 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
I have to confess that I am a diehard Joshua Tree enthusiast so this probably won't read like an unbiased assessment of climbing at Joshua Tree NP. I essentially learned to climb at JTree and have wasted countless hours of my so called life in this park climbing and hanging out with my friends. I hope that some of this enthusiasm is contagious and others will see this park as I do. Joshua Tree National Park is located about 25 miles north of Palm Springs, California. The park started out as a monument and was largely ignored by most of the outdoor community. In the late 60's a man by the name of John Wolfe started going to Joshua Tree with his friends to climb on the rock there. The second printing of the original guide is dated 1973 and contains only 76 routes, which are rated by the thankfully defunct F system. Some time later, Mr. Wolfe published two other guides to the monument after he and others put up numerous routes. Since Joshua Tree is close to Los Angeles the LA based climbing community discovered the monument and the number of routes put up during the seventies and eighties accelerated rapidly. At about this time Randy Vogel took up the guidebook challenge and in 1992 published what is probably the definitive guidebook and contains about 4000 routes! This book is reprinted by Falcon Publishing and is a tad out of date since there are now an additional largely unrecorded 2300 new routes. During this time other elements of the outdoor community discovered the monument such as the road biking crowd and photography crowd. In addition, the astronomy enthusiasts can be found at many of the group sites when the moon is not up at night. It is also a popular destination for '"snow birds" and their motor homes. The park has experienced tremendous interest in the last twenty years, however, during most months the main visitors are casual tourists and rock climbers. The peak visitation season is the spring when the flowers bloom. In the early days I could expect to have a good chance of finding a campsite at Hidden Valley campground on a Saturday morning. Now it can be difficult to find a site anywhere in the park when arriving Thursday night during the spring! In 1994 the monument became an official element of the national park system. This park is a desert region and the main part of the park is situated at an elevation of about 4000 feet. The elevation ranges from about 2500 feet to over 5000 feet. This is the range at which the Joshua Tree grows. The lower elevation is in the Indian Cove area (map of campground) and this can represent a significant increase in temperature compared to the main part of the park. Joshua Tree is located at the transition zone between the Colorado desert and the Mojave desert and treats the visitor to wide open vistas. The desert is not devoid of features, however. For the climber there are a large number of rock formations that range from 30 feet or so tall to several hundred feet in height. This means that most routes are approximately one pitch in length but there are several formations such as the Astro Domes, which support many multi pitch routes. The rock is a weak variation of granite called quartz monzonite. It is very, very, crystalline and most cracks tend to have sharp crystals sticking out of them. Tape for the hands is almost mandatory, even for accomplished crack climbers. In most places the rock is solid, however, there are parts of the park where the rock is poor. The poor quality rock tends to have lots of surface crystals which can break off. In spite of this there are many high quality routes at Joshua Tree. The face routes are often characterized by mind boggling friction moves for both the hands and feet.
For the casual visitor the main attraction is the concentration of Joshua Trees that grow in the park. The Joshua Tree is a yucca, as it turns out, and the yucca is a member of the lily family. Go figure. There are a lot of other desert attractions here including the big horn sheep, ringtail cat, kangaroo rat, coyote, bobcat, the super cool desert tortoise, hares and rabbits, lizards and chuckwallas, and a variety of pack chomping mice and other rodents. In addition to the Joshua Tree there are other yuccas, a huge variety of cactus, various other shrubbery including Mormon Tea and Creosote Bush, and a selection of birds including the roadrunner and cactus wren. The curious roadrunner is a special treat to see. If the weather produces the right combination of winter rainfall and spring heat the flowers in the spring are spectacular. The park has other features of interest. The Keys view road takes you to an overlook of the Palm Springs area and the most noteworthy feature visible is the very obvious San Andreas Fault! The park was at one time home to several ranches and mines. Ranger led visits to the Keys Ranch house are available and a short hike brings you