The drive over Emory Pass is unexpectedly twisty, slow, and beautiful. A cold rain pours down, and when we make a pitstop on the far side of the pass we find a shivering German bike tourist in the restroom! Uli is most thankful for a hot cup of coffee before he heads to his next host arranged through warmshowers.org.

Further down the hill, we see a wild boar by the road. It disappears quickly, but there’s no question that it was a very large, bristly pig.

We arrive at City of Rocks State Park in the early afternoon, and I’m immediately enamored with the boulders, plains, and windmills here. The rocks are reminiscent of the boulders I cut my teeth on at Wagon Wheel. They stick up out of the plains in mushroom and tombstone shapes. For climbing, there’s plenty of slab, vertical, and overhanging rock with sharp edges and varying degrees of choss. It would definitely be entertaining to come back with a crash pad someday. For now, we hike a nice loop around area.