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Pixie Rock Topropes
We tentatively break out the climbing gear we’ve been hauling around unused for three months, and put a top rope on the easy slab climbs on Pixie Rock at Indian Cove. The sun is warm but goes away too early, well before 5 pm. Climbing seems familiar, but has become foreign to my body again.…
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Window Rock Loop
This hike takes us into the “maze” area of Joshua Tree National Park, where the rock piles are more dense and navigation can be difficult. There is a network of trails here that are well signed and fairly easy to follow, so long as you don’t wander off up or down a random wash. Occasionally…
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Contact Mine
We return to the cactus-filled arroyos and find the secret to this hike: if you’re good enough to navigate to the mine cross-country, a trail appears! There’s actually small network of decaying roads that must once have been used to access the mine. As soon as we walk a ways up the correct arroyo, there…
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Boy Scout Trail Overnight
Ann has the brilliant idea to combine two short day outings into an overnight. We leave in the late afternoon and hike almost until dark – enough time to get ourselves nicely ensconced in rocky terrain. Indian Cove Backcountry Trailhead Early Shade Canyon Twilight The temperature drops quickly while the full moon rises slowly. We…
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Not Contact Mine
Our map shows a trail to an old mine near the north entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, but when we arrive we find ourselves wandering up a wide, braided arroyo. I soon give up barefooting after having to pull two cactus fruits out of my foot in quick succession. We look up to the…
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Fortynine Palms Oasis
Ann picks the nearest hike in Joshua Tree National Park to get us started. There are enough rocks here to tickle a climber’s imagination, and the moon rises quietly above them. Fortynine Palms Canyon Trailhead Moonrise When I see the oasis, I realize that it looks just like an oasis, even though I’ve never seen…
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Hawk Watcher’s Point
Ann chooses this short and steep hike to do with our friend Elaine. I’ve been working hard and am grateful to get out into the Sandia Mountain Wilderness for some good air. Tres Pistoles Trailhead Trail 194 The trail winds through very climbable boulders, which rekindle some of my very dormant climbing itch. The destination,…
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Lake Hefner Bike Loop
We’ve been missing our bikes, so when Nathan and Grace offer us loaners for the day we go for it (even though they aren’t recumbent bikes as we’ve smugly grown accustomed to). Embarking from Camp Nathan The wind simulates a lake shore that is downhill on the east side and uphill on the west. On…
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Benighted on Cub Lake
We’re camped by what looks like a tiny lake in Natchez Trace State Park, and we want to get a hike in before the day is over, so we decide to try to find our way around the lake. It’s easy enough at first as we follow roads through the campground and cabin areas. Then…
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Hungry Mother State Park
Today we start heading West, but the sunny weather tempts us to find another hike before leaving Virginia. Hungry Mother State Park supplies a really pleasant loop around a reservoir in the oak and maple forest we’re coming to expect in this part of the country, but there is another small budding tree in the…