to Barker Dam. The Queen mountain area is the home for several mineshafts and the remains of a stone bunk house. A short walk from the Wonderland parking area brings you to a stamp mill used to process ore. The 49 Palms Oasis is an easy hike from the 49 Palms Road, which leaves route 62 between the Indian Cove turn off and Twenty Nine Palms. Water runs out of the ground at the oasis and this compact area supports many very large palm trees. Perhaps the most interesting peculiarity is the Philosophy Stones. These are located about three miles down a dirt road that is accessed from the Quail Springs picnic area. A Swedish immigrant made his homestead there and proceeded to carve many pithy sayings into the flat rocks. Perhaps he was bored or lonely or maybe he had just run out of boulder problems to do! There is a trail that ascends Ryan Mountain and another trail system that goes up Queen Mountain. All of these features are of interest for something to do on a rest day or if pinned down by poor weather. The peak climbing season runs through the months of November and December and March and April. The fall months are usually warm and more or less wind free. The spring months are usually warm but tend to have more wind. The months of January and February tend to be cold and windy. Nonetheless, weather trends can change these averages. Everyone I know has some weather horror story for Joshua Tree. I have climbed in short sleeves on Christmas and I have also spent Christmas admiring the six inches of snow on the ground. It can vary greatly. In spite of this variation I have made trips to Joshua Tree every month from November to April for the last several years. Probably the hardest problem to solve at Joshua Tree is to determine where to climb depending on the weather. This means that when it is cold the north facing or northeast facing routes are out. In addition, the south facing or west facing routes are generally out when it is hot. This means the Lost Horse Wall is toast when it is hot and both the North and South Astro Domes are frosty when it is cold. The climber can take advantage of the big elevation difference between the main part of the park and Indian Cove. If it is cold and windy "up top" then it will be warmer in Indian Cove. The Indian Cove area also has better wind protection. Perhaps the best cold weather climbing area is the "Corral" at the head of Rattlesnake Canyon. There is never any wind at the Corral. For the climber the best feature of the park is the variety of routes there. Since it is an old park and the early route developers were ordinary people there are a large number of routes in the 5.5 to 5.9 range. It is a great park for beginners and intermediate climbers. This doesn't mean there aren't any hard routes in the park! Take a look at "Stingray", 5.13d, or "Equinox", 5.12d, and you will realize that there are some world class routes at Joshua Tree. The Vogel guide contains descriptions of about 4000 routes. These are spread around the many formations in the park. The Vogel guide is "Joshua Tree: Rock Climbing Guide, Second Edition", Chockstone Press (now reprinted by Falcon Publishing), ISBN:0-934641-30-7. A more recent set of guides has been published by Alan Bartlett. These are published and printed by Quail Springs Publishing and are probably only available at climbing stores. The following description of routes starts at the Joshua Tree entrance from the town of Joshua Tree.
There are several areas between the entrance station in Joshua Tree and the first clear land mark which is the Quail Springs Picnic Area (QSPA) located on the right hand side of the road. Between QSPA and the entrance station are Lizards Landing and the Pet Cemetery. The recommended route is Pet Cemetery (of course), 5.11b. QSPA is a popular beginners area and all the routes there may be easily top roped. The back side of the rock has routes from 5.4 to 5.10 and the front side of the rock (towards the road) has several routes that are considerably harder. The Right Sawdust Crack (5.8/5.9) will give the visiting climber good Joshua Tree jamming practice. Tape is mandatory on this crack! This formation tends to be very, very, crowded on weekends. Many interesting routes may be climbed by hiking into the desert about one half hour from the Quail Springs picnic area parking. These routes are on the Baskerville Cracks (Hound Rocks) formation and further up the hill on the White Cliffs of Dover. Check out Right Baskerville Crack, 5.10a, Tossed Green, 5.10a, Crescent Wrench, 5.10d, Popular Mechanics, 5.9, and Ace of Spades, 5.9. These last two routes are on the White Cliffs. Both these areas are good shade climbing areas and will be devoid of other climbers. The next clear turn off spot on the road will be a left turn into the Keys Corner parking area. This used to be just a wide spot on the road with parking but with the new road going in it appears to be a turn off into a