Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma

Matt | July 19, 2001 | Climbing, Trip Report | 1806 words and 3,092 views | no comments

This probably has to be the best place to climb in Oklahoma. Being a flat state we don’t just have rocks jutting out of the ground in millions of spots like say Colorado does, so we have to make do with what we have. In fact, one of my Colorado friends who I recently took to the Wichita’s called the “mountains” there “poop mountains” cause it looks like a dinosaur just came along and pooped and those little mounds are what we call mountains, and so therefore, they became known as the “poop mountains” to us.

However, I can promise you that they are more than just a bunch of poop. Although, there have been many mounds of it left by these very big furry animals.

These are the trademark of Oklahoma...and yes...these are roaming freely. Photo by M. Esser

In fact, there’s a very funny story about the time Tracy and I got lost and all we were doing is looking for buffalo poop because obviously that had to be in a place where buffalo’s were, and if buffalo’s were there, we wanted to be there cause we were lost and it was 2 am, and we were supposed to be back at my truck by sundown and we were out of water and out of food and lost beyond belief and ended up hiking over 15 miles. More on this story later…let’s get to the climbing shall we?

Mount Scott:

This is probably the place if anybody go’s to the Wichita’s it’s where you first stop. Not only is it the first thing as you come in the gate but it’s also got a road all the way to the top making it very tourist-like. Also, many boy-scouts (grrrrr) come and use it to practice climbing and rappelling to get merit badges and stuff (weak), but oh well, it’s still a fun place to climb. Here are just a few pics of the area, and you can find more on my friends college pages and in my college pages.

This is Ben, he's climbing High Anxiety on Lower Mount Scott...showing us the form! Photo by M. EsserIf you climb Mount Scott, you HAVE to climb the Mount Scott Rock out in front. Or else. I'm sure my mom is so proud of me! Photo by B. BoudreauxI am cleaning the gear on top of High Anxiety. It was a beautiful day out. Photo by T. BarberOn top of the world. (Hardly!) This is me on top of Mount Scott...notice the coke in my hand! Photo by B. Boudreaux

I'm actually on the route Foolish. It's a good climb, but you need chalk! Oh, and there's a good foothold coming up on my right. Photo by A. Gary

The Narrows:

Some of the best climbs in Oklahoma, IMHO, are located in the Narrows. Here you can find many walls and many routes on each of them. Most often climbed wall would have to be Zoo wall. Here you can find a really good dihedral (The Dihedral), a nice crack (Crazy Alice), and a face climb (Dr. Coolhead). Coming soon are some pics from this gorgeous area…

40-ft Hole Area:

I have only been here once, but we had a blast, it was way over 100 degrees in the Oklahoma heat and this was the ONLY place that had water, even though the signs said no swimming we had to jump in for a dip.

If you can see him on there, this is Ben climbing in the 40ft Hole area...I'm belaying...pretty cool spot! Only problem was it was over 100 degrees out this day! Photo by M. JaegerTreasure this picture. This is Gugals rappelling. He informed us after watching The Vertical Limit, that he is never going climbing again...EVER. Photo by M. EsserIt's hard to see but Tracy is diving into the 40ft Hole...hey, wait a second...wasn't there no swimming allowed in these parts? ;) Photo by B. BoudreauxSimply beautiful. It's not very busy compared to other parts of the Refuge. So this was a gem of a find...then again it was over 100 degrees out...did I mention that already? Photo by M. Esser

It's Keanu Reeves in the Matrix! Oh wait..that's Tracy behind those glasses...and behind Tracy is more breathtaking views of the 40ft hole area! Photo by M. Esser

Boulder Field:

If I ever get a girlfriend, this would definitely be a place I would take her — the boulder field. Here you can run, jump and play on boulders that are in excess of 30ft tall!! Excellent! Although, be careful, you can slip and fall when playing around.

These are real rocks...and yes, they really do get over 30ft tall. This is an excellent place to take a date. (if only I could ever get one) Photo by M. Jaeger

Meers:

No trip to the wichita’s is complete until you experience a Meer’s Burger at Meers. Meers is a small town really close to the refuge and has extremely good burgers and atmosphere…it’s a must see for all those non-okies out there.

This is all of us eating dinner at Meers...Gugals ordered an insane amount of food. We are all VERY sunburned! Photo by a Meers WaitressRyan and Tracy posing for their mug on a cold day before we head into the restaurant. Photo by M. Esser

Doris Campground:

So you just finished a hard day climbin’ and you ate a huge Meers buger and had all the good side dishes and your share of peanuts, and are headed to bed, well there’s no place better to go than a Holiday Inn! Hahaha, just kidding, Doris Campground. Here they offer a wide selection of campsites at an affordable stay.

Here we are eating at the Doris Campgrounds before a day of climbing and hiking! Photo by B. Boudreaux

Well, that’s just about it, so I hope you enjoyed my tour and want to visit what some call the Wichita Mountains, but I call them Poop Mountains, maybe I will see ya out there!


Facebook LinkedIn RSS Feed Twitter YouTube
Background Image