.joshuatree.

After GJ, I drove to Vegas to pick up Kyle from the airport, then we headed through some incredible desert vistas to reach Joshua Tree.

Our first route was "Super Roof," easy for the grade at 5.9.

Tennis Shoe Crack 5.8

Touch and Go 5.9

The granite here is incredibly coarse and gritty, providing great friction but hard on the skin.

A "Josh alpine start" in winter is 09:30 or so, allowing for a leisurely morning of coffee and reading as the temps rise from 35 to 50.

Kyle on Geronimo 5.9

Shirley has gotten out for a couple spins in the desert sand.

So far we've only climbed two actual sport routes that require no supplemental trad gear. The oldschool ethic here is very anti-bolt. Bringing up the second and walking off (even for singlepitch) is the most frequent mode of descent, which curtails the number of routes you can get in a day.

The grades out here are quite old-school as well. On my first day I took a 20-footer onto slab on a 5.10a. Falling here has mostly been a product of moves that are tricky to deciphe, as opposed to strenuous and pumpy terrain.

One of my favorite routes so far has been Anacram 5.10c, a hundred-foot vertical face climb on small gear. It's reminiscent of B3 in the Red but at less of an angle.

I've been hangboarding every other day after climbing to ensure that I don't lose any finger strength going into Moonlight Buttress next week.

Veggie breakfast burritos with eggs, red potatoes, bell peppers, black olives, red onions, kale, cheese and lime .

Metolius organic peanut butter is rated to 22 kn and made in the USA.

Sphincter Quits 5.9+

Kyle and I have been hanging out with our campsite neighbors Brendan and Paige since day 1. We moved to the free camping at the BLM lakebed and have been cooking breakfast together.