Tag Archives: Joshua Tree

why i HATE trip reports

Backpacking, ,

Okay, I’m really pissed off.

I have pontificated here many times about finding and keeping secret places secret. In that article I mentioned that one of the places I have hiked to many times and never, ever disclosed how to get there is Carey’s Castle in Joshua Tree National Park. In that post I chastised a unethical author who included directions to this site in a trail guide. That author is an asshole. And worse than this author is the prick who posted GPS tracks to Carey’s Castle. Most hikers don’t have the skill to locate Carey’s Castle on their own, which is why directions to the site should never have been published – ever!

107
Carey’s Castle

On Monday of this week, Joshua Tree National Park closed the area containing Carey’s Castle and his abandoned mine.

Continue reading why i HATE trip reports →

Halloween Camp

Camping,

DSC03126

Halloween is generally a pain in the ass. Little people coming to the door trying to extort treats from me, threatening me with a “trick.” And the little beggars always begging for candy. I can’t take it.

This is excaborated with the constant door bell ringing, ringing, and ringing, which throws Corky into a tizzy, running around in circles and barking his head off — to the point that I have to lock him in the laundry room.

This is compounded by Joyce yelling at me to look at some store-bought costume a little person is wearing. All this Halloween stuff that consumers waste over $7 billion dollars worth of spending.

But this year I had a plan….

Continue reading Halloween Camp →

No Rattlesnakes, No Water, No Fun

Backpack Trip Report, , ,

DSC03118

Great ideas pop up in my head around 2 am. They hit me like a thunderbolt, instantly wake me up, and I immediately take survey of the idea; usually sitting up to give the idea the respect it deserves. There are three courses of actions I can take regarding these great ideas:

  1. Tell myself that I will evaluate the idea in the morning to see if it still holds water as a great idea, and go back to sleep. This doesn’t work out well most of the time. I forget what the idea was completely, or misplace it in the hidden folds of my brain and sometimes find it again at a later date — sometimes more than a year later. I rarely use this option.
  2. Analyze the idea while it is still fresh in my mind. This is often a poor method of handling the idea, because, more often than not, I end up playing with the idea until it is time to get up.
  3. Get up, write the idea down, and go back to sleep. Of all the idea handling options this one is the best.

In the morning, if the idea still exists, it is examined for clarity and sanity. If it passes both tests, the idea is placed in a holding pattern. If after 7 days the idea stands this test of time, a plan is put into action to bring the idea to fruition.

This is how the Rattlesnake Canyon Loop hike was created.

Continue reading No Rattlesnakes, No Water, No Fun →