Pulling up to our homestead modern no.1 in Pioneertown, it felt like we had time travelled to a western era where saloons were the place to be, coyotes roamed the streets and a small layer of sand covered everything in sight. Unlocking the front door to our home away from home for the next 2 days could not have been more of a contrast to the untouched desert landscape. Inside we were welcomed to a modern oasis complete with a big screen TV, king size beds with plush pillows, hot tub and my personal favourite, a gas fire pit that overlooked the vast desert.
Once settled in, the crew and I naturally gravitated towards the outside area with a glass of wine in hand, wrapped ourselves in cozy blankets and made a delicious family-style dinner to celebrate our first night of the Joshua Tree leg portion of the trip. Jamie, our director of photography, took the helm at the BBQ which Tyrone and I desperately appreciated as we were having zero luck with the gas-appliances (I'm shocked neither of us lost an eyebrow trying to help). That night we all slept soundly with tummies full of salmon, salad, guacamole and a wee little bit of wine with our minds racing with excitement at the thought of tomorrow's activity for It List: California Dreaming; ROCK CLIMBING. Joshua Tree is a must-see when you visit California, the beautiful desert landscape with the mountains along the horizon is a sight you will want to soak up and cherish for years to come. On our first morning, I woke up just as the sun was rising and couldn't believe my eyes, the colours were vibrant, the heat was palpable and the Joshua trees seemed to come alive ready for the day to arrive.
Tyrone and I were greeted warmly by an energetic and loving husband and wife duo, Seth and Sabra, who run "CliffHanger Guides" in Joshua Tree. Without them, their support, their guidance, their energy, I'm not sure the day would have been the same and there's a chance I would have given up and let my tears overwhelm me. Yep, that's right, on our very first climb, which was supposed to be our warm-up climb, I reached a point where fear took over, tears started to stream, my breathing slowly became uncontrollable, my legs quivered from stagnation and my hands utterly unsure of what divot in the face of the rock was the right one to go towards to continue the climb to touch the almighty carabiner at the very top. I froze. Sabra's soothing voice reassured me that I was safe, that I could do this and that it "wasn't that steep"…. I chose to believe the first two but let me tell you, that baby was STEEP.
Nonetheless, I didn't give up and found the courage to keep going. Never for a second did I think that going up would be less scary than the act of going down, oops. Once you hit the carabiner and bask in your amazingness, you then have to put full trust in your partner at the bottom of the face of the rock. You lean back away from the rock so that your arms are resting at your sides and your legs perpendicular to the rock, so that when the tension is high enough, you essentially just walk backwards down the face of the cliff. Let me tell you, that initial lean, where you go from hugging the rock to all of a sudden standing on it with the ground very far below you, is frightening. But my girl Sabra took care of me and the next two climbs were filled with pure excitement & adrenaline. Never have I experienced such polarized emotions in such a short period of time, from fear, self-doubt to an adrenaline rush filled with bliss; it's easy to see why rock climbers do what they do.