An interlude – Moab, Indian Creek, and Joshua Tree

• 00 Desert detour
• 01 Moab and the Creek
• 02 Joshua Tree

00 Desert detour

At the beginning of April, various opportunities presented themselves to climb in the deserts of Utah and California. Although I originally planned to travel straight to Yosemite after getting on the Penitent Path in Utah, the opportunity to climb at Indian Creek presented itself and I said yes. A subsequent period of rain in the Valley appeared in the forecast, so I further took that as a sign to visit some friends and family in LA and then climb at Joshua Tree.

A detour originally intended to last a few days turned into a little over a week, and I’m quite glad that I made this decision to visit these world-class climbing destinations. I’ve never fancied myself a desert climber — in fact, prior to this trip, I don’t think I’d ever set foot in a desert before. I still don’t think of myself as a desert climber, nor do I feel any aspirations to become one, but I think I can now reasonably appreciate the style of climbing and would be open to the possibility of returning.

01 Moab and the Creek

I arrived in Moab on April 3rd. One long wait and a national park pass later, I was in Arches National Park, stretching my legs on the Devil’s Garden trail loop.

First impressions: I think I understand where the name comes from — and there’s also a lot of sand here… This was quite the change of scenery and a place I’ve had on my bucket list for a while now.

At this point, one slight regret of mine has been the sense of urgency with which I have visited many places on my roadtrip. I’ve allowed myself to have longer stays in certain places like Ouray and Bozeman (and now Yosemite), but have compromised on in-between stops, which are usually truncated in order to meet some self-imposed deadline. In the case of Moab, I had plans to go to Indian Creek and therefore only had about three days to explore.

The next day, I went to Wall Street, a crag known for its short approaches and splitter sandstone lines. With no partners lined up, I packed up my climbing gear, a rope, and an offer of beer in exchange for a belay. I didn’t have to go far before stumbling upon a couple of Australian climbers at Bad Moki Roof (5.9+) and Horizontal Mambo (5.12d). The two routes shared the same start and diverge at a roof. The Aussies, Warren and Jim, had pre-placed gear up to the roof since the rest of Horizontal Mambo has permadraws. 5.12d being a bit above my paygrade, I got a belay on Bad Moki Roof, clipping the pre-placed gear then placing my own gear through the roof. The crux was an awkward mantle and I ended up taking right before the crux to gather myself before finally making my way to the chains.

Jim was working Horizontal Mambo and realizing I had my static rope in the car, I had him set up a fixed line at the anchors so I could take a few photos of him leading the route. I also had the chance to top rope the route which was quite the experience pulling on a near horizontal roof. I finished the day with a few top rope laps on Flakes of Wrath (5.9+).

The next day, I ran into Jim and Warren again at Wall Street. I was waiting for another climbing partner to arrive, but ended up giving a go on Knapping with the Alien (5.12a) — a sport route which Jim and Warren were working on (I did not send). When my climbing partner, Maria, arrived, we went back to Flakes of Wrath and I ended up leading the climb — the hardest lead I’ve done on gear at this point. Maria’s friend Alejandro gave a go on Horizontal Mambo so I got to follow the route again — a little bit of déja vu I suppose. After another day of cragging in Moab, the three of us headed to Indian Creek for even more crack climbing.

Over two days, I was able to get on Neat (5.10), Hayutake (5.11-), Annunaki (5.11+), and Lightning Bolt Cracks (5.11-, 3p). It was a solid introduction to sandstone crack climbing and I definitely flailed on the unfamiliar style of climbing — it’s worth noting that I led zero pitches during my time here. Overall, it felt like a good return to rock climbing after a season of ice climbing and drytooling. I was excited, however, to move on to the greener pastures of LA, where I could pay double for gas and food…

02 Joshua Tree

I spent a few days in LA — even squeezing in a little climbing session at Point Dume in Malibu. From there, my climbing partner Max and I drove out to Joshua Tree for the weekend. We initially planned to climb in Yosemite; however, the weather had been quite unstable and rain was forecasted for the Valley. I won’t say who, but we did discover that someone had forgotten all our cookware nearly halfway to Joshua Tree. We ended up arriving quite late on Friday night.

The next morning, we headed to Hemingway Buttress where we climbed White Lightning (5.7), Funky Dung (5.8), Feltonian Physics (5.8), and finished the day on Dappled Mare (5.8, 4p) to a beautiful sunset. Max and I felt pretty good with this day of climbing and were generally optimistic about what was ahead — perhaps underestimating the style of climbing in Joshua Tree.

On Sunday, we had grand plans of climbing Walk on the Wild Side (5.8, 3p). On paper, the grade seemed reasonable compared to what we were climbing the day before with the added bonus of clipping bolts. Unfortunately, we downplayed the commitment required of slab climbing in Joshua Tree. The fine-grained slab was complemented by bolts spaced what felt miles apart. All I can say is that we made it to the first bolt, considered climbing higher, then decided to downclimb and find something else to climb. It was humbling to back off on a moderate slab route we thought we’d cruise.

We pivoted to Echo Cove where we found a less committing slab route — Swing Low (5.7) — which also allowed us to top rope R.A.F. (5.9) and Pinky Lee (5.11a). I also managed to flail on Big Moe (5.11a) which another party had set up on top rope.

And so ended our adventure to Joshua Tree. We had a good mix of climbs going well while also getting sufficiently humbled by the area. After climbing in Moab, Indian Creek, and Joshua Tree, I think I can sufficiently affirm that I am not a fan of the desert. The rock formations were very cool, yet I think that I prefer climbing in areas that feel more hospitable — give me conifers, lush green, and mountains! I would happily return to these climbing destinations in the future, but have quite a bit I’d rather climb up north first.