Family camping at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch

The whole family at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch.

This past week the family spent an entire week at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas for the 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell. Bearded Brothers has sponsored the competition for the past 4 years now, and we make it out to the event every year we can. The only time we have missed so far was the year Abby was born.

Even though the actual competition is only going on Thursday-Saturday we like to arrive early so we can have plenty of time for adventure as a family. Once the competition starts, climbing is restricted to certain areas to anybody not competing.

The 12-Hour Car Ride

From Austin to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch you can expect to spend about 10 hours in the car, and two hours on stops. Our two-year-old daughter, Abby, does great on long car rides. Most of the time she sings to herself, listens to music, or “reads” books. Joshua, my 4-month-old, on the other hand has not taken to these long car rides yet. I’m pretty sure he cried for at least half the trip. We had a decent amount of patience for his cries though going into the trip because we were unsure of what to expect.

The Camping Experience

In the past we have had only Abby with us for camping trips and she slept well in a room of her own in the Kingdom 8 tent that we use. But now that she is a little bit older she is developing some fears. We fully expected our 4-month-old to have the most trouble with sleeping in the tent, but it was Abby that struggled the most.

Since Abby had a hard time we made an adjustment to our sleeping arrangement. Rather than have her in a separate room we opened up the whole tent and had her sleep right next to me in her Peapod Tent. Whenever she would cry out during the night I would quickly pat her on the back and comfort her and she would quickly go back to sleep – problem solved!

Aside from the minor sleep issues we had with the kids, and the general less sleep one gets one when camping due to sleeping on the ground, we had a very enjoyable time. The evenings were nice as well because once we put the kids to bed Kristy and I were able to spend time talking around the campfire and indulging in s’mores, the type of thing we only eat when camping.

The Climbing, and a bit of running

Our kids are at the perfect age right now that Kristy has been able to start climbing with me. When we go to the crag we put Joshua in a Peapod Tent to just chill and nap, and Abby gets to roam around and explore. It’s an excellent teaching opportunity for her as well to teach her proper crag etiquette.

Since we do have the little ones we occasionally have to stop for potty breaks, disciplinary action, and to feed the baby, so we don’t have any lofty goals of getting in 20 pitches of climbing or sending hard routes. We simply get outside and enjoy what the situation allows us to.

Beautiful cliff lines along the Buffalo National River.

Each day we got in 3-4 different climbs, which means I was able to climb 6-8 routes because I had to clean the gear off each route. Horseshoe Canyon Ranch is in my opinion one of the best places for families to climb, especially in the North 40 area. The hike to the crag is just a short distance from the campground, and many of the climbs have wide-open flat areas for kids to roam and not get in the way of other climbers.

We climbed the first two full days in the Ranch, and I spent a morning on the Buffalo National River, just across the street. I got in a nice 20 mile run that crossed the Buffalo National River several times and went past lots of HUGE cliff lines. It was one of the most enjoyable runs I had been on in a long time. The temperature was just about perfect too. It was a much-welcomed reprieve from the Texas heat, and great training for the Bandera 100k that I will be running in January.

24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell

Climbers crossing the canyon floor at the end of the competition to turn in their score cards.

Aside from family vacation, the main reason we were here was for the 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell. Bearded Brothers had provided energy bars for the participant and volunteer packets and had a booth set up during registration and the after party event.

This is one of the most well executed events I have ever been to, and is by far the best climbing event I have ever been a part of. Every year is like a big family reunion. Climbers gather from all over the country to compete in a 12 hour or 24 hour climbing competition. Climbers climb for the entire length of the competition and the person or team with the most routes wins!

Abby, making friends during 24 Hours of Horseshoe Hell.

The best part about this competition really isn’t the climbing; it’s the people! The competition brings in tons of great industry sponsors, volunteers and participants. The comp is so popular that they are able to sell spectator passes. The entire Ranch is just filled with friends hanging out. Our daughter Abby was great at making new friends too. She roamed around as she pleased and sat next to any dirt bag climber she pleased, and none of them minded one bit. It just goes to show how awesome the climbing community is.

This will be an event Bearded Brothers will sponsor for many years to come, and we look forward to making it a family event every year. It’s crazy to think that in another 12-15 years my kids might be competing in this competition either together or with their dad!