Buzzard Point Info
Buzzard Point Location Map
A new trail access is currently being reviewed to hike
into Buzzard Point. Long known for its time consuming hike, many
climbers have stayed away from the area and chose instead to go
to nearby Foster Falls. The proposed hike will start at an
existing parking lot downhill from the cliffs and is currently
being studied. Buzzard Point is located on Bowater Paper Company
land and is deemed as a recreational area.
On September 9, a small group of climbers met
at Buzzard Point near Dayton, Tennessee for the Access Fund's
Adopt-A-Crag trail day. The main objective of the work day
was not only trash removal and trail work, but also an effort to
alleviate some of the access issues that have caused Buzzard
Point's popularity to decline over the past five years. The
day was very successful in all aspects.
We did some light trail work but the main task at hand was
picking up trash. Buzzard Point is a popular camping spot for
non-climbers and the abuse of this area has lead to the closure
of the access road. Upon returning to the cliff to climb,
we ran into one of the land owners. He was pleased to hear
of the work being done and discussed the access issues with
us that had kept buzzard in jeopardy. He actually got names
and numbers and gave us his so we could contact him when we
wanted to climb there. He also discussed more permanent
solutions to the parking problem still present at the crag.
He already seemed very open to climbers, but during our
discussion came to understand why we would spend our saturday
picking up someone else's trash
on someone else's land. Encounters like this make trail
days worth while and hopefully will help keep access open to
climbers even when others have lost that privilege.
Thanks to all those who participated: Nathan, Thomas, Kirk,
Travis and Amber.
Also, thanks to our contributors for lunch and prizes: the
Southeastern Climbers Coalition, the Access Fund
, REI
,
Black Diamond , Franklin
Climbing, Petzl
and
Boulderdash! .
Lance
Brock , SCC Tennessee Representative
