It was my 2nd separate adventure to try and find the Citadel. Last year, I hunted around for 3.5 hours searching and no dice. This time, after 45 minutes of thrashing about in the woods, we managed to find it, beginning our hike at an alternative starting point! (The second option mentioned in the book).
I refuse to take credit for the “discovery” as it was mostly the mad map reading and interpretive skills of Jen and the patience of Jenny who got us there.
I will, however, take credit for galavanting into the woods and pitching a mean fit in search of THE fastest way back to the car. I am slightly embarassed to report just how mean I was, but at least I was able to find the right way back! I later apologized to the girls for my selfish & pissy bossiness, I just *really* did not want to spend another hour being eaten by bugs and out in the relentless heat. I was determined to learn the proper way to the crag without having to take a third trip there!
If you are in need of some Beta for Plum Line &/or Citadel, I would suggest using a GPS Receiver with full batteries. Mine did not work because some silly girl forgot to bring spare AAAs.
If you do not have a GPS, you can try and use this blog entry, but no guarantees!!!
1. Follow the guidance in print to park your ride.
2.When you see the branch in the road (see picture above), walk a few hundred feet past it.
3. When you see these Rocks to your left, do a 180 degree turn, and walk the other way…it should look something like the picture next.
4. Walk into the woods. Search around for a faint trail. There is one, trust me. It peters out about 400 feet before it reaches the road (for some reason…?) Maybe it’s an animal trail. Who knows!
5. Walk west & south until you reach a wide marshy gully. Follow this Southward until you get to the crag. It will be on your left, and if you walk parallel to the marsh, on more dry elevated land, you’ll be able to see it.
6. There are some climber’s Trails which head uphill on the east side of the marsh, so follow these to climb up to the crag. If you know where it is it should not take more than 20 minutes from your vehicle.
Tags: Bushwhacking, Plum Line, Rock Climbing, The Citadel, Vedauwoo, WY