I packed up camp Monday morning and started heading west. I
still had a week to drive the roughly 1300 miles to Joshua Tree, where my
friends A and M would be meeting me the following Monday, but decided to knock
off a big chunk by driving to El Paso. Given how strong the headwind/crosswind
was that day, perhaps a shorter drive would have been a better idea, because my
gas mileage took about a 7mpg hit. Ouch! Talk about pain at the pump! I guess
the good news is I didn’t have a leak in my gas tank.
Drove to Catalina State Park outside of Tucson late Tuesday
morning. I had hoped to arrive during daylight, but there was a detour, so I
got to practice putting the tent up in the dark; I did well. It's definitely easier to put up the tent the warmer it is, since the poles and tent aren't as stiff.
There were a number of friendly and interesting people at the campground to pass the time with, including:
- On the verge of retirement couple who were traveling via motorcyle
- Young couple from Vermont on spring break
- Local guy who played music (drums and flutes) and his friend from BC
- Guy traveling via bicycle
- Guy from Maine
I took a break form driving and explored the park on Wednesday. In the morning, I joined the ranger tour of the Romero Ruins, covering the archeology of the area, which was a large Hohokam village until roughly 1450. In the afternoon, I hiked to the Romero Pools and pack, a nice 5.5 mile trip, albeit a bit hot in the sun with the temps in the 80's. I was glad I decided to change into shorts! I enjoyed a post-hike drumstick at the little shop at the trailhead. Quite refreshing.
Packed up camp on Thursday morning and headed to Phoenix for some routine maintenance on the car, gym climbing and a hotel room to watch Person of Interest. I made the last leg of the journey west on Friday, arriving in Joshua Tree in the late afternoon. Saw a rainbow as I was driving in and had to stop and take a picture, which unfortunately didn't turn out as well as I had wanted.
There were a lot more people at the Joshua Tree Lake Campground this time, what with spring break and much warmer temps. It was not fun putting the tent up in the windy conditions, but I managed.
Climbing conditions weren't great on Saturday morning thanks to the wind, but R, who was looking for partners on MP, and I decided to give it a shot. We got up three routes on Trashcan Rock before calling it quits for the day when the wind picked up and the sun went behind a cloud. I had hoped to do some hiking on Sunday, but the wind was really too much. I explored the park via car, driving up to Keys View and exploring the Geology Road.
The tent bit me as I put it away on Monday morning. I guess I should be grateful that the tent didn't bite me when it was windy and/or rainy.
After applying first aid (that thing bled for a while), I finished packing up and met R for some climbing before my friends arrived from Chicago. The weather was much nicer on Monday, sunny with calm winds. After trying one route on Playhouse and deciding that perhaps the guidebook had underrated the climb, we moved over to Beck's Bear. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the somewhat nearby rap rings, so there was no quick ride back down. We made it safely down the rock, but it was time for me to depart to meet my friends A&M, who had flown in that morning from Chicago. Our planned in October trip was finally happening!
