So, last week was the annual "Good Times Havin' Trip" to Joshua Tree. There were some good times, some bad times, and some story times... Let me explain:
The weather was gorgeous, even though the wind was torrential at times. Our tent was a 6 man tent for 2-3 of us (aptly nicknamed "the Hotel") The spaciousness was delightful, but it became a giant sail in the wind on the couple nights that the wind was just outrageous!
The skies were bluer and the food tasted better just spending more time outdoors.
I decided to do my first lead climb of the year on day 2. Psychin' myself up to do a whoppin' 5.4, yeah! (a 5.4 is not super hard, that is the whole reason for picking it). I got all my gear on, got my head on straight, and then started up the wall. I got a whole 12-15 feet up and hit a super tricky spot already. (Not normally a problem, but when lead climbing, this means that I am not yet hooked into the wall.) And, unluckily, I couldn't hold on and slipped. So, my Dad was right.... that wound on my leg was from a slipidus downrockidus! OUCH! and SO SCARY! Granite scraped me up pretty good, ripped thru the pants, and jolted my ankle to boot. I was done for the day. And, as a matter of fact, I was done for most of the trip - on DAY 2! Horrible.
The worst part about the whole thing is that it wasn't even a 5.4 - it was a 5.7! Way harder! That made me feel a little better, but then I looked at the name of the climb... wait for it....are you ready for this.... "I'm so embarrassed for you". We laughed sooo hard about that one! (Camille, I wish you had been there!)
So, I spent the rest of the time chatting it up with my good friend Karen, encouraging others' climbing, and getting a tan. It wasn't my most favorite year, but there were still some good times to be had, and a few good pictures to take. Yeah!
