Gradys Blog

2008-11-17: Monday
Woke up in the Mojave Desert Preserve parked on a side rode between Ivanpah and Cima (I think). Drove through 29 Palms and got gas and $$$. Drove to Joshua Tree (the town), and stopped at the visitor center (outside the park) to get some climbing info, free wifi, and make some calls. Wish I had bought just a few pieces of trad pro… Went into the park to find that the first three campgrounds were full, but found that the forth campground was the best in the park (Jumbo Rock is right in the middle of some awesome rock formations).
Started hiking the Skull Rock trail, then found an interesting gulch/wash/arroyo that lead into a pile of giant rock. Climbed to the top as the sun was setting, and saw a short-cut back to camp.

2008-11-18: Tuesday
Took sister-dog on a bike ride down some mining roads in the morning. Took lots of water and a flexible dog bowl, but the desert dry heat is not good for dogs (luckily sister-dog is a trooper). Rode back to the V and relaxed in the shade during the middle of the day. I scouted some close climbs listed on a map, but found no sport routes; the closest thing I found was two bolts that connected two cracks in Connan’s Corridor.

2008-11-19: Wednesday
We gathered up camp and drove back to Quail Cove to check-out Trashcan rock. I scrambled up one side to check for bolted anchors for some top roping (no luck). I looked at the face and saw no sport routes. Started talking to a really nice Welsh guy and his girlfriend and looked at their climbing book (it was totally different than the guidebook at the visitor center). They saw my disappointment and offered to let me climb with them (I had just checked-out his anchor job, which looked text-book). First we climbed a low angle slab face that I had to actually use my fingernails on at one point (way different than the sandstone at Red Rock Canyon). After that climb, I checked out the possibility of placing the one and only 4″ hex I own in a crack. You’re technically supposed to at least use two pieces of pro to build an anchor, but there was a bomb-proof bottleneck at the top of one crack. Went back down to grab the hex and rope, and was invited to climb another route with Lloyd the Welshman (a fun insert and twist crack climb). Then I went back to setting up the uni-pro anchor, and went to the bottom to swing on it like Tarzan before Heather belayed me on it. I walked off the top (without going above the anchor), checked the anchor again, and went down to belay Heather.
We packed up the gear and drove south to exit the park. We drove through the forest of joshua trees and over the divide from the Mojave desert into the Colorado desert. The joshua trees faded away pretty quickly to sage brush and we hit a trippy region of cholla cactus; Heather pulled over, grabbed the camera, and ran down a path before I even knew what was going on.
We continued on south and did another “shit-n-run” at Cottonwood Canyon campground. There was a box to pay $5, but we only had 20’s… Hit I-10 at sunset, and realized that it was the road that Heather and I traveled west on in 1994 to move to Oregon; it was a really weird feeling, like all the emotions I’ve had since 1994 (happy, nervous, proud, sad, etc) hit me all at once.
We finally got cell service again, and Caroline’ sister Jane had called and texted, so we drove to Palm Desert to see her, her husband, and her new baby girl. We stopped at to grab some groceries before stopping at there place. Followed the GPS to her house, but ran into a gate one block from their house (she and everyone else in Palm Desert lives in a gated community). Dialed her number, but only got voicemail, so we went back to the grocery parking lot and made dinner, before calling her again (no answer). Heather decided to try the code box at the gate, she went through the last names, but Jane’s wasn’t in there, then she tried a couple of codes, and then the gate majically opened!  WE STORMED THE GATE   (someone behind us got tired of waiting and buzzed the gate)
Jane came to meet (dirty stinky) us with her baby in a clean fluffy robe. I felt guilty hugging her. She said, “Y’all’s stanky!”, and showed us to their casita (guest house). We had Jane’s work phone number, and she had turned it off. We chatted over a beer, took showers, and went to bed. It was nice to hear southern voices.

2008-11-20: Thursday
We woke up in the V in front of Jane’s ranch house, and made biscuits & sausage gravy. The biscuits turned out good, but I put too much starch in the gravy (I stirred in lots of water right before serving, and it ended up ok).
We talked with Jane and Tom into the morning, then Tom went to work, and we hung out with Jane next to the pool (and did laundry). Her baby is so pleasant (a perfect match for Oliver Ochs). Someone from the neighborhood community came by to nicely tell us that the neighborhood covanence states, “No Trailer People!”, so the girls drove the RV to the grocery store to park for the day.

Tom, his brother Trevor, and Trevor’s fiance Amy came home from work. We all talked for a while, ordered pizza, and ate ice-cream & cookies. Then Heather and I said goodbye and drove to “The Wheel Inn” (the place that Large Marge dropped Pee Wee Herman off at in his Big Adventure).

2008-11-21: Friday
We woke up at the truck stop, looked at the dinosaurs, bought a cup of coffee at the Wheel Inn, talked with the lady behind the counter about Pee Wee, and then drove north.
We stopped at Mormon Rock park (in San Bernardino National Forest) to eat breakfast, while the dogs chased off a coyote. Went for a hike around the rocks (really loose sedimentary stuff jutting up at an angle).
We drove west on 138 to Palmdale (thought of the guys at work) and then onto 14 into Angeles National Forest. There were some really fun small houses tucked into the ravine next to the creek; they were built from slate/shale stones stacked with sloppy mortar under dense foliage on a road that hugged every turn of the creek. We stopped at Vasquez Rocks Park to read, relax, and let the dogs sniff around. The park had been closed for a long time due to a mudslide and flooding.
Drove on to Santa Clarita, and decided to buy topo maps of California. Found a Borders bookstore, and Heather happened to have gift card. Got out of Santa Clarita before the Friday evening rush-hour. Cut over I-5 (called “the 5″ in California), past Six Flags Magic Mountain, and over to 126 to check out Lake Piru. Hot showers and electricity! We made dinner and I played with my electronic musical equipment for the first time since we left Oregon (for some reason, I thought we’d run into more hook-ups). We walked down to the lake in the dark before going to bed; it was extra low.

2008-11-22: Saturday
Woke up at Lake Piru. Rode our bikes to the headwaters of the reservoir and up to the Blue Point trail-head. The scenery went from golden rolling hills to jagged sedimentary mountains. We passed several dry river valleys riding. The main valley went from a wide sandy bottom with a ribbon river to narrow rocky rapids surrounded by small trees and brush. Blue Point was a campground that had been burnt by a brush fire and flooded by a mud slide (but we forgot to bring the camera).