genuine paved parking area. Such is progress. Parking here provides access to the north end of the Wonderland of Rocks. A fairly short hike will bring you to Too Secret to Find, which is 5.10b, not 5.10d, if you can find it. Other routes in this area close to the parking area are modest and the routes in the Grey Giant/Fortress area are a hike so allow for an early start. Further up the road from the Keys Corner parking area is the Lost Horse area. This is one of the large and well developed climbing areas in the park. Before the right turn onto the road to the Lost Horse Ranger Station are several formations on the right hand side of the road. Close to the road is Lizards Hangout, which has several top roped routes. Behind this formation is Mel's Diner. Check out the Mel Cracks, both 5.10c. Also in this area is Dihedral Rock which has the JTree classic Coarse and Buggy, 5.11b. The turn down the road to the ranger station will bring you to a gate or sign prohibiting further travel. Park here for the Super Creeps wall which has several hard routes. Approximately in this same area but closer to the main road is the Imaginary Voyage formation. This is opposite Lost Horse Wall. Check out Imaginary Voyage, 5.10d, for a dose of slippery laybacking. The Lost Horse Wall is very popular and is always in the sun so is a good cold weather area. The classic in this area is Bird on a Wire, 5.10a. Moderates on the Lost Horse Wall include the Swift, 5.7, Dappled Mare, 5.8, and Roan Way, also 5.8. Moving closer to the main road is the Freeway Wall area. Cake Walk, 5.9, is terrific and so is Anacram, 5.10c. There are many other good routes in this area and it should be investigated especially when it is cold. There are several formations further down the road past the Lost Horse Ranger Station, which can only be accessed by hiking. Try Friendly Hands, 5.10b, on the Jimmy Cliff. Forget the Hill Street Blues area. The last reasonable formation that is easy to get to from the Lost Horse Ranger Station road is the Banana Cracks formation. Yup, the routes here are Right (5.11a) and Left (5.10c) Banana Crack. Continuing on the main road just past the turn off to the Lost Horse Ranger Station is the Hemingway Wall, the IRS Wall, which is just up to the left and behind the Hemingway Wall, the Dairy Queen Wall and Playhouse Rock, which is to the left. This area sports several classics. Check out Overseer, 5.9, White Lightening, 5.7, Poodles are People, Too, 5.10b, and Head over Heels, 5.10a, on the Hemingway Wall. The IRS wall has Tax Man, 5.10a, which is not to be missed. Moderates on the Dairy Queen Wall are Mr. Misty Kiss, Frosty Cone, and the excellent Leap Year Flake, all 5.7. Playhouse Rock has an excellent 5.7, I'm so Embarrassed for You. Further down the road try the Red Burrito for a sound thrashing on the various top rope problems.
Next down the road are the Hidden Valley areas. On the left hand side of the road is the campground and the right hand side of the road is the side road to the Real Hidden Valley. To the left of the parking in the Real Hidden Valley is Turtle Rock, which has many easy and moderate routes in the 5.3 to 5.7 range. These are generally in the shade. Turtle rock is somewhat problematic to get down from. In the real Hidden Valley try Locomotion Rock for a selection of 5.6s and 5.7s. Sports Challenge Rock has Sphincter Quits, 5.9 and What's it to You, 5.10d, on one side and Clean and Jerk, 5.10c and for hard men , Leave it to Beaver, 5.12a on the other side. Not to be missed is Sail Away, 5.8-, on Hidden Tower. Always crowded on the weekend. The Brown Wall has a selection of 10s and 11s that are always in the sun so is a good cold weather destination. The Thin Wall offers several routes, all which may be top roped, and is in the shade later in the day. The Sentinel has the outstanding moderate, Fote Hog, 5.6, on the east side and the all time JTree mega classic, Illusion Dweller, 5.10b, on the west side. Tired yet? No? Then search out Fisticuffs, 5.10b, Run For Your Life, 5.10b, Semitough, 5.10d, and finally, Martin Quits, 5.10c. That ought to do it. For easy to get to end of the day climbs there is Loose Lady, 5.9+, on Houser Buttress which is straight out across the desert from the Hidden Valley Parking lot and the Betty Jo Yablonski boulder (or top rope) problem, 5.10+, right by the parking lot. Heading out of the road to the Real Hidden Valley and back onto the main road puts you right at the Hidden Valley campground area. The road has been re-routed here and the parking lot directly across from the Real Hidden valley road puts you into a parking lot for access to Intersection Rock. Access to the campground and the dirt roads exiting the campground is now about 100 yards further down the road. Intersection Rock is the home of many of the first routes in the monument. A beginning leaders challenge is Mikes Books, 5.6. Other good routes here are Left and Right Ski