Exploring the Pinto Basin in Joshua Tree. <br> <br> 3/18/08

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Exploring the Pinto Basin in Joshua Tree.<br>
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3/18/08

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A beautiful day with the desert all to ourselves; it felt that way, anyway. : )<br>
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Cadiz Dunes area 2/26/08

A hike my co-worker friends, and I simply call "The Hill." A great before work scramble for us with beautiful views of Red Rock.<br>
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(Taken 11/23/07; the day after Thanksgiving)

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Dirty Gri Gri, or is it GiGi?

Mar 20, 2008

“Exploring the Pinto Basin in Joshua Tree.

3/18/08”

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Clouds, and unusually heavy snowfall in Red Rock Canyon, NV.<br>
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Taken 12/18/08

A beautiful day with the desert all to ourselves; it felt that way, anyway. : )<br>
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Cadiz Dunes area 2/26/08

Exploring the Pinto Basin in Joshua Tree.<br>
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3/18/08

A hike my co-worker friends, and I simply call "The Hill." A great before work scramble for us with beautiful views of Red Rock.<br>
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(Taken 11/23/07; the day after Thanksgiving)

Driving through the Red Rock Loop on 12/18/08.

The Bonnie Springs pond on a snowy day.<br>
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Taken 12/17/08

2ND Pullout, Red Rock.<br>
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Note the ice pond in the middle of photo.<br>
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Taken 12/18/08

A friendly Granite Spiny Lizard in the Needles, Ca. He followed me up most of the pitch. Prior to climbing with me, he was chasing a female spiny on the wall. Their interactions were hilarious!<br>
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Taken 7/8/09 WP on Dope.

The Needles.<br>
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Taken from White Punks On Dope<br>
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7/8/09

A storm moving in at an old ranch in the mojave desert.<br>
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Just another exploratory desert adventure. ; )<br>
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Taken 12/22/09

Exploring the peaceful Mojave desert 2/26/08.<br>
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Jonny coming up the Cadiz dunes.

The snow in Red Rock has already begun to melt down. <br>
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Snowmen saying their farewell with Mt. Wilson, and Oak Creek Canyon in the backdrop.<br>
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Taken 12/19/08

Jonny crossing the beautiful Bridge of Bridge Mountain, Red Rock.<br>
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Taken 11/20/07

Trundling giant sized boulders down onto rafters (to add to their expensive backcountry experience)KIDDING, PEOPLE! I know, not funny. Anyway, this is another angle of the enticing cliff's edge at Toroweap with it's 3,000' vertical drop. I was startled when I heard Jonny yell, "SWEEEEEETIE, BE VERY CAREFUL!!" A beautiful, but hot summer day.<br>
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(Taken by Jonny- July 28th, 2010)

Old Charcoal Kilns in the Panamint mountains on a snowy day.<br>
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1/19/10

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[Feb. 15th, 2011]

2ND Pullout, Red Rock loop.<br>
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"Magic Bus" crag is visible.<br>
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Taken 12/18/08

Horses, and the Blue Diamond Hill.<br>
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Taken 12/18/08

Ryan Ranch, Joshua Tree NP.<br>
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12/11/08

I can see why they named their mining town Sunset. <br>
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It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.<br>
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(11/4/09; exploratory desert excursion)

Zion, Utah.<br>
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(Labor Day weekend 08)

Gray Fox in the Mojave National Preserve.<br>
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Taken on 11/11/08

Falls at Whitney Portal 6/4/08.

You're looking at me like I have rabies or something.... <br>
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An overly friendly Marmot.

Jonny descending from the Castle Peak summit in the<br>
Mojave desert.<br>
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(Taken 4/30/08)

On our way to Castle Peaks in the Mojave Preserve. I love long, desert roads; we had Castle Peaks all to ourselves.<br>
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4/30/08

A gynormous Red Barrel Cocktus at the site of an abandoned uranium mine.<br>
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Note to self: Don't drink the local spring water. <br>
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Exploring the East Mojave desert on a backpacking trip. : )<br>
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1/13/10

Exploring yet another spring, and watering holes in the Mojave Desert. It's good to know where the water is in the desert; you never know when you'll be stranded. : )<br>
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Taken 12/29/09

Some man I don't know buildering on a bank somewhere in AZ. late at night. ; /

Mt. Charleston, Nevada.<br>
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Leisha, Casper, and G on the summit, having Bonanza Peak all to ourselves on a beautiful December day.<br>
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(Taken 12/5/07)

What happened to the people, Mommy?<br>
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The scenic route.<br>
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4/05/08

Baby, you're in good hands.<br>
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Taken 6/2/09

Hiking further upstream, we thought we would have the north fork of Pine Creek Canyon all to ourselves until we stumbled upon these quacks.<br>
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Taken 4/10/09

Looking back at Castle Peaks on the hike out on a beautiful late evening. <br>
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But the adventures of Jonny, and Gigi wasn't over yet! We decided to try out another long stretch of dirt road that rides on an old railroad bed that will get us to Searchlight, Nevada. On the bumpy ride out, we enjoyed our snack of smoked cracked pepper salmon on wheat thins, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and Perrier; yummy! Life is good! <br>
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Anyway, we did make it in our 2WD truck; the road was tricky in quite a few spots, but worth it; beautiful old mining remnants along the way!<br>
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I love the Mojave desert; so much to explore.<br>
<br>
4/30/08

