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Overview The attraction to Rock Town varies based on the visitor. We love Rock Town because of the scenery, the hike, and small (safe) amounts of climbing. For many others, the towering formations present a free-face rock-climbing challenge. Don't worry, there are plenty of relatively easy and safe climbs, but be careful up on the enormous blocks of stone, especially with small children. Additionally, be smart about where you put your feet and fingers. There are snakes up on Pigeon Mountain. To me, that's one very good reason to go in cold weather when snakes are hibernating. In order to enjoy Rock Town's beauty, you have to take a little hike. At two miles (round trip), it's not a long hard walk, but it can take a bit longer than you might expect. Various diversions such as scenic mountain views, local wildlife, and enormous rock formations tend to slow the progress in both directions. Don't worry, just make sure to reserve enough daylight to make it back to the parking lot at the trail head. On a side note, Pigeon Mountain has a secret it keeps hidden deep within, literally. It's a secret that draws people from all over the globe. Like most limestone ridges in this region, Pigeon Mountain is riddled with caves. Pettyjohn's cave provides almost 7 miles of mapped caving. The entrance is located just up the old dirt road from the DNR check-in station at the base of the mountain. Ellison's Cave, also located on/in Pigeon Mountain, features the almost 12 miles of passages and two of the deepest vertical drops in North America. If you plan to visit Rock Town, go with someone and be very careful. It's very rugged country up there. Stick to the trails and you'll be just fine. Take a walking stick and good walking shoes. Have fun! Adventure Journal We drove Homer (our RV) so
we'd have a place to cool off and eat when we finished our adventure.
After a little talk about rattle snakes and bobcats, we started our
hike. The kids loved climbing on the rocks, and we watched a
demonstration of rock climbing from a guy that looked like he knew what
he was doing. The surroundings at Rock Town are like something out of a
science fiction movie. I took as many pictures as my memory stick would
allow. We plan to go back to Pigeon Mountain to explore more in the
future. Many caves can be found on the mountain including
Pettijohn's cave and
Ellison's cave
which includes
"Fantastic", a 586' deep pit (deepest "straight drop" cave in
North America).
More Destinations: |
April 2007 |
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