Track, 5.11a and 5.10b, Overhang Bypass, 5.7, North Overhang, 5.9, and The Flake, 5.8. Across from Intersection Rock and the formation closest to both the campground and the road is the Old Woman. Check out Toe Jam, 5.7, Bearded Cabbage, 5.10c, the Geronimo Finish (if you can get to it), 5.7, Dogleg, 5.8, and the JTree mega classic Double Cross, 5.7+. The next formation on the west side of the campground is the non-descript pile called the Blob. Popular and crowded routes here are Mama and Papa Woolsey, 5.10a and 5.10b, and the Hobbit Roof on the boulder slightly further west. The remaining rocks surrounding the campground are Outhouse Rock and The Wall. The popular route here is Chalk Up Another One, 5.10a. On the dirt road that used to head east from the campground is Chimney Rock. There are two interesting routes here. The first is Loose Lips, which apparently was so loose it fell off so don't be looking for that one. The other route is Pinched Rib, which has two bolts and started out as 5.7, went to 5.9, and is now 5.10b. Another testament to the sturdiness of the quartz monzonite. A little ways to the east is the Cyclops. This has a nice beginner route called the Eye, 5.1, and is a lot of fun. Another interesting route here is Leaders Fright, 5.8. A #2 Friend will ease your fear. This about covers the Hidden Valley Campground. There is more good climbing outside the campground. By parking at the campground or off the road (if you can) you can get to Steve Canyon (pun intended, I am sure) which is just to the northwest and is near the road heading in the direction of Joshua Tree. Super Roof, 5.9, is a blast, Grain Surgery, 5.10bR, will provide a serious pucker as will Sidewinder, 5.10b. This used to be rated 5.9 and I am not sure what happened. Rounding out your Steve Canyon excursion should be The Decompensator of Lhasa, 5.10d, whatever that means. From the north end of the main campground loop head northwest or so on a trail to find The Wall of Biblical Fallacies. Hard men and women only. Across from here is the Rollerball formation. Jump on the classic Rollerball, 5.10b. The overhanging roof at the end is easier than it looks. Due north of the campground is Rock Hudson (another pun) and is the home of the JTree mega classic Hot Rocks, 5.11c. Hard men and women can head out from here to the northeast to the Peyote Cracks rock which is the home of many 12s and 13s. Needless to say, I have never been there.
The turn off to the Hidden valley Campground now continues on to Keys Ranch and Barker Dam. This is now paved road. Driving down the road will bring you to a new junction. To the left is the road to Keys Ranch and just off of this road is access to a huge parking area located where Echo Tee used to be. This is the Echo Rock and Echo Cove area. The big slabby looking formation in front of you is Echo Rock. Echo Rock is the home of many moderate 'clip and go's. Try Double Dip, 5.6 (needs a big piece for the flake on the bottom), Try Again, 5.10c, the classic Stichter Quits (aka Black Tide), 5.7, Stick to What?, 5.9, Forbidden Paradise, 5.10b, Quick Draw McGraw, 5.10a, and the Falcon and the Snowman, 5.10b. Not to be missed is Heart and Sole, 5.10a, which is the best route on Echo Rock. Further to the right is Popes Crack, 5.9. This is a solid 5.9 crack lead. Opposite Echo Rock to the west is the Touch and Go formation. Touch and Go, 5.9, is about the best 5.9 crack in the park. This area is always in the shade so look for a warm day for this route. Further down the road to Keys Ranch is the Echo Cove formation. This formation can offer good climbing no matter what the temperature. It just depends on which wall you want to work on. On the outside facing the Echo Tee is CS Special, 5.10b. Inside the cove are a variety of climbs. The most fun is Big Moe (as in Big Dynamo), 5.11a. This can be easily top roped and can provide endless entertainment watching your friends come flying off the dyno move. Then it is your turn! By walking around Echo Rock you can get to the Candy Bar area. This area has many routes at all levels. The last area of interest here is the Rusty Wall. Drive down the road past Echo Cove to the gate for Keys Ranch. Park here. The Rusty Wall is the big reddish wall to the west. The right side has O'Kelley's crack, 5.10c with a 5.11 entrance move (why is it rated 5.10c?). On the left is Wangerbanger, 5.11c. Both are excellent. From the Echo Tee junction now go right. The next left turn off this dirt road goes to the new parking area for Barker Dam. Most stuff accessible from here is of average interest with the exception of the Killer Cracks area. To get to this area head towards Barker Dam. Look to the left and after 50 yards or so after the trail starts from the old dirt parking area a break will be apparent to the left. Go through there. The Killer Cracks are around to the right. Fists of Fury, 5.10a, and Enter the Dragon, 5.9, are exercises in fist