For Cecelia's birthday I took her to the Mojave National Preserve for a bit of desert scrambling. We left LA at 4:00 AM, shopped in Barstow, and rolled into the Preserve at 7:50 AM.
We then reached Hole-in-the-Wall by 8:15 AM.
Cecelia and I parked at the visitor center, which wouldn't open until 10 AM. We checked out the exterior displays and water station. Then, to Cecelia's surprise, Jeff magically appeared. I had invited him but kept it a secret from Cecelia. Now we were a trio!
Jeff had spent a cold, windy, sleep-deprived night at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground. But he still had hot chocolate ready for Cecelia. We all sat around the picnic table and relaxed before our big hike. The wooden visitor center looked like it belonged in its spot among the desert vegetation, below a stretch of rocky cliffs.
By 9:15 AM we hit the trail that left from the visitor center parking. It took us around the cliffs to an area with a few faint petroglyphs. But our goal was further down the path.
Barber Peak is really a horseshoe-shaped mountain, and we were following a loop trail to the opening in that horseshoe.
It's quite a beautiful mountain with plenty of scrambling options. We abandoned the trail and crossed the gullies responsible for the opening in the horseshoe. Then we started up a steep slope toward the south ridge.
We aimed for an opening in the first layer of rock cliffs. The steep grade held solid rocks and animal tracks which helped our footing. A shallow cave in the next band of cliffs offered a nice resting spot.
While refueling, we gazed across the canyon at the opposite ridge of the horseshoe. I yelled into the space, causing several echoes. Cecelia took a photo of Jeff peeking through a hole in the rock. There were lots of holes in the rocks.
Rumor has it that these holes are caused by Bigfoot. Each time he steps on a cactus he screams in pain and puts his clenched fist straight through the rock wall. Yes, there are Bigfoots in the desert. Huge, angry, rock-smashing Bigfoots. Don't doubt it!
Finally we reached the ridgetop, where the adventure continued.
We found beautiful rock outcroppings to negotiate, and beautiful cactus specimens to lick.
Personally I prefer the rock climbing over the cactus licking.
Mostly the climbing is difficult class 2 with class 3 mixed in periodically. After scrambling over a layer of rock, we would then have a relatively easy, open section to cross, dotted with cacti. It was a fun, leisurely ascent, and we made the summit in time for lunch and birthday cupcakes.
Near the summit benchmark all the trees had burned, but on the east side of the mountain there were unburned trees. It was a little windy but not super cold. Actually it was a nice day, and we had specifically come to the desert to escape the rain in Los Angeles.
After lunch we strolled along the flattish summit area and found a steep but doable descent route off the north side. We made a beeline for the loop trail and hurried back in time to see the visitor center before it closed at 4:00 PM. And since I've apparently reached the attachment limit for this post, I'll spare you images from the return route.
