Does it seem like this is turning into a climbing blog more than a family blog?
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| J-Tree Rock Formations |
We live directly in the middle of some of the best climbing areas in the United States, right here in Southern California. Jeremy lent me a copy of his climbing guide to Joshua Tree National Park a few weeks ago and I have spent many nights studying the thousands of routes listed in the nearly 500 page book. When Leanne asked me what I wanted for father's day, I requested a day of climbing out at the park. We quickly expanded it to a camping trip for the whole family, then invited Jeremy's family as well.
Joshua Tree gets its name from the unusually shaped trees that dot its desert landscape. I was interested to learn that the name "Joshua Tree" was coined by the Mormon pioneers as they traveled through the area on their way to San Diego and San Bernardino as part of the Mormon Battalion in the mid 1800s. The official park website states the limbs of the unusual trees reminded them of Joshua guiding them home to heaven with outstretched arms. Yeah, the trees were cool, but we were there for the rocks, and rocks they have a' plenty.
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| Camp |
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| Garrett demonstrates proper marshmallow technique |
We arrived Friday afternoon and setup our campsites. We started a campfire and the kids spent the next few hours swinging flaming marshmallows around the campsite. Then they smeared melted chocolate on their hands and faces. Garrett is especially gifted in the study of "dirty faced cuisine" and spent some time instructing his little brothers on chocolate mustaches and marshmallow mouth rings. A small field mouse came to the edge of the campsite to check out all the commotion and was spotted by the little boys. The little guy was unafraid of the man-cubs and allowed them to play with him until it was time for bed. I think the mouse was able to get more of the smores in its mouth than the boys.
Climbing the next day was as good as I had hoped. The rock a Joshua Tree is a really rough granite that provides excellent traction for climbing shoes. Jeremy and I headed up a 5.6 route named "The Dutchess" and set up a top rope for the kids to play on. I have learned that route ratings are very subjective as a 5.6 route at our normal climbing area would be relatively easy compared to this challenging climb. There were many more routes we wanted to try, but this time of year can be scorching hot in the California desert, so we had to abandon the fun when the rocks came free of the shadows and the sun hit us full force. We had a great time and will be returning as soon as time permits to prove our skills on other J-Tree climbing routes.
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| How does the saying go, "Dirty hands, warm heart" or something like that? |
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| Liam draws a star with his glow-stick |
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| More glow-stick action after sunset in the park |
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| Chloe and Charly |
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| Jeremy leading "The Dutchess" |
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| Chloe trying out the small stuff |
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| Me on "The Dutchess, Left" |
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| Liam and Grant keep the gear organized and clean |
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| Marci on the route's final, difficult moves |
1 comment:
Loved this entry. So glad you wrote about it. It was a wonderful time. I can't wait til next time.
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