DESERT SOLITAIRE
Story and photos by Todd Smith
TIRED OF ROLLING UP TO JOSHUA TREE’S MEGA-CLASSICS only to find queues five parties deep? Well, so am I — you’d think the park’s 5,000 pitches would make finding solitude simple, but the sad truth is most climbers flock to Josh’s handful of pedestrian classics with high stars and easy access. Still, with a little effort, you’ll find four- and five star pitches far from the hordes. I’ve been climbing in J-Tree nine years, tacking thousands of miles onto my odometer on the drive up from San Diego. Although most of my treks into the park’s more obscure areas have turned out fruitless, a handful of climbs stick in my mind as true gems — some revealed by longtime locals, and others upon which I simply stumbled. As the park becomes more crowded, with weekend warriors like me piling in from LA and San Diego, the pressure’s on to find solitude.