am  to get into Kahtadin with no permit which worked great. We have also had some stressful moments trying to find parking for Great Head. its always worked but never been stress free if you are a country bumpkin used to the NEK... 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

the times we have gone there was usually May and late october. I called that off season because the campgrounds are mostly or all closed.  Yea we got really frustrated trying to park for south bubble and bailed out of the park one time and went and got in line@4am  to get into Kahtadin with no permit which worked great. We have also had some stressful moments trying to find parking for Great Head. its always worked but never been stress free if you are a country bumpkin used to the NEK... 

Pretty hard to find a bigger contrast in terms of crowds in New England than the NEK and Acadia!!!!

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

the times we have gone there was usually May and late october. I called that off season because the campgrounds are mostly or all closed.  Yea we got really frustrated trying to park for south bubble and bailed out of the park one time and went and got in line@4am  to get into Kahtadin with no permit which worked great. We have also had some stressful moments trying to find parking for Great Head. its always worked but never been stress free if you are a country bumpkin used to the NEK... 

The Island Explorer to Sand Beach for Great Head is the way unless you drive early or late in the summers,  parking at the schooner head overlook is another option,  you can scramble the coastline all the way. South Bubble is only a 1.5 mile walk along Jordan pond if you show up too late for a parking spot. Of course Jordan pond parking fills up quick too so the bus is the easiest way. Trenton Gateway center to the visitor center then the Jordan pond bus. The south Bubble lot used to have a bus stop but the tourons ruined it by parking in the bus stop causing complete chaos on the loop road. People love them short hikes with great views.

I met some kids from Boston who rode the bus to great head yesterday with their pads

It's really hard to find partners in Acadia. Most people are there for a while with their family and only want to climb for three or four hours. So I would honestly be prepared to tr solo at otter cliff. But you want do that late because the guides are out pretty late  and they hog  the whole cliff. But should you be lucky enough to find a partner you'll love it there.

Cathedral is a little easier to find partners but I find people usually just want do the same easy moderates. If you post on mountain project, you should be able to come up with a partner for Moby or Whitney on Cannon.
I haven't had a lot of luck, finding people in the Adirondacks to climb with.

The gunks is easy to find partners, but it's kind of lack of the draw might find someone who wants to climb 5.5

You can always stop in at IME (International Mountain Equipment) and check to see if anyone else has been around looking for partners. There might even be a “partner bulletin board” however as much as I’m in there I don’t really pay attention to it! Sorry. In any case it’s pretty much “climber central” for the Mt Washington Valley.

The first kiosk is usually a good spot to find partners at Cathedral Ledge.  

I moved east from a several year stint in Moab just under a year ago; I understand the “desert rat gone east woes”.

I’m halfway through a month of bopping around the areas already mentioned, trying to do exactly what you intend to do.

In Acadia, I easily found a set of partners at Otter Cliffs and we picked up a 4th partway through the say. I was lucky that one of the partners wanted to climb the next day. One of the guides had sympathy on our 4th member and I believe they linked up for a day.  Legal camping at the tennis court in Bar Harbor. I got away with a lot of spots there.

Cathedral I found partners on MP. The partner bulletin in IME (Conway) seemed useless in my opinion- posts were over a year old and didn’t do much for me. Hanging at the base of the crag / kiosk seemed promising, and although I didn’t snag a partner I did catch a mtn bike shuttle.  Free camping at Town Hall Road - the guys in IME will help ya find it.

Cannon I’m falling in love with, highly recommend. Those partners were also found on MP.
Rumney - MP but my partner left early and I was instantly adopted into a party of 3. I can send a pin for a free-ish spot there.

Gunks - My first season was this past fall and I almost exclusively climbed with partners from Facebook “Gunks Climbing Partners”. Shoot me a message if you end up there and we can talk about the glory of sandstone and no humidity. Free camping is tough.

Daks - The next stop, but MP seems to be the move for partners.

I think Seneca would be hot right now, but its fun climbing.  Summersville Lake is great for DWS in this hot weather.

Josh. how far is Walmart from the traps? 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

how far is Walmart from the traps? 

About a half hour over towards Ellenville in Napanoch.

That's not bad unless it's in one of those weird zones that don't allow overnight parking?

I see more drug addicted weirdos in and around Walmart than anywhere in my state. Is this different in other states? I truly don't know anymore, the little blue pills have changed things quite a bit in the last few years and I never go anywhere.