jamming and chimneying. Nasty. Further around in this area is the Gunsmoke Traverse boulder problem, 5.11+. Bring a couple of Coleman lanterns for cheap after dark entertainment. Going further down the road past the Barker Dam turn is an unmarked left turn. This is the road to the parking for access to the Wonderland of Rocks. It is not paved and not marked as of November, 2001. If the parking is packed here it is easy to park in the new Barker Dam parking area, however, do not hike out past Barker Dam to get to the Wonderland. Brutal. There are some nice routes right by the Wonderland parking lot but the main attraction here is the Wonderland itself. Head out on the trail to the east from the parking lot and tend to the left past an old ranch house ruin. This trail goes out for about 20 to 30 minutes of hiking and then pops out into an open area. To the left will be the obvious Astro Domes. On the South Astro Dome are Hex Marks the Poot, 5.7, My Laundry, 5.9, the JTree mega classics Solid Gold, 5.10a, and the run out Such a Savage, 5.11a. Just around to the right is Piggle Pug, a tough 5.10c layback. Further to the right is the North Astro Dome which has the JTree mega classic, Figures on a Landscape, 5.10b. The Astro Domes are in the shade so a warm day is usually required. Cruising down the wash past the Astro Domes will bring you to Lenticular Dome. Here is the best 5.7 in the park, Mental Physics. To the left of Mental Physics is a puckering 5.9 face route, Dazed and Confused. In this general area is the Freak Brothers Dome (which is unmistakable) which has the only route rated R for the follower, I Can't Believe It's A Girdle, 5.10a. Cruising further down the wash, generally northwesterly, will bring you to Diarrhea Dome. On the back side (north) of this dome is the Bighorn Mating Grotto. The routes here are about as good as it gets and none of them are to be missed. These are Dangling Woo Li Master, 5.10a, Book of Changes, 5.10b, Morning Thunder, 5.10d, and Caught Inside On A Big Set, 5.10b. The last I knew my friend Al changed the Book of Changes by breaking off a big chunk so it isn't 10b anymore. There is much more in the Wonderland but these routes are a good selection of what the Wonderland has to offer. From the entrance to the road to Barker Dam there appears to be large rock formations on the hillside to the south. This is the Comic Strip. Routes of interest here are the Comic Book, 5.10a, and Alice In Wonderjam, 5.9, which is the hardest 5.9 crack in the park. Also in this area is Watergate Rock, which has many moderate 5.7 to 5.9 face routes. Return to the main road back through the Hidden Valley Campground and head to the left (east) to continue your tour. The next major feature is Cap Rock, which is right by the turn off for Keys View. Try Catch A Falling Star, 5.8. The next feature on the main road is the turn off for Ryan Campground. To the left of the campground is the obvious Headstone Rock. Check out the SW Corner, 5.6, and Cryptic, 5.8, for two JTree classics. These are usually crowded on the weekends and can be amazingly cold even in the sun. The Ryan Campground is in general windy which is usually not a problem unless it is cold. Continuing further down the road several formations show up on the left (north) side. This is the Hall of Horrors. Opposite the Hall of Horrors on the hillside is Saddle Rocks, home to another JTree mega classic, Walk On The Wild Side, 5.7+. On the front of the Hall of Horrors close to the road are Lazy Day, 5.7, Cactus Flower, 5.11b, Dog day Afternoon, 5.10b, and the 5.10c butt cutting roof problem, Grit Roof. Going around the back into the Hall itself you will find The Exorcist, 510a, and Diamond Dogs, 5.10a, both JTree classics. Finish your Hall tour by climbing Jane's Addiction, 5.11b. The fixed pin is gone. Returning to the main road and continuing east brings you to Sheep Pass itself. This is the location of the group campsites in the upper park. Once past Sheep Pass the road heads across the expansive Queen Valley at an elevation of 4400 feet. There are one or two dirt roads leading away from this main road. The most important one is the Geology Tour Road. Going left will bring you to the Queen Mine area and the Queen Mountain area. These are obscure and somewhat problematic to find, however, a trip to The Cirque Of The Climbables on the east side of Queen Mountain is well worth the aggravation. Supposedly Walt's Rocks with lots of high quality routes are up over the top of Queen Mountain but I have yet to meet anyone who has actually found them. Going right on the Geology Tour Road brings you to a wide open desert area. The rock formations are a hike from the sides of this road. Many are out of view of the road itself so it is best to go with someone who has been there or be prepared for some thrashing around. There are many excellent routes in this area and is a great place to go when the park is crowded.
