It’s been many years since my last climbing trip. I was a college student then. Now, my residents think that I can still do this, and Lucas set me up with gear.
My main reason to go out to Joshua Tree was to get some Milky Way shots. But at this time of year, I would later discover, the brightest part of the galaxy trails closely behind the sun, setting just after the sun goes down. And besides, our campsite’s view of the Milky Way was blocked by a little hill. Nevertheless, the campfire and stars were beautiful.
Some of the muscle memory came back in the warm-up climb. At the insistence of my residents, I attempted the 5.9, making it up the last dihedral through all the coaching—or, reverse coaching from my residents. Well, Mark said it was more like a 5.7, so I don’t feel so accomplished anymore.
