Friday 5/10
Joshua Tree National Park, CA to Angeles National Forest, CA
Joshua Tree is a rather warm dry thing, but, as the saying goes, the winds of change are Slugger’s deranged chemical exchange. So, it should be no surprise that our Joshua Tree morning was the park’s first rain in several months. As any good southwestern visitor center will tell you, desert storms are a pretty metal affair (for those of you who wish to understand this description, I suggest the absolutely pummelling new Abnormality album), so the rain prompted an adjustment to our backpacking plans.
This adjustment was a lovely, easy two hour loop through one of the more climber frequented corners of the park (My lover has explained to me that Joshua Tree has a bit of a reputation in the climbing community). I’ve heard whispers amongst californians of the so called super duper boom bloom, during which plants and animals sprout pollens of such shocking shape and sharp color that one can never again appreciate any less than super boom bloom. I have never seen such a thing, so the truly awesome quantity of desert flowers dancing about in post spring rain sunshine (which I’ve been assured was no boomer bloomer) shook me good and thorough.
The rain beat us back to Slugger, so we drove west to the beat of windshield wipers and the new Jamilla Woods album (cannot suggest this one enough, strong AOTY candidate and only getting better on relistens). We had a surprise birthday party to make (see later posts) so we carved through many the miles.
We slept in a rain cloud on a mountain in Angeles National Forest. Slugger was a cozy cozy boi.
Though the gloom engulfed the night, the morning revealed a mountain and up it I ran. Angeles National Forest proved to be beautiful and loverly and I’d like you to see.
Van-ish 