Driving past the Geology Tour side roads on the main road brings you to the Jumbo Rocks area. This is the location of the very large Jumbo Rocks campground. Most climbing in this area can be approached by parking in the campground. To the south is the Zebra Cliff. Excellent routes here are Cut Thin to Win, 5.10c, Around The World, 5.10b, and Zebra Dihedral, 5.10a. Across the road from the campground is Conan's Corridor. This is usually in the shade. Check out Gem, 5.8, Colorado Crack, 5.9, and Spiderman, 5.10a, which is about the hardest 10a crack in the park. Tape up. Moving down the road brings you to the Live Oak area and the Split Rocks area. The Whispering Wall is usually in the sun and requires some wandering around to find in order to avoid the raps from the Pope's Hat formation. The Split Rocks area is far more interesting. Hiking to the east brings you to Future Games Rock. This wall is usually in the shade and has the JTree classic Invisibility Lessons, 5.9. Other good routes here are The Bendix Claws, 5.11a, Continuum, 5.8+, and Disappearing Act, 5.10c. Hiking to the west brings you to the Rubicon Formation, home of the 5.10d crack, Rubicon. A little further to the east is Isles in the Sky. Check out Bird of Fire, 5.10a. There are many other routes here. Wander through Brit Corridor and Cling or Fling Corridor for routes in the shade. Leaving the Split Rocks area and going left down the main road again brings you to the Cottonwood road junction. This paved road goes out past Belle campground, White Tank campground, the dirt road to Stirrup Tank, and then goes a long ways down hill to the Cottonwood campground and the interstate 10 entrance. Cottonwood campground is at a very low elevation and is near the route 10 interstate entrance. An interesting cactus (cholla) garden is passed on the right on the road to Cottonwood. For the climber there are many interesting routes at Belle and Stirrup Tank, and to a lesser extent at White Tank. These areas can be an escape from the crowds since most climbers seem to avoid these areas. If you avoid the turn onto the Cottonwood road you continue on the main road. This passes by the Oz area. This area has been recently developed (in the last 10+ years) and it is problematic to find formations in this area. It usually involves a bunch of boulder hopping. This is another area requiring a guide or the determination to deal with a bunch of thrashing. Several high quality 10s were put up by my friend Al in the Emerald City area and are well worth the hike. Check out the Rattler, 5.10c, and Snake Book, 5.10d. Further down the road is the Twenty Nine Palms entrance station and soon you are back on route 62 in Twenty Nine Palms. Go left (west) to go in the direction of Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley. Whew. That is a lot of routes in a lot of areas. But we are not done yet. There is the Indian Cove area, which is distinct and disconnected from the main part of the park. This is a very good area for beginners and intermediate climbers. There are a lot of easy to difficult routes that may be top roped. The short wall is the easiest to work with and has the easiest routes. It is also fairly easy to set top ropes on the Feudal Wall. More relatively easy routes may be found in the Indian Palisades corridor. Most of these routes must be lead. The route Water Moccasin is rated 5.4 and is really about 5.6/5.7. Beware of old 1/4 inch bolts in this area. In general the formations close to the road will be popular and will draw the usual weekend crowds. These include Billboard Buttress, Dos Equis Wall, Pixie Rock, King Otto's Castle and Moosedog Tower. Check out We Dive at Dawn, 5.8, and Driving Limitations, 5.8, on Billboard Buttress. My favorite is Moosedog Tower. The best windy and cold area in the park is the Corral wall. This is approached from the picnic area at the end of the road heading east out of the campground. There are many other fine routes in this Dodge City area and the rest of Rattlesnake Canyon. Expect a lot of boulder hopping and thrashing to find the routes in this area. Getting to Joshua Tree National Park requires a car since there is no transportation service inside the park and transportation to the park is problematic. To get close to the park you can fly but a car will need to be rented in order to get to the park from the nearest airports. The nearest airport is at Palm Springs but I have yet to use this airport due to the outrageous costs