LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 25 measured the outside temperature in the high 90s. As I descended to the Colorado Desert, the temperature hit 100 degrees. When I got to Turkey Flats, a dry plain spread beneath Pinto Mountain, I stepped out of the car and was hit by a blast of hot air. Rather than cool- ing, the breeze felt like a hair dryer held inches from my face. With the exception of Turkey Flats, I encountered people wherever I pulled over. As it turned out, I had come to Joshua Tree at the peak of the Perseid me- teor showers. Stargazers were flocking to the park to take advantage of its dark skies. So J-Tree was unusu- ally crowded as well as insufferably hot. (Thankfully, the hordes vanished after the weekend.) Since all the campgrounds were full, I obtained a backcoun- try-camping permit. That evening, I parked at Juniper Flats and hiked a mile into the desert, setting up my mesh bivy sack in the shadow of Ryan Mountain. I saw one or two shooting stars before slipping into blessed sleep. The next morning, on a whim, I scrambled up a rock formation at the base of the mountain. It was a short but satisfying adventure. In a few spots, I had to retreat to find a safer way up. At the top, I enjoyed a view across the scrubby flatlands toward the Little San Bernardino Mountains, suffused in the soft light of early morning. From then on, scrambling became my main recreation. Each day I would climb one or two of the Seussian rock piles. I had so much fun that I aban- doned the idea of solo top roping. Scrambling had a number of advantages. I could always avoid the sun by walking around to the shady side of a formation. I didn't have to spend time scout- ing climbing routes, setting up anchors, rappelling, etc. I just hiked to a pile that struck my fancy and started up, unencumbered by climbing paraphernalia (except a helmet). I covered far more ground than I could have had I stuck to my top-roping plan. Climbing these improbable formations, I felt a sense of free- dom, discovery, and exploration. This scrambling was far more complex- -and I have to say more interest- ing- -than what I had experienced on Adirondack slides. The formations are composed mostly of a light-col- ored igneous rock called monzogranite, which solidi- fied miles beneath the earth and rose to the surface as overlying mountains eroded. Cracks, or joints, formed in the rock underground. Subterranean water weath- ered and widened the cracks, which filled with soil. As the granite uplifted, the weaker rock above eroded and so did the soil in the joints, creating empty spaces between boulders that appear to have been haphaz- ardly dumped on the desert landscape. Opposite: A rainbow stretches over the strik- ing landscape of the Joshua Tree Desert. Above: You never know what you'll find around the next corner, like this big horn sheep! Left: Sun protection is key in the shade-less plains. Top of page: The monzogranite rock piles of Joshua Tree look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

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