A Mojave Desert Climb

Believe it or not I don't spend all my time embroiled in the Cape Vincent wind battle and the politics surrounding it.  So let me blog on something totally different.   Come share an adventure with us!

For the last couple weeks my wife and I spent another 2 week glorious camping/ hiking trip in remote parts of the Mojave Desert in southern Ca.  As the rest of the country was locked in a deep freeze we were fortunate to have sunny days in the high 60's and nights in the 30's. 

We don't camp in camp grounds.  We go out to really remote areas mostly on very isolated Bureau of Land Management (BLM)  public land and our truck is equipped for about a 7 to 10 day independent   expedition without resupply. The picture below is an example of how remote some of these locations are.  All the land you see in this photo and other directions spread for miles and miles belongs to you the American tax payer.  Thanks for letting me enjoy it!!!! I hope you will too some time!  Although this is not everyone's cup of tea for enjoyment and recreation so to speak.

 

The little white dot in the photo toward the right side is our truck from the summit we climbed about 500 ft. above the desert floor. Not much out there!  The vastness of the desert is overwhelming. But it is a fragile and precious place.  Just like the 1000 Islands of the St. Lawrence River. 

 

You can also see a major transmission line that stretches miles and miles  from Hoover Dam

to a pumping station a long way off that pumps Colorado River water across the desert to

Los Angeles.

 

 You must be experienced and well prepared and equipped to do this type of exploring in such remote isolated terrain with the potential dangers. As a result it becomes more than a simple camping trip. On this trip I broke a leaf spring on the truck on a rugged 4wd mining road   in the mididle of nowhere and had to figure out how to repair it on the spot  so we could limp to the nearest town for parts. We had no cell coverage, and for hours no one passed by.  No one would probably pass by for several days or maybe a week or more.

 On some of our trips for two weeks or more depending where we go we won't see anyone else around.  And often cell coverage is extremely limited or non- existent.  Amazing in this technology age to think there are still places like this. And it is critical to preserve them, and thus my passion to also save places like the 1000 Islands from rampant insane things like industrial wind development.

  It also factors in to what type of activities and risks you take since help is a long long ways away and you are mostly out of touch for a 911 emergency call.  And even if you connect it would be hours before anyone could find and reach you on the ground or by air.

And there are other risks other than the isolation, lack of water, break downs, potential injuries, snakes and critters etc.  On one hike in November we came across this little goodie!

 It is a live unexploded artillery shell I'm told from a Sherman tank.  During World War II Gen. Patton trained troops here in the desert for duty in Africa and other places.  This is the second such shell we have found.  The BLM asks you to report the location of any such dangerous ordinance which we did with maps and GPS locations and photos.  I was told the other day by the BLM this shell was exploded in place by a bomb squad and the area is now safe.  Well at least from this live shell.    Fortunately this was a really remote area with no hiking trails, and the last humans here were very likely the army in about 1943/44.

Sometime on our hikes we also explore for some rock climbing possibilities.  The peak you see below we have hiked around many times, and it always intrigued me as a possible climb to the summit. 

                 As you can see my little point and shoot adventure camera is developing some lens
                   splotches from being beat around on too many hikes, climbs, and SAR missions!


But there were some real challenges. Especially for me at 63.  Finding a reasonable route among all the loose boulders stacked up precariously on the lower slopes to be dealt with.   Figuring out the proper equipment for the more vertical part of the climb where we would very likely have to be roped and with no route descriptions anywhere.  This may be the first time this pinnacle has been climbed.  We saw no evidence to suggest it had been climbed before.

Our route went to the saddle on the left side over my left shoulder and up the steeper left sky line. The right may look less steep and easier, but it is deceptive.  It looked  long and tedious with what appeared to be many steep gaps and  drop offs. The saddle would get us up high quicker although it was strenuous hiking. Our packs with water, survival gear,climbing gear and extra clothing  weighed about 25lbs each. Not outrageously heavy, but you don't forget it is there!   From the saddle the climb appeared more direct to the summit but over some steep summit blocks and cliffs.  This is where the roped climbing began.

                       There are no soft  rolling hills on approach.  This thing sticks right up
                                        out of the surrounding desert like a jagged  tooth. 

By mountaineering standards this is not a huge climb, but was enough of a challenge to keep my attention sharply focused. This time with the great weather we decided to give it a go.  But we definitely wanted off this thing before dark.  Although we were prepared for dark and a bivouac if things didn't go exactly as planned, which they often don't in this activity!

There is an old saying with climbers.  "Getting to the summit is optional, getting down is mandatory!"

       Starting up the boulder strewn lower slope.  You wonder how all these boulders got here.   Then you realize you are in a "shooting gallery" and these giant rocks have fallen off the peak over 1000's of years.  Hope that doesn't happen today!!!!  And today it is warm enough to see cold blooded (harmless) lizards, so we keep our eyes and ears open for rattle snakes too.  This all sounds like a lot of "fun" doesn't it????  Like I said, not everyone's cup of tea.

       Getting steeper above the saddle.  The rock is looser so we put on climbing helmets and move one at a time and try  not to be moving directly above or below each other in case a rock does break loose.  It is a bit of a carefully choreographed and delicate dance to attempt to lower the risks.  Nothing guarantees your safety here.  It is  matter of  trying the best you can to lower the risk probabilities.