associated with flying into Palm Springs. A better bet is Ontario airport. It is about an hour and fifteen minutes to Yucca Valley from this airport and maybe an hour and forty five minutes to the central part of the park itself. The park is located off of route 62, or the Twenty Nine Palms Highway, which leaves interstate 10 a little east of Banning. Route 62 winds uphill to the town of Morongo Valley and then further uphill to Yucca Valley. Yucca Valley used to be a sleepy little burg with one traffic light on the road. Not any more. This town is a popular retirement community with all sorts of facilities. This has brought a lot more traffic lights. Further down the road is the town of Joshua Tree itself which has been pretty much unchanged in the last 25 years with the exception of the addition of two stop lights. Even further down the road is the town of Twenty Nine Palms, home to the Marine air training base, which is unchanged in 25 years. The west entrance to the park is in the town of Joshua Tree. This is the loop road and traverses the park and eventually comes out in the town of Twenty Nine Palms. The main entrance and visitor center is in Twenty Nine Palms. For those driving from the SF bay area it is about 8 to 9 hours of driving, depending on how much lead is in your foot, and the fastest way is through Barstow and on into Yucca Valley via state road 247. For those driving in from Red Rocks in Las Vegas take the road to Ludlow in Essex on interstate 15. Essex is one gas station. From Ludlow head toward Amboy on route 66(!) and then head south again toward Twenty Nine Palms. This is all two lane desert driving. Fast but desolate. There are plenty of restaurants and other stores close to the park. The three towns of Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree, and Twenty Nine Palms are close to all the entrances to the park. For camping and climbing equipment needs try Nomad Ventures (760-366-4684) which is right near the turn off of route 62 to the west entrance to the park in the town of Joshua Tree. Supermarkets include Vons and Food-4-Less in Yucca Valley and Stater Brothers in Twenty Nine Palms. There is now a K-Mart in Yucca Valley for other items. Showers may be obtained in two places in Joshua Tree, Coyote Corner (760-366-9683) right at the turn off of route 62 to the entrance to the park and the Safari Motel (760-366-1113). Showers may also be obtained at the gyms in Yucca Valley, the last I knew. During the winter months the sun goes down early and it gets cold in a hurry. Only the die hards stay out in the campgrounds and cook dinner when it is 20 degrees F and a gale is blowing the campfire flames dead horizontal. Not for you? Then check out the many restaurants in the area. Starting in Yucca Valley there is Stefano's (760-228-3118) for Italian food, Din Ho (760-365-4353) for Chinese food, Brigitte's (760-365-0121) for German food, Edchadas (760-365-7655) for Mexican food, Fish and Brew (!) (760-365-1284) for fish and chips and other fish dishes, and All American BBQ (760-365-1663) for barbecue. Try the Route 62 Diner (760-365-6311) for breakfasts. This is also a Harley Davidson dealership and is a fun place to visit. All of these are on the main highway and are all fairly good, however, don't expect LA or SF standards here in the high desert. One of the most interesting places in Yucca Valley is Pappy and Harriet's (760-365-5956) in Pioneer Town, which is about two miles north on Pioneer Town Road leaving the main highway towards Morongo Valley. This is a burgers and steaks restaurant and bar and features live country music. Fun and off the beaten path. Moving down the road to Joshua Tree there is Arturo's for Mexican Food and Royal Siam for Thai food. The best place in the area is the Crossroads (760-366-5414), which is on the main road near the west entrance to the park in Joshua Tree. Lots of variety, even food for vegetarians, and a great beer selection. Sometimes live music. This is a new place and has become instantly popular. Across the street from the entrance to the park is the Country Kitchen. This is a favorite locals and climbers hangout for breakfasts and has been there for years. Finally in the town of Twenty Nine Palms there is another Edchadas for Mexican food and Andreas, which is the cheapest greasy spoon you will find. Good for breakfasts. It should be noted that there are the usual selection of fast food places, especially in Yucca Valley, if your tastes run that way.
