catbirdseat Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 A lot of the things that make a climbing trip memorable aren't actually the climbing itself. After turning off the 10 Freeway onto Hwy 62, we were driving along in the slow lane and were passed by a black pickup truck. Just as he was passing, the wind caught his unsecured barbecue grille. My buddy yells, "lookout". I looked in time to see the thing crash on the pavement and explode into a million fragments. I swerved to the right and managed to avoid most of the pieces. Only some small ones hit the car. We had to honk at the truck to get him to stop. Other people behind stopped to get the junk out of the roadway. Continuing on to the park, we were treated to a show of pretty yellow wildflowers, which my buddy referred to as "dandelions". I remarked that they were all seemingly attached to the road on either side. Either they were weeds spread from the road, or they were getting something from the road, like water or nutrients. We climbed first at Atlantis Wall. It was a bit crowded, but everyone was congenial and we got along great with our neighbors. I led my first Joshua Tree 5.9 trad onsight, Vorpal Sword, which I thought was rather easy for 5.9. Indeed, you will find the consensus rating on MountainZone.com gives it a 5.8+. Nonetheless, it is a very fine route, in my opinion. We visited Cockroach Crags and did Classic Corner and False Classic Corner. The former featured a Forged Friend fixed in place, just off the ground. I tried to liberate it to no avail. False Classic Corner features a thin hands finish that made it seem harder for me. We tried to take a shortcut back to Lost Horse Wall which turned out to be harder than we expected. But if we hadn't taken it, we would have missed this. We didn't have much time left in the day, so we opted for the familiar The Swift, 5.7, which I'd done twice but which Jimbabwe hadn't done. We were back to the base, just as the sun set, and the car as it got dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111 Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 Yea, when they are going, the desert fairly comes alive. But just for moments. We were down there a few years ago when the 100 yr rains came through and it was absolutely amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherri Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Nice, CBS! I was in RR last week and the place was alive with color, flowers of blooming faster than the hummbingbirds could get to 'em. It was like walking through a painting. Congrats on your 5.9 onsight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 What a beautiful place! someday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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