[TR] Joshua Tree for Xmas 2012-13 - many 12/16/2013

[markwebster]

Trip: Joshua Tree for Xmas 2012-13 - many

 

Date: 12/16/2013

 

Trip Report:

I couldn't find a partner for the first week, so I drove down solo in 28 hours, to find Hidden Valley full. I camped at Ryan for two days while I painted landscapes in Hidden Valley and watched for a spot to open up. People are always freaking out about getting a spot down there, but all you have to do is hang out around the loop for a few days and you see when people are packing up to leave.

 

While I was painting, I began to meet the local climbers, who would stop to admire my work. Soon, I had some friends to climb with. By the time I met AJ and Brian, I was having so much fun painting I really didn't care about the climbing. So I'd climb a day, then paint a day, then paint half a day, and climb half a day. It was lovely mixing hobbies. I get no respect at all as a climber. I'm just not very good. I climb ok for an old guy, but I get way more respect as a painter. Not that I need respect...I can paint in a vacuum and be perfectly happy, but it's nice to have people admire my work. It's sort of a validation in a way, that what I am doing is worthwhile.

 

This one took me 3 days, about 4 hours a day 10 am to 2 pm.

 

 

I climbed for a day, doing routes like double cross and the flake, but I was missing the painting, so I took a day off to paint this second painting. Actually, it was two days, but separated by a few more days of climbing:

 

 

I may have got a few of the colors wrong, I'll let you decide. This is how my newer camera saw it:

 

 

I think of my painting backpack as a 400 year old camera with a 10 hour exposure time and a really bad lens.

 

A rest morning. Dave and Brian playing chess, me working on a painting, AJ organizing some boxes.

 

 

Dave is quite the chess player, I overheard tems like: "The Ivonich start, leading with the kings pawn." I shot this at f 1.8, with my 50mm lens on my Canon 7D.

 

 

 

Brian following AJ up the Flake 5.8 Intersection Rock.

 

 

A.J. is in med school, studying to be a Neurosurgeon. I met them when they saw me painting and asked if they could share my site. They persuaded me to stop painting and go climbing. They needed a someone to show them around. I was happy to oblige :-) These two were fine fellows, and very funny together. They paddled the Mississippi together in a canoe.

 

 

 

A.J. leading Double Cross, probably the best moderate hand crack at jtree:

 

 

Brian coiling rope after Damper on Chimney rock. It really did get that hot:

 

 

 

Most of my regular climbing partners showed up after the first week. This is Craig, belaying Ryan on Double Cross.

 

 

My wife and I did that super easy 6 on the Blob over by Hobbit Roof, this is the view from the rap station. Don't bother rapping, our ropes got stuck bad. Much better to do the normal walk off.

 

 

Our campsite,#7 is the group of 4 cars, and the yellow tent at the bottom of the photo. I painted Chimney rock from that parking lot. There are 5 great moderate routes on Chimney, we climbed the sunny ones: Pinched Rib, Damper 5.9, and West Face Overhang 5.7. I did that last one in one pitch, bad rope drag.

 

And of course that freakin' space station. There were people free soloing up to that thing at all hours of the night. You can just barely see a few climbers in there in this photo.

 

 

Toby showed up, a friend of Craigs. Toby is an architectural engineer. Fun lady to hang out with.

 

 

Merica came down again. She is on a bolt route in Indian Cove:

 

 

The always entertaining Micah. Here she is plotting how to wake up Craig, who likes to sleep in. My wife Sue in the middle, Ryan on the right.

 

 

Our neighbor was John G... John is an old school climber. He was scampering around Intersection rock without a rope like it was his back yard. We got used to seeing John and his friends in their climbing duds, he seemed to know everyone. One day we drove up to the site and there he and his lady were, all dressed up. We heard they were going out for a night on the town.