There are a lot of campgrounds in the park itself. One campground that is a handy place to know about when it is crowded is the Blackrock Campground. The road to Blackrock Campground exits from the town of Yucca Valley towards the south. It is opposite Old Woman Springs Road. There is no access to the park from this campground. It is mostly dedicated to people interested in horse back riding and the $10 fee applies here. This campground may not fill up. The camping in the park itself is at Hidden Valley, Ryan, Jumbo Rocks, Belle, White Tank, and Cottonwood. Hidden Valley fills first, Ryan second, then Jumbo Rocks. If the park is going to be crowded the last sites will be out at Belle or White Tank. Group sites are at Sheep Pass and Cottonwood. I am not sure if individual sites are available at Cottonwood. All of the individual sites in these particular campgrounds are available on a first come first serve basis and as of this writing are free. Between the towns of Joshua Tree and Twenty Nine Palms is the road that connects to the Indian Cove campground. This is also a popular camping area since sites may be reserved here for the $10 per night fee. Indian Cove also has about thirteen group sites. There is a lot of climbing in this area and is a good place to go when the weather is cold and windy. All of the sites that may be reserved are available by phone at 800-365-2267 or over the internet at reservations.nps.gov. One should be aware that there is no water in the park. Water is available at the entrance station to Indian Cove for free but the Joshua Tree and Twenty Nine Palms entrances charge about $.25 per gallon. You will need your own water containers. This system works poorly since the timer is usually broken. A better bet is to buy water at the supermarkets in town or patiently pour water into your larger container with a water bottle. If you have chosen a cold and windy time to go to Joshua Tree and wish to escape the campgrounds there are many motels in the area, especially in the town of Yucca Valley. For years the standard escape motel was the Yucca Inn (800-989-7644 or 760-365-3311) in Yucca Valley but it has become increasingly more expensive over the last three years. Others in Yucca Valley are the Super 8 (760-228-1773), the Sands (760-365-4615), the Desert Sky (760-365-2886), the Desert View (760-365-9706), and the odd Oasis of Eden (760-365-6321). I only have personal experience with the Yucca Inn. There is a Best Western and a Motel 6 in Twenty Nine Palms. Finally, I have some notes on the hazards of desert climbing. Most people ask me if I run into "lots of rattlesnakes". The answer is "no". After years and several hundred visits to the park I have encountered about six rattlesnakes. With one exception they were comatose from being too cold. The other encounter was with a snake cruising off to wherever he was going. In general, snakes (and most of the other wildlife) will only be encountered when venturing away from the beaten path. I have only seen them under these conditions. There are other hazards to be aware of. The first is ticks. These will also be encountered when thrashing around off of regular trails. The second is the various cacti. The young prickly pair cactus and young cholla cactus will be short and close to the ground. They will also be near or hidden next to ordinary desert shrubbery. These "ankle stabbers" will nail you through any normal sneaker or light hiking boot or shoe. Watching your feet in the open is important. The cholla come in two general varieties. The first is a very prickly specimen that will look sort of fluffy and is sometimes referred to as "teddy bear" cholla. It is not. The second is a sparser looking specimen and has long quarter inch in diameter stalks with sparse barbs. This is "pencil" cholla and is nasty. It does not stand out as well in the dark or at dusk when you are cruising in from the remote reaches of the park and is very easy to run into. The barbs from all the cholla easily break off from the plant and leave the barb stuck in you. I have found that the best tool for removing this stuff is a solid pair of pliers. The recommended fork supposedly works ok but nothing beats being able to grab the barb and yank it out. A LeatherMan Tool is handy. Finally, the desert is a delicate environment in spite of what it looks like. Please stay on the established trails when you can. Have fun! |
|||||||||||||||||||
