Jan 27-Feb 1: More fun in Joshua Tree

Sunday was very windy, and I was glad I decided to do my long run on Saturday - nine miles is challenging enough without having to battle the wind for part of it. Given the less-than-ideal conditions, I decided to spend some time indoors, hanging out at a Starbucks in the morning for caffeine and internet, then driving to Riverside to hit a climbing gym. The drive was pretty and the gym was fine, but that's not a trip I want to make with any frequency. The wind wasn't any better overnight, and I was awakened several times by the sound of my tent flapping. It wasn't restful, but it was a change from being awakened because I needed to pee.

It was too windy in the morning to cook breakfast. Not thrilled with having to buy breakfast, since it's so easy and cheap to make myself, but the fried egg sandwich with bacon at Crossroads was worth it. Scoped out a few bouldering areas, all of which ended up being in the shade. Too bad it wasn't a climb in the shade kind of day! I got a nice workout in by doing the 6.2 mile Lost Horse Trail Loop hike. The park brochure listed it as moderately strenuous and it wasn't too bad, other than the wind, of course. Come bedtime, the tent was still doing The Charleston, so I moved some of my gear into the tent and slept in the back of the Forester; much quieter than the tent and about as comfortable!

Lost Horse Loop Trail
more pix

The wind situation wasn't ideal in the morning, but it did slow down enough to make coffee and breakfast possible. However, washing dishes in the shade and wind was decidedly unpleasant. On the plus side, it was warmer, so I was able to hop on one of the the shady boulders I checked out the day before, Mel's Diner. All of the climbs on them are easy (not even on the V-scale), but fun and well within my ability to climb cleanly and safely. Although there was a group that appeared to be "Up with People Goes Climbing" at the Lizard's Hangout rock a couple hundred yards away, I wasn't sure I could holler loud enough in case of injury, and glad I didn't have to find out. Gutted out a run in the afternoon that started both uphill and in the wind, happy that it ended downhill with the wind at my back. Fortunately, the wind died down by bedtime, so I was back in the tent for a nice, quiet night.

Wednesday morning was sunny and windless, perfect for hanging out at the campsite, drinking coffee, eating breakfast and reading a book. (The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron) Eventually got moving and went to the Indian Cove area. I tried to find the sport climbs D, S and I looked for a couple of weeks ago. I got as far as finding the rocks this time, and the harder lines looked awesome, but couldn't figure out how to get to the rock that had the easier routes. Would have spent more more time exploring, but nature called, so I had to bust a move back to the parking lot and bathroom, not wanting to nature in nature. I did some bouldering, ending in the Group 1 site, which had some sub-V0 stuff on it. As I was getting ready to get on the rock, a large black bird landed on the boulder, squawked out something, then moved on. I couldn't help but wonder if it was telling it's bird friends that "we might have fresh meat for dinner." Some people might consider a big squawking black bird landing on boulder a sign not to climb, but not me. I did a few of the fun climbs on it, eventually getting the 5.9 on the front side (oh slabs, someday I will get you) before calling it a day. Went to Santana's for dinner and ordered the California burrito, which claimed to have, among other things, potatoes in it - the potatoes were french fries! BRILLIANT!

French fries in a burrito. Mmm

Thursday morning looked a lot like Wednesday morning, lazily soaking up the sun at the campsite. I packed up camp (Thursday night is hotel night, mainly so I can watch Person of Interest, which isn't available to watch online), then headed into the park for some more bouldering. Stopped off at the Burnout area, which had some easy problems on fabulous rock, then attempted the 100 foot traverse on Echo Rock that starts at Douple Dip and ends at Stichter Quits. I did sections, but it's going to take some time to link them all up.

Enjoyed spending a couple of nights in a hotel, but still got out to the park for a ten-miler on Friday. The half-marathon is a little over two weeks away and I am feeling ready.