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Visiting Irish Climber
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Hi folks, Ill be visiting with a friend for around a month and a half in Late October-ish to early December and hoped I could get some info from the locals! We will be flying into San Fransico and hoping to do the usual Europeans in the US list of Yosemite (maybe too late in the year?) and desert stuff ie. Joshua Tree, Indian Creek, Red rocks. Both of us are very experienced trad climbers but of varying abilities. Im psyched on all kinds of climbing, my partner mostly trad. Having never been over there before id like to get a grasp on:
I can't wait to get out there. We will be cruising around without much of a plan really so fire away with must-do routes, places to go/stay, everything. be great to meet some of you on our travels. Cheers |
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I’ll chime in about the Creek. Conditions should be prime that time of year and there are many options for primitive camping with a van. The cracks tend to be very direct and uniform, so it is best to climb them on a single, but doubles are useful for lowering from the longer routes. As for pro, I usually bring about eight sets from 0.5 to 3.0 in Camalot sizes, and fewer in micro & fist/off-width sizing. However, one can usually join forces with others to combine racks. |
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I assume you'll be renting a car? October and November are prime for Joshua Tree and Red Rock. Good months for Yosemite, although November is getting chilly. December can be nice or it can be cold and miserable. As usual, the weather forecast is your friend. Most people are using single ropes, unless there are rappels that necessitate twins or double. 70 meter single is best. Get the Handren guidebook for RR and the Miramontes or Vogel (two Vogel guidebooks) for Joshua Tree. |
Barry Harperwrote: Your destination list right there basically covers it. Yosemite, Indian Creek, Red Rock, JTree (most likely in this order). This is plenty to keep you busy for a month and a half, so I'd suggest sticking to these areas and not try to add in much more. In terms of conditions, Yosemite can be good in late October / early November, or it can start seeing it's first winter storms. Just depends on the weather and you won't know until the week you show up. Chances are it will be good. If the weather is good in Yosemite, go there straight away and stay a few weeks. You'll stay at Camp 4 most likely. Try to arrive mid week to get a campsite (and check the reservations site recreation.gov at the start of October to make sure they aren't doing reservations for October...it's a bit random year to year). Indian Creek is pretty good through November, though early November is best. End of November gets pretty cold. Still good for climbing, but the nights are cold in the desert. Makes sure you have warm coats and sleeping bags. Camping is not reserveable; arrive mid week to get a campsite. One other area worth mentioning is the desert towers around Moab. Worth a side-excursion while you are in Indian Creek to go climb Castleton Tower, etc. Red Rock has a long season and is good pretty much October through December. Earlier in the season you climb the big shady multipitch routes. As colder weather sets in you go to the sunnier walls and the sport crags. In late November you'll likely be seeking out the sun. If it rains you can be hosed for days (no climbing in wet sandstone), but if that happens you can bail and go to JTree. Reserve a campsite for Red Rocks! Do it now to lock it in. Sites are still available at recreation.gov. J-Tree will be your spot for early December. Can be chilly, but definitely still good for climbing. Arrive mid week to get a campsite at Hidden Valley Campground. Gear: Bring a 70 meter single rope. You really don't want to be messing around with doubles at Indian Creek, J Tree, etc. You probably will not have enough cans on your own for Indian Creek, so most people team up and climb as a group to share gear. It's a great time. |
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"Non touristy", huh? Your list is touristy, lol! But at least you're climbers. Be prepared to be photographed, at Yosemite at least, by the tourons. Also be prepared that fire season could still be going, sadly. As to other things than climbing? CA is some of the best real estate in the country, for scenery, agriculture and lots of other stuff. It qualifies as one of the larger economies in the world, all by itself. So, whatever your other interests are, besides climbing? You likely can find it in CA. Start googling. With the driving you'll be doing, there's sure to be easily accessible stops here and there. At the very least? Since you're there, at least dip a toe in the Pacific. Mostly though, settle in at your climbing destinations. That's a great way to get a real feel for the place, plus, you'll have time to meet people, and enjoy the whole thing a lot more than trying to race through everything. Have fun! Best, Helen |
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No doubt someone will yell at me for saying so, but while Joshua Tree is certainly a unique and beautiful place, I would definitely not shorten a trip to Yosemite, Vegas, or Indian Creek/Moab to climb in JT. Have fun on your trip! |
Optimisticwrote: I generally agree in terms of climbing quality (I'm no major fan of JTree climbing), though visiting Europeans seem to love JTree. The desert environment is unique, especially for someone coming from Ireland. Worth it just for that. I will say that in terms of amount of time at each place, I'd prioritize (highest to lowest) Yosemite, Creek/Moab, Red Rock, JTree. This also happens to be the suggested chronological order to visit. So what this means is at each place you should just stay as long as you want or until you get stormed out, and not worry too much about getting to the next spot. If at the end of the trip you only have a few days left for JTree, that's ok. |
