Tom Grundy's January Joshua Tree 2014 Trip Page

Tom reserved a group site in Joshua Tree and planned a get together. Since I had passed my inspection and the solar seemed to be behaving itself I decided to head on down. I drove down Thursday and camped most of the way there. Friday I went to the park and looked for sunrise photo opportunities and checked my super double secret gear spot (one cam and 4 pairs of sunglasses), went to the climber's coffee (and got overcaffeinated and looked at guidebooks and maps), and then went for a hike to the eagle cliff mine area. I hiked from split rock, and it turns out I had been there before but hiked in a different way and knew it as Fraggle rock. There is a cool cabin built under some massive rocks. Then I hiked back and continued on around the split rock loop trail.

miner's cabin built under big rocks

face in the rock formation

After the hike I went to the group site and scrounged firewood from the other (empty) sites and cleaned up a bunch of mostly micro trash around the camp. Then I did some bouldering. By then Ross had shown up (hiking in quite a ways that day). We talked a bunch and then headed across the road to get a better shot at the sunset for photos. While we were up there more people showed up. That night we sat around the fire talking for what seemed like a really long time, but it got dark early, so it really wasn't all that late when I went to bed. The moon was nearly full and quite bright.

sunset and dead shrubbery

On Saturday we went to Echo Cove where we climbed and scrambled and did acro. I had forgotten how blank even "easy" Joshua Tree slab climbs could be. It was warm and sunny and altogether quite pleasant. I didn't get a lot of climbing pics because I was mostly climbing or belaying. That night we talked around the fire, passed around and juggled glowing balls, roasted banana boats, marshmallows, and talked more.

Kathryn warms up with hooping and sunglass modeling

Tom climbs up a JTree slab - watch that rope behind the leg

Kathryn takes advantage of her second amendment rights

Kathryn and Brian doing some acro

Kathryn and Brian and more acro

I'm not sure what move this is - but they are having fun

the moon rises over some scramblers (I put a better focussed moon in)

throwing glowing juggling balls around

On Sunday it was a little cloudier, chillier, and we felt lazier (at least I did). We put up a slackline and did a bunch of acro and sat around for much of the day. There were flying flyers and chickens and handstands and so on. Once everyone else left I drove to Hall of Horrors to take sunset pics and then night pics before leaving the park to sleep.

we had some strong bases (and fliers)

why did the chicken cross the line?

and the chicken got to fly

our hosts, Tom and Jeanna

another Joshua Tree sunset

full moon behind Joshua Tree at night

Monday I took some solar panel pics and made a home depot run before heading back to Bishop. It was wonderful to get to see and catch up with old friends and meet new ones and to be social and get in some acro and slackline play.

and another Joshua Tree sunset pic

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