Playing Hooky at Little Hunk

Playing Hooky at Little Hunk

If you're wondering what or where Little Hunk is in Joshua Tree National Park, and why I would want to play hooky there, read on. Little Hunk is a popular rock formation in the Echo Rock area of JTree, with at least ten main climbing spots and over 175 different routes to complete the climbs. It's accessible from a number of different spots: the Barker Dam parking area, the Echo Rock parking area, and even from several turnouts along Keys Ranch Road. The later two routes are the shortest, both traipsing in at less than 1/2-mile, one way.

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Silverado: Joshua Tree National Park

Silverado: Joshua Tree National Park

I'll bet several of you are saying, "Silverado? A place in Joshua Tree National Park called Silverado? Never heard of it. I don't believe it." And you would be right. There is no place in JTree called Silverado, at least, as far as I know of at this writing.

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The Red Couple of Joshua Tree

The Red Couple of Joshua Tree

Have you ever seen something so cool that it left you speechless? But then a few seconds later you just wanted to scream and perhaps do someone bodily harm? I have. It happened on September 4th, 2016 at approximately 4:40 pm.

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Roadside Dis-tractions

Roadside Dis-tractions

The skies were cloudy and rain was falling in some parts of the park, so I wasn't feeling like doing much hiking. I decided to drive from the west entrance to Cottonwood Springs to see what I could find along the way. It was a couple weeks past the peak wildflower bloom, but I thought I might be able to spot some color out in the gloom. And you never know what else you might find just a bit off the road.

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The Candy Bar - Joshua Tree National Park

The Candy Bar - Joshua Tree National Park

When I say "Candy Bar," do you think about yummy sweet treats or giant quartz monzonite rocks with crazy names? What if I added, "Snickers, or Mounds, or Big Hunk?" I guess it would depend on whether or not you're a rock climber, a confectionery connoisseur or had recently view Murbachi's 3D imagery of a group of climbing rocks in Joshua Tree National Park known collectively as "The Candy Bar."

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