 

 

 

 

 

That was a pretty spectacular sight to see, they are quite the pair, and they definitely know how to have fun! He had a 7 piece band, complete with 3 guitars, a cello, a slide steel guitar, and a mandolin. They let me sit in on a couple songs with my harp...until the ranger busted us for over 6 people in a site.

 

Craig with his unfinished portrait. We have been plotting this for a couple years. It's boring sitting around the campfire all night, and it's night at 5pm. We concocted a plan last year where he would knit while I painted him by campfire light. It never happened last year, but this year we made it happen. There were about 8 people around the fire while I painted this. We had two coleman lanterns, and the fire for light. My hands froze repeatedly to the point I had to unthaw them by the fire.

 

 

 

We did the grand tour one night: Iron Door cave, Hobbit Hole, and Chasm of Doom. This is Craig bouldering at Hobbit Hole, in socks...about 31 degrees. He made it up.

 

 

Stoners ledge, Chasm of Doom, Midnight, December 30th. Ryan, Nick, Micah, Craig and Dianne and me. I occasionally stumble on moments of absolute perfection...this was one. Good friends, stars for forever and absolute silence. 30 second time exposure by moonlight:

 

 

Craig leading Pocket Pool, 5.11d, Indian Cove, next to La Reina:

 

 

Pocket Pool crux:

 

 

John had a secret santa gift exchange, it was supposed to be a $10 dollar limit, I got this cam.

 

Craig took this shot of me and Sue on top of Indian Cove:

 

 

And just for fun, here is me and Sue on top of Intersection Rock, 33 years earlier:

 

 

My best day of climbing was probably the day I led Popes Crack and Touch and Go, with my partner Nick leading Stick To What. Love jtree!!

 

 

Gear Notes:

full rack

 

Approach Notes:

short

[BirdDog]

Nice! Love the then and now shots of you and Sue.

[laurel]

Looks like a great time, and beautiful paintings! Maybe we should have joined you, the rain/snow/cold ended up chasing us all the way through Utah to Red Rocks, would have only been a few more hours to JT...

[JasonG]

Thanks Mark! I look forward to your TRs, and esp. the annual J-tree one. The combination of stories and images are always appreciated and do a fantastic job of capturing the essence of the trip each year.

 

I didn't know you painted, those are impressive. Though you climb, photograph, and play music well, I have to admit that this seems (to me) to be the trickiest of your artistic endeavors.

[markwebster]

I am definitely a jack of all trades, master of none. But you are right, painting is the trickiest one. I find all kinds of reasons to avoid it...sometimes for years. But somewhere in my head, locked up in a closet is a little artist man. When he starts banging on that door, I have to let him out to play. Of all my hobbies, painting is the most rewarding, with climbing a close second.

 

It's a weird combo. Painting makes something that lasts forever, and exists outside of time.

 

Climbing is totally pointless, will quite likely maim or kill me someday, and is completely forgotten on Monday morning. Go figure...it's a weird old world.

[matt_warfield]

You are definitely a master at living a full life.

 

My art ended at stick men but I always enjoy looking at it.

Edited January 9, 2013 by matt_warfield

[markwebster]

I like that: "Living a full life". I read an interview with Tony Curtis years ago. He had a great quote: "I'd like to live my life so completely, that when the grim reaper steals into my house like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal."

 

Words to live by.

[matt_warfield]

Mark,

 

Sorry to post an addon but it is a boring winter night.

 

With me it is prose, which is all that I can muster right now.

 

Glad you had a good trip, I am envious.

Edited January 12, 2013 by matt_warfield

[mountainsloth]

great job capturing the culture of a place like joshua tree. really nice read.

[fgw]

great stuff...makes me wanna go check out J-tree someday.

[pink]

nice mark! good to see your'e keeping up the tradition!

 

[ColinB]

Reading your post made me miss the midnight tours of the Chasm of Doom under moonlight and bourbon. Your paintings are gorgeous as well. Thanks for reminding me about how special of a place Joshua Tree is!