We met Jack and Ellen in the Wall Street Mill parking lot back in May, when we got to chatting about all sorts of everything. We talked about hikes, our experience with owning an EV, favorite J-Tree campsites, and Yeti backpacks. Apparently Jack had been lugging coolers into the backcountry for decades, and so he was thrilled to finally be living in the age where hikeable coolers were a thing. When climbing came up, Jack mentioned that Mental Physics was one of his favorites. He hadn’t been climbing much lately, due to a lack of partners, but was hoping to someday do the second pitch and the walk off. Since we all hit it off so well we figured why not invite him along for our second lap on the route. Now, a few months later, we were back, grabbing packs and heading out to achieve that objective.
We made fairly good time out to Lenticular Dome. It’s not as tricky as our first attempt made it seem. Ellen and Jack had been exploring Wonderland extensively for over thirty years, so we had good guides. Just past the cutoff to Don Juan we kept leftish before the wash took a slight jog to the right. Sand turned to boulder hopping and then after overshooting the climb, the trail up to Lenticular was fairly obvious. A few awkward moves and some 3D thinking got us to the base rather quickly. After a quick lunch we were flaking ropes and tying in.
This is a fun climb. As good as we remembered. Moments of uncertain instability buttressed by sections with bomber hands and feet. And just so much flow. The moves off of the belay stance were definitely thin and committing, but everything was there. A thin and balancey textured slab finish complements the long crack so much. A little headier than I remembered, but nothing to sweat. Pretty typical J-Tree dome top out final pitch runout.
Jack followed at a steady pace, making consistent progress and cleaning the route. We left the bolts clipped for Emma as a redirect, since the second pitch heads pretty far to the left. He arrived at the belay a bit gassed, but coming off the couch onto a 190′ pitch will do that to you, lol. We’d been blessed this past season to get enough pitches in to not feel it ourselves.
He had been imagining doing the second pitch with his daughter sometime, but after climbing it he had reservations about the runout. It’s a reasonable concern, and I can’t say I’d recommend it without some slab runout practice. Definitely requires solid head game if you want to have a fun or relaxed time with it.
Emma positively sailed it, smiling the whole way. She described it as pure joy, and was thrilled to have a “gym belay” and be unencumbered by cleaning. Just as fun as we remembered it! We grabbed some shots of the summit (including Ellen in the wash, taking photos of us).
The walk off was just as bad as we vaguely remembered. I’m so glad that it was Jack’s idea, so I never had to feel bad dragging him through it! Descending was easy with a fair amount of walking, and barely any 5th class down climbing. Mostly chimneying, so it felt safe and secure. But the canyon walk back to the base was pretty… extra. It’s what you’d expect from Joshua Tree boulder hopping, but it feels a bit more amplified than most areas. The boulders are just that much higher, and the pits around them are that much deeper. A fair amount of slabby balance moves and the occasional strenuous boulder problem were required to make progress. A few spots have potential for serious injury if you blow the move. No big deal, but heads up due to the remote location.
That said, it’s a really cool canyon, with interesting features. All in all, I enjoyed it, but it did feel tiring after a while. The final puzzle to regain the belay ledge feels like someone’s playing a joke on you, but eventually we scrambled our way back to the wash to meet up with Ellen. She marveled at how differently everyone did the second pitch, and discussed the merits of the walk off vs the possible rope-pull issues of a rap. For a retired climber who claims she wasn’t any good, she certainly has a head for climbing ephemera and minutiae.
The walk back to the cars went as smoothly as it could. We were vigilant and attentive to not miss the cutoff. Ellen recounted stories of missing it and wandering back to the car through the bushes. I guess it’s reassuring that even Wonderland experts sometimes get lost out there, lol. A quick photo at Uncle Willie’s and we were back in the parking lot where it all started. A surprise Champagne toast capped off the adventure nicely. A fitting celebratory end to our fun romp out in the Wonderland.
Mental Physics
5.7 – Two pitches – 200′
with Emma and Jack
If going to the top, definitely link both pitches with a 60m.
Otherwise it’s mega runout off the belay. Although only 5.4 or so.
Pretty cruiser, takes whatever gear you’ve got.
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