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Everyone’s already added the info you need for climbing but a place I’d recommend stopping by from sf on your way to yosemite if you go south from the city is this bbq place in a small town south of San Jose called Morgan Hill. Some of the best bbq I’ve had and from a quick look at the directions would add only 30-60 minutes of driving. A climbing spot you might want to check out that is only a bit out of the way when leaving yosemite to go to Vegas for red rocks that I like a lot is Alabama Hills which is at the base of Mt Whitney. If you drive east out of yosemite to get there you’d also be able to check out Bishop if you’re in the mood for some bouldering and would drive through Mammoth which has some climbing but is mainly known for the ski resort which if we have another year like we just had would have enough snow to go for a day if you wanted to get some skiing/snowboarding in. |
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Download your google maps and MP for all of these areas ahead of time, service can be spotty. +1 for making your reservation now for red rocks. There’s no service in the campground there. There’s a red rocks info thread on here somewhere with solid info. If I can find it later I’ll update with a link. |
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There's a bunch of climber's festivals around October-December. The Beanfest in Cochise last weekend of October- what great rock! Check out Creeksgiving over Thanksgiving weekend (11/23-26). Joshua Tree has a less organized but similar climber convergence that weekend as well. The Keyhole Classic 1st full weekend of Nov(3-5th) at Keyhole Canyon, NV which 98% qualifies as small, out-of-the-way, & trad. All of these places have excellent car camping and easy access. Since you're going to Colorado I'd add Eldorado Canyon for high quality trad and the Flatirons next door for 1000"+ easy solos/runout trad to your list of destinations. Hit or miss with the snow towards the end of the year but usually good temps. San Rafeal Swell is great for long sandstone routes in a remote wilderness setting and close to Indian Creek. There're dozens of superb natural hot springs between SF and Colorado to soak in along the way. Many you can drive right up to and camp at or nearby. Some have climbing right there but all of them are on the way to some crag or other. Several books and websites are out there to guide you to them. There's an incredible array of rock types in the Southwest with hardly any vegetation to obscure them if you're into rockhounding :) Again, more books and websites to hone in. Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Redwood National Forest, Sequoia National Park- all are amazing! Any tiny off the beaten path bohunk town for some good 'ole quirky 'merican flavor. If you make it to Tucson hit me up. |
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Watch out for everywhere over the week of Thanksgiving. Red Rocks and Joshua Tree are absolutely hammered those weeks with general tourists and climbers. Indian Creek is also hammered with climbers if the weather is at least half decent. I generally think Indian Creek not ideal the 2nd half of November because of the long cold nights. Basically you don't "need" to reserve camping anywhere, but for places like Yosemite, JTree, Red Rocks, and Sedona the free camping is generally a long daily drive away from the rock. |
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If you go to RR, you'll need a reservation (available on Recreation.gov) to drive in past 8 AM. Get an early start and be at the entrance gate/kiosk well before 8 AM. The gate to the Scenic Loop road opens at 6 AM. |
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Take a day when you get into San Francisco to see the redwoods at Muir Woods. You get to cross the Golden Gate to get there! Also visit the Tenderloin so you can get the full measure of this great American city. Make Yosemite your first climbing destination, but be willing to adjust base on weather forecast. Unless you (already) have reservations, you won't likely be able to get a camp spot in the park. I'd suggest that if you want to camp in Yosemite Valley, try to get some camp spot reservation now. It may already be too late, to be determined. If you drive out of the park you either fend for yourself in national forest land, searching for good car camp spot on dirt roads etc., or you will be camped roadside. I personally would rather drive a screwdriver in my ear than camp on the side of a highway. Or you just find some other campground with some capacity. Its a LONG drive to Indian Creek. Let the desert temperatures and weather forecast be your guide for whether to hit red rocks on the way there or on the way back. Spend an evening on Las Vegas strip to understand the utter insanity of the existence of Las Vegas. It is an abomination! Haha! You can skip JTree imo, mostly large brown boulders on a large brown landscape. But if you do go, go there last and be willing to forego if you're having too much fun elsewhere. |
Cherokee Nuneswrote: A visitor from abroad may not pick up on the sarcasm here. OP, unless you’re looking to get robbed or buy drugs, steer clear! |
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Worth noting that this trip you are planning will be a lot of (quite scenic) driving.