                                     
  Now pushing  a route through the cliffs and gullies choked with huge boulders.  Don't need a rope yet.  However, getting closer to the summit blocks and cliffs  where I am sure we will have to rope up.   In search and rescue we sometimes have to evacuate injured people  over terrain like this, and sometimes in the dark. 

Finally at the summit blocks and cliffs where as expected from a binocular inspection

from below the day before, we will need to rope up and rock climb.  We take a food and water break since the scramble to here has been strenuous, and mentally challenging. 

 

What a place to eat lunch!. The view is spectacular, and we  can see more  than a 100 miles in every direction across the barren but beautiful isolation of the desert. But we are in a tight little saddle and the drops offs all around us get our attention too.  But the view is also a  sober reminder how isolated we are if anything goes wrong.

 

The entire situation is surreal and beyond spectacular.  You are sticking up hundreds of feet in the air in the middle of nowhere.  And there are no railings, or fences, or windows holding you back from the shear drops into oblivion. 

 

We tried one route without a rope but it was really awkward and it didn't pan out and was too dangerous.  Now we will put on climbing harnesses, rope up, and Lorna will belay me as I put in protection and attempt what is called a tradition (Trad) style lead climb to the summit not all that far above.  And the route looks promising and the rock much more solid than below.  Those cracks will make good hand and foot holds, and places for protection gear to clip to the rope.  Lorna will come up second as I belay her with the rope from the summit. 

Rock climbs where you generally need a rope are usually  rated from 5.0, real easy... to about 5.14 which is real desperate stuff.  This looks to be about 5.3 or 5.4.  Something an old guy like me should be able to handle...hopefully!

 The lead climb over the summit cliffs was relatively short, fairly easy and straight                    forward, but exposed.   From where I am it is an easy scramble to the summit, but I stay
 roped and on belay.  With the rope Lorna has my life in her hands and in a moment hers will be in  mine as I use the rope to belay her to the summit. 

 There has been a lot of talk lately on this blog about woman's rights etc in Cape Vincent.  I realize that is an important issue.  But here the perspective is radically different.  Here Lorna is my climbing partner.  And she has my life line and the ultimate trust, especially in this situation.  If I give her a helping hand it is not because she is a woman, it is because she is my climbing partner and in this spot so isolated and alone...and yes dangerous...she is absolutely critical to my safety as I am to hers.  She is a very competent outdoors person in her own right, and if she wasn't I would not be here in this place with her. If something happens to me she is the only person available for  a hundred miles or more to help me and vise versa.  Effectively ...there is no gender issue, it has truly been erased.

                                           Lorna on belay climbing to the summit.

       A spectacular sweeping view across the desert!  For some attempt at scale, the little dots covering the desert floor are creosote bushes, that dominate the Mojave Desert and  are about the height of a human or slightly larger.

   
Nearing the summit  with the long shadow of our desert spire  starting to stretch across the desert floor several hundred feet below.  A reminder that the clock is ticking on this climb and for our safety and we can't stay on the summit too long to enjoy the view. We want off this pile of rock before dark.  We are prepared to stay if we have too but is definitely not our preference. It would be a miserable night, and when the dark sets in perched on a peak with all the steep drops around you is somewhat unnerving since everything seems to be dropping away into a black abyss where you can't reference the bottom.  Even if down by dark we may  have to find our way with map and compass and GPS back through the desert to our vehicle in the dark.  In the dark in the desert every bush and rock that you thought you parked your vehicle by looks exactly the same! 

                               On the summit and Lorna organizes the rope for our descent.

   
                                  A short rest on the summit for snacks, pictures, and the view.

                                                   Lorna on belay leading  back down.

 

 

 

Still working our way down slowly.

 

 

 

Taking a break and checking out the last route down to the saddle.  Steep scramble with a lot of loose rock.  Slow and careful!

                Scrambling down among the huge boulders.  The last really dangerous part.

             

                                                A few last steep moves above the saddle.

Back to the saddle and below the dangerous boulder field.

A little more scrambling to the desert floor and a hike back to the truck for camp.

 

 

 

Back to camp...and before dark.  During dinner and a small cozy fire we listen to coyotes howling, and with our headlamps see the  bright green illuminated  eyes of little kit foxes curious about us, but they are harmless, and we watch the crescent moon slide over the horizon.  The constellation Orion the hunter looms extra large over the eastern horizon and will be our celestial friend all night long.

 

 To lessen the impact we have a metal fire pan and bring wood from home.  When the fire is cold we drown it with water and put the ashes in our trash which also goes out with us.  There is no ugly evidence of a fire scar left behind.  In the morning we will brush out our tire tracks and most of our foot prints, and it will be hard to tell anyone ever camped there.  After the next wind storm or rain, no evidence will remain.

 

 

 

 

It will feel good to get the pack and boots off and stretch out in my sleeping

bag tonight under the blanket of bright desert stars. And if  there is no wind

it will be silent!

 

This wasn't a huge climbing expedition.  But challenging enough for us and fun.

 

I'll be sore tomorrow!!!  Where did I put that damn Advil???