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Pope’s Crack & Penny Lane
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Another cold day in Joshua Tree. This really is one of the coldest places I’ve ever climbed. But with clear skies, at least the sunny faces were doable. Unfortunately our list primarily featured shaded climbs, so we opted to redo a classic, Pope’s Crack. But this time we’d go for…
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Mental Physics
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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…
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Dappled Mare
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This was a hard one to get started on. After a short walk from the car, finding the start wasn’t so easy. I think I misread Blitzo’s topo photo in the glare of the sun, and made a determined attempt up a crack that just wouldn’t go. Not sure if…
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J-Tree Top Ropes
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Today was going to be much less ambitious than yesterday. Just chasing the shade and setting up some top ropes. First up was Sexy Grandma. This seemed perfect for Sammie and Jake, especially the move through the rooflet. Big gymnastic pulls with good hands, with an almost mandatory heel-hook. This…
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Dung Fu choo-choo
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You ever get to the crag to witness some spectacular insanity going up the rock? I once encountered a party of six that sent three leaders up each pitch (entwining all their ropes and gear) before bringing up their three respective followers. Luckily their system took so long that we…
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Breakfast of Champions
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This one had been burning a hole in my brain for a long time. It just looked cool. Mildly intimidating, scenic, and varied. But since it was on the north side and shady, it needed a warm day. With the perfect weather this weekend we were finally set up head…
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Future Games Rock
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Cancelling a trip to Joshua Tree happen way too often to us. This was the second time (not the first) in which our months-in-advance campground reservation coincided with a 60mph+ windstorm. Not even . This was a particularly hard break, since our next reservation was one we were sharing with…
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Finally, Overseer
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I’d been wanting to climb this route for years. On our very first trip to Joshua Tree we hit up Hemmingway and did Dung Fu, and about halfway up I noticed Overseer. The veering improbable corner to the left beckoned to me with an almost irresistible siren call. It looked…
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Old Pope’s Busy Weekend
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As soon as we stepped out of the car it hit us. It was cold. Breezy too. Joshua Tree is one of the coldest places I’ve climbed. Didn’t I just spend a day kicking steps in snow? Wasn’t this cold. We were so excited for this weekend climbing trip, but…
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Hemmingway in a Day
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We got up early and hit the road. Joshua Tree in one day, let’s see how it goes. The plan was to head up to Right Dairy Queen and spend the day hanging out. Emma’s pulley injury was much better, but still worrisome, so we thought that a cluster of…