Joshua Tree
After I ended my tour of duty with the Army, my girlfriend and I planned to camp, climb and tour the southwest. I purchased this VW Van in Denver, my home, and built a platform to serve as a bed and storage area underneath. It came already equipped with curtains, so that was awesome. After some visiting with family and making some living arrangements, I had everything in place to a two month excursion. My first stop was San Diego, California to pick up my partner.
After meeting family, attempting to surf at La Jolla beach, Tijuana, Mexico and one trip to a local crag outside town, we headed east toward Joshua Tree National Monument. For rock climbers, Joshua Tree is a climbing Mecca, especially in the colder, winter months. The desert offers a dry climate and decent temperatures to climb in. It is also worth noting that rattlesnakes become a real issue when it becomes warmer, especially for rock climbers poking around the boulders approaching climbs, making cooler weather much safer. Our trip was planned accordingly and we were there in early spring, April to May, summer of 1992. |