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 | North of Here
entry by xrahy
9/1/2004 1:11 AM
| The idea had been around for a while; to get together some local explorers and have a Virginia/DC/Maryland meetup, maybe even call it FauxPex. A few of us tried unsuccessfully a few times and then at last, this past weekend, a time and place was finally settled upon. Participation however, was very weak. Lots of people had lots of excuses, and there ended up only being three of us. I'm jealous of the get togethers in Toronto and New York, I'll admit it. We just don't get together enough here in Va. Anyway back to the point....
I woke up Sunday morning excited and ready to go, even with the lingering hangover from the night before. The two hour drive up Interstate 95 passed by quickly as I listened to the news coverage of the protest march in NYC and chainsmoked Camels. A few times I got nervous and slowed down a little, but generally I set the pace for the rest of the traffic. I was eager to get to my destination.
After exiting the interstate and carefully following the Mapquest directions I arrived at the end of a road in a small subdivision. There was a partially open gate before me and a small gravel road on the left. No other cars. The owner of the house on the right was milling about unloading his car or something as I called up Caput58 to find out where they were. "Just drive on in" was his answer. As I passed through the gate and swerved to avoid the broken glass and other debris, the dish came into view and two waving figures just inside the rim. Fucking awesome.
It was one of those perfect sunny days with small puffy clouds on the horizon and this dish before me was absolutely amazing. Very impressive, the pictures don't do it justice. I parked and gathered my gear and headed for the base of the dish. I found the path to the base of the structure and began climbing up through a series of ladders and catwalks. Eventually I made it to the hatch and inside the bowl of the dish.
Caput and Claviss were busy setting up the ropes and I realized that I forgot my gloves in the car so I headed back down. On the way back through the maze of ladders and platforms I took my time to survey the site. There were three or four smaller buildings, another much smaller dish, and a few odd structures. The whole complex was contained within an overgrown field with a few trees scattered here and there. Most of the roads and parking areas were grown over and strewn with debris. As I looked around I really started to notice the amount of vandalism. Most of the available surfaces had been tagged and the outlines of fires could be clearly seen in a few places. No small amount of trash, mostly beer cans, littered the site.
I took a few pictures, got my gloves, and headed back up to the top of the dish. We spent a little while setting up rope and discussing the challenges of getting over the lip and beginning the descent. I was beginning to get little nervous having not rapelled in a few years and from listening to the conversation as Caput and Claviss set up. It went a little something like this:
"Do you think this pad is enough to keep the rope from getting cut on this sharp metal edge?". "I don't know, you're going first, so if you die then we'll know it wasn't working". "Is this how you tie this part?". "Umm yeah, I think so". "Maybe if I wasn't so hungover, I wouldn't feel so shaky".
Actually, as it turns out, the rope work was very good and I very much enjoyed the rappel. Running up to the edge of the dish, however, and trying not to slide back down to the bottom, was difficult. It took three tries before I could get into position, precariously perched on the rim of the dish, one leg dangling over the edge, then hooked up to the rope. With one last check, it's over the edge and put all my trust the rope and my harness. Like Caput said; "The last 97' weren't bad, but let me tell you, those first three were a bitch." The rappell kicked ass and it also provided an intersting perspective on the dish structure.
We packed up the gear and I got one more look around some of the smaller buildings before we left. All I have to say is it's a damn shame people must do such intensive damage to such an amazing and historical site. Every bit of equipment was smashed, spray painted and set on fire it seemed. I can only imagine being one of the first people to explore the place years ago, before all the vandalism. Don't let me get you down though, it's still definetly worth a visit.
The rest of the afternoon involved exploring a nearby hospital, but that's a story for another time....
xrahy
[last edit 9/1/2004 6:50 PM by xrahy - edited 3 times]
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i'm sorry.