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Barry Harperwrote: While you're here, be sure to partake of some of the finest craft beer in the United States:  |
Jack Bushway wrote: First, July and August at COR are hot, second, the OP is asking about OCTOBER into DECEMBER. Summer in Australia, maybe??? |
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As no one has explicitly mentioned it, be packed for COLD. Not “a bit chilly” but “you’ll die within hours if unprepared” cold. Well into the negatives in Celsius. In the higher altitudes, especially if you go near the Rockies, don’t be surprised to get the season’s first massive snowstorm. Like, a meter of snow in 24 hours kind of snowstorm. The weather will change drastically daily, and if you get caught in a storm in the mountains, it’s not a happy place to be. Some highways/roads may close down, and areas may become inaccessible. Keep track of that. Depending on the area, some places may require tire chains/snow tires, but usually only for larger vehicles. On the other side of that, be ready for hot. Like, very hot. 30C+ hot. And hail. My point I guess is in the mountainous west of the US, October/November can be wild. Be ready for literally any weather extreme you can think of, and be ready for the weather to go from “quite pleasant” to “impending doom” in hours. It is, depending on your elevation, entirely possible to start the day comfortable in shorts and a tshirt, and end with a blizzard. Also, thunderstorms will move in so much faster than you think. Don’t get caught in those. But there’s a good chance you’ll probably catch at least 1 insane weather thing, and then the rest of the time it’ll be quite pleasant. As you’re from Ireland, I’m also gonna make an assumption about your complexion: chapstick and sunscreen. SPF 30 is the beginning, personally I say 55+. |
Jack Bushway wrote: Dude, in his OP he said LATE October onward. That's pretty much the end of the season at CoR. |
SenorDBwrote: Total shitshow.
On weird rock. Personally, I intensely dislike Eldo.
With questionable pro and/or huge run-outs. |
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If you're planning on boondocking (camping overnight parked for free on empty federal land or walmart parking lots or whatever) I would get iOverlander. It's a pretty good app that should give you a good sense for where you can get a few hours of sleep unbothered. In more out of the way places you can generally do this close to the climbing. At the big national parks you may be 40 to 60 minutes away from climbing. Cochise in southern Arizona has been mentioned a few times already but I'll triple down on it as a place to go if the weather elsewhere is not great. You can set up camp at the trailhead for a lot of it. Have fun! There's a BBQ place in 29 Palms that I thought was extremely good. A last stray thought connected to the post above me- when I did my big western adventure I had not spent much time in the desert or the mountains before. The temperature swings differently there than anything I had experienced before. I remember a day climbing in JTree in December where it felt like it was 25 degrees F in the shade and I climbed in a tshirt in the sun. I was back in Cochise in March this year and it was in the 20s F at night and around 65 F during the day and in the sun. Bring a packable down vest and something like a houdini for the belays on multi pitch climbs. I often experienced a year's worth of Chicago weather in one day in the desert. Learning how to dress for that took a little bit. A packable vest and packable windbreaker can goa long way towards adjusting on the fly. Also- I had never understood the value of approach shoes until I spent some time in the west (because none of the climbing I had done required scrambling approaches or descents). Get a pair of approach shoes you're comfortable hiking in that you can still climb 5.4 in! That really changed things for me. |
