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Stack RockStack Rock hike of pure rock on rock action above the Richland Creek Valley
9/14/19
The lower Richland Creek Valley is a wondrous place. It's not as exquisite as the upper valley within the Richland Creek Wilderness Area. The vale spreads wide and is occasioned by fields and pastures that share a beauty of their own. This hike took me above the depths and on top of the mountain that is simply named...Stack Rock. I have long known of this location but never took the time to explore it. There is an official parking area to the southwest of the area. Some manner of trail system emanates from there, but my goal was to get to the rock action, not hike an extended trail. Another parking spot is located just a little closer in. The road there is tight and overgrown, so I chose not to drive on it...even though my vehicle of purest manliness could have made it easily. From this small dirt circle a well established trail heads of the hill and hits the base of the bluff line on the southern end. Many large, juicy boulders were observed there...doing nothing
Lack of knowledge of the terrain had me scouting for a way up in the usual manner prior to arrival. My map sources showed that the most likely way up was on the eastern side of the ridge. At 5:30 a.m. with 68° and mostly cloudy skies, I headed in. What seemed to be a trail was followed, but was so poor that it was of little assistance. Finally, my spot of interest was found and after a few rock indentations were inspected, the way was secured. This is a rocky and wet passage but the plateau above was mounted with relative ease. There was no visible trail here either. The bluff line that defines the mountain forms the shape of a teardrop when viewed on a map. I made my way towards the tip on the northern end. Just before sunrise the rocks ended at a sharp point with a tower that stood away from the main bluff. The view here was excellent and a 270° window allowed adequate visibility into the Richand Creek and Dry Creek valleys. The Buffalo River valley was seen in the distance to the north. The sun arrived as planned and provided some color, but not amazing color. Time was spent here and thoroughly enjoyed.
I then traced the bluffs on the west side and all around to the the rounded southern end. No other ways were located to get down the bluff. The ridge line was completely circumnavigated until my origin was found. Here, lunch was had around 10:00. I made it back to the road around 10:50 with a comfortable 76° and some sun. I discovered no well worn trails around the perimeter. Occasional climbing anchors were noted at prime locations. This area was interesting but very overgrown and difficult to traverse. Please be aware as to the deadly qualities held within the Stack Rock of death. This hike was 3.8 miles in linear measurement.
