Indian Joe Caves
Thanks to Jo for this lovely photo!
Climb Review:
I’ve scampered/bouldered around here with Gene before.
It was my first time climbing at Indian Joe Caves though.
Cleavage (5.4; Cleavage Rock)—This is a fun chimney that I free soloed. I didn’t go all the way up to the anchor, but exited to the shelf below. The climb felt stable and I wasn’t too scared going up, well, at least to the halfway exit.
Squeeze (5.8; On the Edge)—I started off on the Arete (5.10a) but halfway up, I ran out of a foot hold for my right foot, so I gave it up and just moved over to the squeeze. I was one good foot hold from going up the Arete route, and I want to try a layback move the next time I go up this route.
Thanks to Demir for his photos, which is the first row in the gallery below.
Friends Made:
I hiked here with Gene, Jo, and three kids; Demir and Morgan (new!) joined us after a bit. It was really nice climbing with Morgan; he was super sweet setting up an anchor (then cleaning it) for Demir on Cleavage; and doing for the same for all of us on On the Edge rock. He was a really strong climber and I hope one day to not be as afraid of heights as him.
What Happened?
I met up with Gene, Jo, and the kids at 9am sharp and we took about an hour to hike up to Indian Joe Rocks and tour the rocks. The hike was hotter than expected and by the time we got to the rocks, most of us were sweaty and tired. However, the scampering around the rocks (and the revelation that there were caves around the rocks), seemed to reenergize the kids. During the tour, there were some sections where the girls needed helping going up or down rocks, and I had a lot of fun helping them.
After some exploring, we walked back to the southern end of the rocks, where we setup our basecamp. The girls setup a “store” in a shallow cave, while Gene and I warmed up by bouldering some unmarked routes. Around this time, Demir and Morgan came around and we made plans to head over to the north side of the rocks to rock climb.
Again, thanks to Jo for this picture!
After some warm up, Jo decided not to rock climb, but to hang out at the basecamp with the kids, so the boys headed off to the north side of the rocks. We headed over to Cleavage, where Morgan I climbed the route pretty easily. Morgan was so comfortable that he went all the way to the anchor point without any issues, and then down climbed to the early exit, where I was hanging out. Demir preferred rope, so we hauled up our rope and Morgan then set up the anchor and I belayed Demir, who went all the way to the top of the anchor point and down climbed to where the rest of us were hanging out.
I then headed off to check on Jo and the kids, while the boys headed off to another route. When I got back to basecamp, I caught the girls coming back from lunch, where they ate at another spot on the rocks. They seemed to be having a great time playing together, but wanted to see what the guys were up to, so we climbed to the north side of the rock together.
I should note here that although the girls were initially afraid of climbing and walking on slick, gravel/sand paths; by the end of the day, they were much more confident to the point that there were a couple of times that they didn’t even take my offered help. It was really cool to see how quickly they adapted with some practice.
When we arrived on the north side of the rock, we saw that Morgan had set an anchor at by climbing Squeeze. He had flashed Arete as well! Demir went up Arete, but exited to Squeeze to complete the route, and I did the same when it was my turn. Gene went last and he opted to just start at and climb Squeeze. Morgan then free climbed up Squeeze to clean the anchor and climb down. At this point, I had to go, so we all hiked back to base camp, the rest of the boys stayed to climb some more, while Jo, the kids, and I left after saying our goodbyes.
The hike back was horrid as it was just too hot, but we made it without any serious setbacks. We were, however, disappointed that the visitor center did not sell any ice cream or sweet drinks. Still, even with that, the day was a success!