California Day 2: Alabama Hills Cragging

So yesterday the mountains got a ton of new snow on them; this more or less ruled out any chance we had of getting on technical rock routes up there (the original plan). I brought rock shoes, so we decided some cragging was in order. This was still useful in terms of climbing together - seeing how we each manage rope, lead, protect, belay, etc is important stuff and transfers directly to how things would get done in a bigger setting.

The Alabama Hills is an area right off of the road up from Lone Pine to the Whitney Portal. It is famous for being a setting for numerous western films; the roads there have all sorts of names relating to this history, and there is even a 'film history museum' down in town. Kevin had the guidebook, and assured me the cragging was high quality and short approach. How short of an approach? "You can belay out of the car if you want." Reassured by what I thought was hyperbole, I was surprised to find out that one could literally belay from the car for numerous routes!

I was too busy climbing today to be taking good pictures, but we climbed a whole ton of stuff. Sticking primarily to moderate bolted routes, we knocked off about 10 pitches today on the Sharkfin and at Paul's Paradise. The granite down here is amazing to climb on; nothing like what I am used to from the Cascades. Very high friction with tons of flakes. The setting was outstanding, as well; the mountains were in the background for the entire day we climbed. Kevin is a smooth and efficient rock leader, and we knocked out the pitches with a quickness.

After we had our fill, we got in the truck and headed down towards Joshua Tree. Some of Kevin's friends had a group campsite reserved, and we figured we could crash down here and do some cragging in J-Tree tomorrow.

The high point of the day for me was getting a California burrito from Santana's just outside the park. A California burrito is a trifecta of goodness: home fries, carne asada, and lots of cheese. Matched with a horchata, it is an essential southern California experience. Of greasy cheap food, that is.

We got to the campground, pulled up around the campfire, got introduced to some folks, and settled in for the evening. Too lazy to pull all my stuff outta the truck to sleep in the back, I was content to throw the bag/pad down on the ground and call it good. I had dreams of coyotes licking my face and chasing me, and I can't say for sure that it didn't actually happen during the night. So far, I'm having a good time and feeling pumped to climb more.