Looking south at Lanfair Valley from the summit of Castle Peaks in the Mojave Preserve.<br>
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4/30/08

There are lots of cool rock formations nearing the base of the Castle Peaks in the Mojave Preserve. <br>
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4/30/08<br>

It's downclimb 30 feet of steep, chossy rock, or rap from this anchor. We rapped, as we brought along a 60 foot rope, and some gear, not knowing beforehand what to really expect as far as the "climbing section" to the summit.<br>
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We scampered up this section in hiking boots (maybe one or two moves of 5.5 or 5.6 on chossy rock, then scrambled to the summit. A fun little route! The hike to Castle Peaks, and the summit was beautiful; it was all good!<br>
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Mojave preserve; 4/30/08

Jonny signing the summit register atop Castle Peak. Not too many people venture up this way but we did see Branch Whitney's log in, of course! ; )<br>
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Mojave Preserve<br>
(Taken 4/30/08)

Uh, baby, a little to your right, oooh, no, left, no right!...Woops, hold up, okay go, uh oh, stop, wait, okay to your ummm......you're on your own sweetie. You're doing great! <br>
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Where's my helmet when I need one?<br>
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Anyway, who says you need 4WD on these desert roads? <br>
3/18/08<br>

Hiking around Whitney Portal 6/4/08.

Taken July 13th, 2010 at our bivy site at upper Lamarck Lake in the high Sierra.

Mmmm, having coffee with Longs Peak.<br>
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Jonny's picture in the kitchen.

Frolicking in the Mojave Desert; never a dull moment.<br>
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Taken Feb./09

Irina at Black Arch Wall; Oak Creek Canyon, Red Rock.<br>
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(11/15/09)

On the hike up to the Amboy Crater.<br>
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3/19/08

Sheesh...tarantulas can't read.<br>
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Clearing a roadway.<br>
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I can't believe we had to stop for this. Oh well, at least the gentleman was very friendly. <br>
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I love desert roads!

Jonny at Black Arch Wall; Oak Creek Canyon, Red Rock.<br>
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(Taken 11/15/09)

Say cheese! <br>
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A nice view of Half Dome.

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I'm not into extreme mountain biking, but there's some pretty fun-looking steeps, jumps, turns, and scary ass trails in Bootleg Canyon!<br>
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In Beautiful Boulder City; a mellow (from LA standards) 30 minute drive from Vegas.<br>
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Taken 11/24/09

Gotta love the calming views atop DAFF Dome. <br>
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Looking out at Fairview Dome, Cathedral Peak, and Eichorn Pinnacle.

This was my third climbing trip to J-Tree. The first time I hated the climbing, as everything felt hard. The second time it was a love hate relationship, and the third was where I fell in love with the climbing in J-Tree; especially after doing a few of the multi-pitch routes, and getting the hang of jamming. I can't wait until the next trip out!<br>
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Taken 10/11/07

A great way to escape the heat of Vegas; hiking Mt. Charleston.<br>
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My good friend Holly with the Charleston Peak in the background; on our way up to the meadows via the s. loop trail. (7/11/08)<br>
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A refreshing hike!

A friendly ringtail that hung out with us for most of the night at our campsite in the Stronghold. We had the campground all to ourselves that night; and it was a windless, and warm night for December! : )<br>
<br>
12/11/09

Heh heh , they missed us. <br>
<br>
Feb. 2010<br>
<br>
Photo by Jonny

Jonny putting on rain gear as we left Marl Springs on the old historic Mojave Road. Note the stormy sky over the Cima Dome in the distance. <br>
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After brushing up on a few history books, and reading some of first travelers/explorers, and native peoples personal accounts, and experiences in the east Mojave desert; it's fun to imagine how the ancient tribes, the Mojaves, Chemehuevis, Spanish Conquistadors, Jedidiah Smith, and all the other brave, and adventurous souls who lived in, or entered this land fared.<br>
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We were fortunate to get a little break from the rain after being cooped up in our bivy sacks for a good part of the day at Marl Springs. We took advantage of it, and took a side hike to locate some old mines; it was worth it, as we came across some fairly untouched old mining ruins in a beautiful area; but the break in stormy weather was short-lived, as we watched another storm moving in. In this photo we had 9 miles of hiking left in stormy weather on our Mojave Road adventure. We felt lucky to not see another soul during our trek, and didn't mind hiking in the rain, and wind.<br>
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1/13/10

Nothing beats a fun day out with friends on a long route in Red Rock.<br>
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Jason in foreground with Anne coming around the bend.<br>
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5/2010.

It's a sony.

Hanging out in the Amboy Crater at night; we had it all to ourselves. The moon was really bright. No headlamps needed.<br>
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3/19/08

You can always find something to dyno in the middle of the desert. Jonny, as usual can't resist a dyno, or a jump when he sees one.<br>
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March 31st, 2010.

Jonny finding a fun trad climb in the New York Mountains of the MNP. Note the vultures circling... in the sky that is.<br>
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