Nike Base  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Elevation:  600' Lat, Long:  41.6873, -72.8345 Map Page Views:  547. Good page?    Administrators:  CaptainMo, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Kurtz on Oct 18, 2012 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event

BETA PHOTO: The distinctive jutting block at the top of the cr...

Description 

Nike Base is a small, seldom visited traprock (basalt) crag just south of Pinnacle Rock on the Metacomet Trail. It has a lovely view and is delightfully free of the broken beer bottles that adorn Pinnacle. Most climbs are 40-50 ft. tall. The ratings are old-school and stiff.

The crag is named for a Cold War era anti-aircraft missile battery that was on the site until the early 1960s. You can still see remnants of the concrete and fences, especially if you walk a bit south on the Metacomet Trail.

Access the bottom by scrambling down a brushy gully on climber's right or rappeling down. Bring a long static or webbing to set top rope anchors.

Getting There 

Follow the driving and parking directions for Pinnacle Rock. As you head up the jeep trail from the road, continue past the large cement blocks another 100 yards to the top of the hill. Turn right onto the blue-blazed Metacomet Trail and walk 0.4 mile (about 20 minutes) to the top of the crag. Look for the distinctive jutting block on your right about 40 feet off the trail.

You can also get there by hiking north on the Metacomet Trail from New Britain Ave., but it's a much longer walk.

The Classics

Featured Route For Nike Base

Counterforce 5.7 PG13  CT : Central CT Traprock : Nike Base

Probably the most obvious line on right side of the crag, it follows the inside corner on the south side of the prominent jutting block. An interesting combination of stemming on the left and so-so holds on the right.The first crux is right off the deck. A damp area complicates matters. The next crux is the center section. Use the finger crack and whatever you can find on the right. Stem carefully on the smooth left face. You dried your shoes, didn't you? Pull up on the delightfully juggy ...[more]   Browse More Classics in CT

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The view north. Two people on top of Pinnacle dead...	BETA PHOTO: To find the descent gully, bushwhack a bit left or...	BETA PHOTO: Fallen blocks at base. Scramble over to reach the...