Joshua Tree National Park : rock climbing

Rock climbing, originally uploaded by _esse.

Last weekend we headed for Joshua Tree National Park with a merry bunch of 16.
It was our second visit to the area, first one was a quick drive through with an occasional
stop on our August SoCal road trip. Our first impression than was nice, but not standing out
like the other National Parks we had done that far. More like a blend of some of the other
more spectacular parks.

This time however we had more time to spend and as a bonus, Tim, Nathalie and Christophe,
all seasoned rock climbers were in our party.

After setting up camp Saturday at noon we did some reconnaissance for good climbing spots,
which is a bit... well euh, superfluous, cause Joshua Tree is scattered with rocks, all of them
making sweet climbing opportunities of various levels of difficulty.

Saturday night we were lucky to join a stargazing party, organized once a year by a local club.
So the computer graphics geeks went to check out the stargazing geeks and their toys.
We got to see all kinds of constellations, nebula and even a comet, tail included.
Because of the remote location and the absence of any artificial light for thens of miles
JT is a sublime setting for all that.

Sunday we went for the real work and most of us went rock climbing under the great
guidance of Tim. Lots of fun. Beats indoor climbing by far. At the rock we met a crazy
free climbing dude which was almost

After breaking up camp around 14.00 we headed for the Cottonwood area of the park
to top of the day with a last hike. We got a bit surprised by the fast setting sun which
made we had to find our way back in the dark.

A smooth ride and a couple of hours later we were back in the entertainment capital
of the world. (?!?)

Pictures to follow soon.