Here I am, back in Joshua Tree- a place I have been in the Spring and Fall since my return from New Zealand in 2006.  Crazy.  I never imagined spending much time in the desert- much less living in one of these moisture parched landscapes.  I grew-up in a place that has more fresh water than anywhere else on earth, with wet, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters.  Here in the Mojave desert it's been in the high seventies in the day, and mid-thirties at night.  I have seen exactly two drops of precipitation since I arrived- and that startled me (I though a bird pooped on me).

So how did I end-up down here . . . again . . . on a more permanent basis?  Well, I was offered a position as a full-time field instructor with Odyssey Wilderness Programs, who I was working for this past summer, as they started a new therapeutic rock climbing and backpacking program in the park.  A new program means lots of risk, but lots of opportunity to contribute to the structure of courses and the curriculum as well.

I started by driving a van down from Bellingham, stopping to climb Mt. Ritter in the Eastern Sierras on the way down.  High winds meant it was hard for me to hold onto the rocks as I scrambled from the saddle at just over 12,000ft. toward the summit, and tiny pebbles and bits of sand blew into my eyes behind my sunglasses.  My book said the peak had a nine mile approach- round trip.  Unfortunately it was nine miles one-way, with five thousand feet of elevation gain- a bit more challenging than I thought it would be, though not terribly difficult and with reasonable weather despite the wind.  An amazing sunrise with spectacular lenticular clouds, coupled with some ice axe and crampon work across a snowfield and up a steep couloir made for a great day.  After returning to the van I had a five hour drive to Joshua Tree.

Odyssey's Office is in a beautiful Spanish style house on a hill overlooking the Morongo Basin.  One of the neighbors is Bev Doolittle- a famous artist whose house- which looks like a cross between a space station and a carniverous fish- is a work of art in itself.  As for myself, I've made a home in downtown Joshua Tree, a couple blocks from the road that enters the national park.  A very low rent and reasonable cost of living mean that I actually live in a house, rather than a cardboard box, and believe it or not I actually sleep on a matress rather than a thermarest. 

My days-off have been spent rock climbing, meeting locals, and cooking with my three roommates.  So far I've led two courses- one backpacking course with a single student, and a rock climbing course with three students.  If all goes well, I'll be on a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off schedule until March, when I hope to return to Bellingham, Washington for another round of living the good life in that perfect climate with abundant mountain recreation.

Ah, and did I dress-up for Haloween?  Of course I did- only this time I didn't go as a homeless outdoor educator as I do on a day-to-day basis.  I was inspired by my mother's description of the costume of one of the preschoolers at her school- I went as a bottle of Heinz Ketchup.  People here in Joshua Tree take Haloween- as well as other holidays- pretty seriously, so I was happy that I was able to fit-in by choosing such a senseless outfit.  I was also able to host a house warming party, which had a spectacular turn-out and offered my roommates and I meals of potluck leftovers for nearly a week.  Maybe we should throw parties rather than go grocery shopping?  

So my time here has been very good, and I'm feeling fit and healthy after hauling around a pack laden with water and eating organic rice, lentils, and quinoa for weeks at a time. 

I hope you all are preparing to gorge yourselves on incredibly large foul and various canned-goods!  I'm borrowing an oven from my neighbor and preparing to go all-out.

Cheerio!
Glen