On the first day, we scouted.
Armed with a handful of maps, an old climbing guidebook, and Forest’s intuition (and previous experience on the ground) we poked around and sniffed out the best looking nooks and crannies of Joshua Tree. Finding the places that would work for our needs was almost too easy—it was an incredibly photogenic landscape, made only more so by the freshness of it to my eyes. Our job was to make our client’s product look good, and to document the few days we had on the ground.
We managed to pull on the climbing shoes for a spicy little climb up the Aiguille de Joshua Tree, a feature with enough exposure to make you think twice. Definitely worth the effort, in spite of the sweaty palms...
Driving back to town at dusk, we suddenly pulled over to catch the last bits of sunlight before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Forest went to pick up our models while Julie and I enjoyed open mic night at Pappy and Harriet’s.
On the second day, we took photographs.
An alpine start had us driving through the park to the Cholla Cactus Gardens, a wide, flat expanse covered in the aggressively spiny plants. Aside from a long-eared jackrabbit, we were the only ones crazy enough to be up so early—but the morning light was worth it.
What are these photos about?
After more scrambling around in the giant Play-Do™ rock formations, we broke for lunch and headed to the Crossroads Cafe (thanks for the tip, Brendan) back in town.
The rest of the afternoon was spent switching shoes and outfits and locations as we wound through the park, hitting the highlights of the previous day’s scouting efforts. The variety of terrain surprised all of us, and we were able to find a wide range of landscapes to play in—everything from long, dusty trails to alpine-looking blocks of talus, colored with a rusty black patina.
We had ambitious plans for the next morning, so after dinner at a Mexican place in town we hustled back to the hotel to get the cameras and gear ready.
On the third day, we got up early.
Ryan Mountain was the objective, and the weather had surprised us. Stiff winds and low temperatures made us layer up in the parking lot before heading up. The wind chill was pretty low, and hands were quickly numbed as we struggled to stay upright on the trail. It wasn’t until we had reached a point just below the summit that the sun finally crested the horizon, but the wind prevented any real warmth from reaching us until we made it back to the cars hours later.
After another great lunch at Crossroads, Julie had to head back home to Red Wing. We said our goodbyes and shared high-fives before parting ways. The rest of our day was spent shooting the final shoe (Water! A miracle!) and gathering supplies for the evening’s adventures. Mac and cheese was on the menu, as well as climbing something. We hiked back towards the Aiguille de Joshua Tree and set up a tent and backcountry kitchen, then hiked around and looked for a suitable place to rope up. After leading a single pitch of 5.fun we hurried back and cooked up a little food, all the while taking more photos and watching the stars come out.
Joshua Tree gave us more than we’d expected. From the terrain to the weather to the varied changes in flora and fauna, we were consistently amazed at the beauty and subtle details of the desert in springtime. In every sense, it’s a place worth returning to and getting to know better.
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