Nice...

The only thing I haven't seen mentioned about Miguels is the effing chickens that walk around the campground waking you up at first light...

I used to camp at the Needles campground... back in the day

*stares off into space*

Yeah, it was cool back then. Just real climbers, doing our thing. Crushing the granite. You knew that pretty much anyone you ran into there was a real climber. I had their back, and they had mine. Back how it used to be. Now it's all a bunch of wannabes, spraying about their sport climbing accomplishments. It's not cool anymore. Not like it was... back in the day.

yea... for us it was the facilities not being able to handle the amount of people staying there. Having only so much space in the food storage area, 1 wash sink, 2 bathroom stalls for each etc. just not sufficient.

Kentucky is great, but get ready to deal with some funky wildlife. I have heard strong, strong men whimper like little girls when they find freaky looking spiders occupying crux holds. I myself almost stuck my hand in a copperhead's anus one time while starting up an easy trad pitch. And approximately 90% of the plant life is poison ivy.

yea... for us it was the facilities not being able to handle the amount of people staying there. Having only so much space in the food storage area, 1 wash sink, 2 bathroom stalls for each etc. just not sufficient.

Beats me! I keep telling people that RRG is really, really bad, and they should go to Smith Rock instead. But no one is listening.

I must say, I think I'll enjoy Mig's. I won't be spraying though as my out of shape self won't be doing anything that is 'hard'.

Are ths spiders going to eat me?

I got bit by a brown recluse spider, it eats your skin for months, and I took antibiotics.

Don't diss the chickens, they are better than half of the people at Miguel's, and definitely quieter. The chickens usually don't wake me up, I am awake by then.

but interestingly enough, I've obsereved some people who walk around at 2 a.m., stumbling drunkenly over tents and loudly cursing in the dark, but then expect everyone to observe quiet hours until after they crawl out of the tent around noon.

Couple of years ago camhead and angry got yelled at by someone who was still trying to sleep, because they dared to talk loudly near their tent around 10 a.m. in the morning. That was pretty funny. Though I grant you, angry and camhead talking together got to be quite intolerable for anyone with a hangover headache.

Well if antibiotics didn't stop the skin necrosis, nothing can.

HA, I think I remember that actually. That was back before the days of the laundry/dorms/indoor sink area. Lena, we probably met at some point. I was around for a few months in the fall of 2008 I think.

To the OP: Like everyone else has said, it just depends on what you're into. When I used to hang out at the Red, Miguel's was the "cool" place to be and it was where all of the "real climbers" hung out. You know, the people who were "living the dream."

This was nearly three years ago. When I went back last year it had morphed into even more of a shit show. I felt like I was at Rock Climbing University or something, except there were a lot more frat parties than classes. It was strange, and not the kind of place I'd want to be staying if I was serious about getting some climbing done.

That said, I did have a good time the first time I was there. It was kind of my introduction to the American sport climbing crowd, and my intro to road-tripping. I met a lot of cool people and climbed quite a lot.

But after a while it wore me down. There are plenty of awesome people but I felt a little overwhelmed by all of the "lifers" who couldn't stop rambling about where and what they've climbed, the drinking, the spray... the people who take them selves too seriously.

My recommendation is to pick a day or two that you don't plan to climb hard (or at all) and go camp there, sit around, meet people, eat lots of pizza. You might like it and want to stay or you might hate it and move on. Worst that could happen is that you get a good pizza and have a drunken college kid from Wisconsin fall through your tent at 3am.

HA, I think I remember that actually. That was back before the days of the laundry/dorms/indoor sink area. Lena, we probably met at some point. I was around for a few months in the fall of 2008 I think.

Well if antibiotics didn't stop the skin necrosis, nothing can.

It did work, it just takes awhile.

To be fair to Enigma (though she wasn't the one say she needed the antibiotics, her doc did), ONE antibiotic is used for brown recluse bites. Though not considered standard of care yet, dapsone is supposedly widely used to treat brown recluse bites. Though Sungam is right, bacteria aren't causing the necrosis, and the dapsone isn't being used as an antibiotic. It also inhibits neutrophils, the white blood cell that's actually causing most of the damage. Interestingly other medications that inhibit neutrophils don't seem to work with brown recluse bites. And general antibiotic use is not a treatment for brown recluse bites...

Go, Go, Go, It will be good for you .Chadnsc.

It all depends on what you are looking for. If you're a tradie looking for remote wilderness adventures, no spray, and a community of climbers with 15+ years experience, don't go to RRG! If you're a sport climber who loves well bolted overhung jug hauls and the younger crowd, I can't think of a better place to climb. There are a lot of n00bs that show up there, probably because the juggy overhangs appeals to gym climbers across the east coast. I find that the older generation of climbers, or those brought up with the traditional mindset of climbing, do not like the RRG very much, most likely due to the idiot gumby shenangians you will see at the cliffs and all the spray at Miguel's.


If you are feeling this way, I think you'll have a blast there. If you like your beer and pizza, it is a great place to camp. I have never camped elsewhere since I have always been more than happy with Miguel's. Also if you like to play chess, there are plenty of boards in the basement and people willing to play. I have not been there since 2009 but all my trips there I have had no problem getting to sleep or staying asleep, thanks to the beer of course.

More or less, if you're younger and like to drink a few too many after climbing and goof around till midnight, then you will have a blast at Miguels. If you like to get to sleep early and wake up early, can't tolerate excesive spray, and want a quieter more secluded atmosphere, still go to Miguel's to grab a pizza, then go camp elsewhere.