-
Cottonwood-Marble Canyon Loop Day 1
Cottonwood-Marble Canyon confluence to Camp 1 in Cottonwood Canyon 8.7 mi :: 4 hr :: 1830 ft We get a reasonably early start, which is a good thing, because there’s a little more to getting to Cottonwood Canyon than just driving to Death Valley. A park pass and backcountry permit are required, which we got…
-
Ann goes to Darwin Falls
Ann and Jezze do this day hike near Death Valley and take pictures for me. She notes that the falls are the sole water source for Panamint Springs. It consists of a pipe in the mud with a few refridgerator shelves acting as a prefilter. We wonder if the Panamint Springs are the source of…
-
Ann goes to Trona Pinnacles
She said, “They kind of go with Trona. They’re neat, but sort of inelegant and dumpy.”
-
Short Canyon
The sky is clear and blue today. We get out for a short hike in Short Canyon, a pretty spot we haven’t been to for a while. This is also where Ann developed her affinity for Joshua Trees – they grow in big healthy copses here. Since it will probably be our last hike here…
-
New Directions
The weather in the morning looks gloomy and discouraging. We get ready to climb slowly, with no enthusiasm, and head for the dark cloudy mountains. In Inyokern we nearly turn around, but decide to go to Kernville even if it’s just for lunch. It turns out to be much nicer at New Directions, where a…
-
Kern Slab
Here’s Clare after pulling hard through the crux of the brutally parallel finger crack, Initiation. After putting a toprope on it, I can’t crank through it. Barry and Ann both give it an unsuccessful whack as well. It seems made for Clare though, who sinks her fingers in and cranks away. We cheer her on,…
-
Wagon Wheel
We went out to Wagon Wheel for a walk today, and because we didn’t bring our climbing stuff we actually walked! It was a blissful day with air like cool silk. We did a four-mile loop around our usual bouldering area, scouting out nice rocks and climbing a couple of the hills to the northeast.…
-
Wagon Wheel
Ann and I have been cooped up in the house too much, being sick. So we go out to wagon wheel today, in beautiful weather, for a little gentle walking. And we bring the crashpad and shoes just in case. Well, we park at the Little Loaf and start right off doing a bunch of…
-
Indian Cove, Joshua Tree
Karen and her friend John have joined us at Indian Cove group site #9. We don’t know what the crowds will be like, so we just head to see what climbs are available. To my surprise Driving Limitations, 5.8 **, is free on the Billboard Buttress. This has one set of pretty hard slab moves…
-
Blue Cut Loop Hike, Day 2
Pushawalla Canyon to Pinyon Well Parking Area 10 mi :: 5 hr :: 1870 ft The night doesn’t provide any rain to test our new tent, but it is comfortable and the double doors are great. Today Ann’s navigation instincts are correct, and we pass a wash I think might the right one. We do…