Joshua Tree for Christmas - many and varied 1/1/2008
Posted By: markwebster in California
Trip: Joshua Tree for Christmas - many and varied
Date: 1/1/2008
Trip Report:Austin, James, Brett and I drove down to JT on 12-16 and returned on 1-2. It was sunny every day, very windy one day out of 5, and quite warm maybe 1 day a week. We never stopped climbing due to the cold, though one day we had to find a sunny route out of the wind to be able to climb (the watershute). Speaking just for myself, I’d have to say it was my best road trip in ten years.
The nightlife around the campfires at Hidden Valley was almost as much fun as the climbing. We ran into some very friendly climbers and put together a live blues band. We weren’t the only band either, the guys with the drums were rocking the crowds as well, but more on that later. Thanks to Austin for taking many of the best pictures. He seems to know my camera (Canon Digital Rebel XT) better than I do.
Brett and Austin at Quail Springs picnic area.
Jessica finishing Bat Crack. In the evening at the parties around the campfires, Jessica and I played duets; she on the violin, me on the harmonica. Her playing (all by ear) was flawless and brought tears to my eyes.
Tucker following Bat Crack 5.5 in the twilight.Tucker is a piano tuner and restorer from Portland and plays a mean blues guitar.
If only all climbs ended this way, Tucker and Jessica in the twilight on Intersection rock.
Cars leaving at sunset from Intersection rock.
After rapping off in the dark, we posed for pictures. Jessica, Amy, Tucker and me. Jessica, Amy and Tucker were from Portland, Oregon, and met us when they came looking for our neighbor (Pink, on this board).
Richard (from edgeworksclimbing.com) pointing at something in the morning.
Morning mist over the campground
Intersection rock, North Overhang 5.9, before the whipper.
Brett taking a 15 foot whipper off North Overhang. He hit the deck, or, at least the belay ledge but didn’t get hurt as I caught him right as he decked. Very scary fall on an exposed move 100 feet up.
Sunset on Intersection Rock walk off
Me following Brett up Pinched Rib, Chimney Rock.
Amy following a 5.7 at Quail Springs
Austin on the walk off from Double Dip at echo rock
Austin at Echo Rock
More Austin at Echo.
Me warming up for Bearded Cabbage.
Me facing the harsh reality that I can’t repeat certain climbs that I led 23 years ago...unless I start doing more pull ups. Brett finished this one: Bearded Cabbage, 5.10c
Austin trying Bearded Cabbage.
Brett and Austin in the Iron Door cave. According to the ranger, a retarded son was locked in here back in the 1930’s.
This was a very strong door, and an erie place to hang out, full of bad vibes.
Me on the infamous Watershute route, 5.10b, Intersection Rock. The first 10 inches took 40 minutes of work and involved a double elbow lock and a 30 foot runout…what was I thinking?!
Brett on the gunsmoke traverse.
Brett, Gunsmoke Traverse
A babe at Gunsmoke
Brett leading Dappled Mare, 5.8 at lost horse wall.
Brett and James on a 5.9 at Indian Cove
Me falling off Loose Lady, 5.10b. James had to finish it for me.
James on Loose Lady
Jame on Loose Lady
Austin and Jessica trying out party clothes in town. That night Tucker, Amy, Jessica and I entertained the big crowd in site 16 with our newly formed band. Two guitars, two singers (Tucker and Amy) me on the blues harmonica and Jessica on the violin. We rocked out. During a break we heard there was a ladies only hour in the sweat lodge and our band broke up for a while. I saw Austin step out of the lodge a while later, starkers, turning in the light of the headlamps to show off his tattoo to the crowd.
When I asked him later why he was in the lodge starkers during the ladies lodge hour, he just smiled. The guy has all the luck
Tucker had been telling us about the Burning Man festival and Austin got this bright idea to put up our own Joshua Tree Burning Man made from pallet scraps. We had no idea it would become such a spectacle. Amy and Jessica writing down things they want to burn on the “burning man”
Amy writing something (her ex-boyfriends name?) on the burning man
The burning man crowd, Austin’s idea turned into a crowd magnet.
Lighting the Joshua Tree Burning Man. Not sure how I got these double exposures but it may have involved a slow exposure, a flash and a headlamp.
Once word got around that Austin had put up a real burning man, the crowds gathered fast. We even had two drummers ask us to wait so they could drum during the burning.
it burns
I’m not sure at what point this burning thing got crazy, but suddenly the drums were throbbing in our brains and people started dancing around the burning man, whooping and hollering. Hmmm, maybe the chick with the can of psychedelic mushrooms was there…or maybe that was the next night, they all run together. I’ve not been offered so many bowls and bong hits since the Rainbow Family Festival of Life in 1972. Long live the sixties!
It got louder and crazier for a good half an hour until even this old ex hippy was about ready to start dancing. I heard a commotion and suddenly two rangers showed up and busted the party. They said our fire was too big, and no more than 6 people were allowed per site. What, did they think we were going to start a revolution?
This is new years eve, around 11:30. There were 5 drums, a guitarist, a flute and somebody with wooden spoons. I seriously wondered if it was all a big flashback to the sixties. There must have been about 60 climbers, with about 20 of them running and dancing around the fire to the beat of the drums. Several of the girls were trained dancers and making some very fine moves indeed. I wanted to let my hair down as well, but something held me back…maybe memories of my strange hippie days or just missing my wife and kids back home in Tacoma. Anyway it was cool being there and grooving to the drums.
Party down.
Group shot before we started home.
Gear Notes:standard rack of stoppers and a few hexes. For some of the offwidth body slots I carried my old 10 and 11 hexes. I had two three inch cams, and one blue big bro which fits up to about 6 inches. The big bro worked great.
Approach Notes:sit in car to belay, slam door if leader yells falling.
