Somewhere Out There - Joshua Tree Guidebooks

Joshua Tree Guidebooks

An Anecdote

On my first trip to JT I had a Bartlett guidebook firmly in hand. I spent much of that first morning wandering around disoriented, unable to corellate Bartlett's topos with the multitude of cracks surrounding me. As soon as I could, I purchased the Vogel guide and had much better luck finding routes. Given my beginner status, Vogel's photos made it far easier to find climbs, and even formations, than Bartlett's sketch maps.

Comparisons

In the ensuing years I've come to appreciate both guides. Vogel's photo-topos still pay off when I'm exploring a new area. And the convenience of having most of the Park's routes all in one book can't be beat. Nonetheless, I've found the Bartlett guides to also be extremely useful.

Vogel's book is expensive! By the time you've paid tax, you'll have coughed up close to $40. Bartlett's guides cost about $10 each. But, if you'll be visiting several areas of JT, you'll need more than one Bartlett guide. Yet when you consider what your time is worth, and the money you've spent to get to JT, the cost factor for either guidebook probably isn't much of an issue.
Once you know how to read a topo, you can't help but appreciate the details present in Bartlett's hand-drawn sketches. They will many times clarify vagaries present in the Vogel guide.
Vogel indexes climbs in a variety of ways, making it easy to find the high-quality routes of a particular grade (though I must note that the ratings in the index don't always match the ratings in the text!). Locating routes in the Bartlett guides requires alot of page turning.
Many crags are described, but not illustrated in the Vogel guide. In some cases, Bartlett has detailed topos of these areas. Ancient Kingdom, home of the classic Spanish Bayonet, is a good example. I once spent two hours looking for this obscure crag using Vogel's textual descriptions, before giving up. Later, using the map and topos in Bartlett's Indian Cove guide, my search was successful.
Each of the Bartlett guides covers a particular section of the park. I find that off-the-beaten-path areas are often covered in better detail (and contain more routes) than in the Vogel guide.
Ratings for the same climbs often vary when one compares guides. This can be useful information!
The Bartlett guides all include First Ascent data. Its great to know that the "5.7" that just kicked your butt was put up by Royal Robbins 30 years ago.

The Bottom Line

So, which guidebook is the right one for you? If you're just spending a short time at JT, know how to read topos, and are on a budget, the best bet is to decide to climb in one area, then buy the appropriate Bartlett guide. If you'll be doing lots of visits or want to hit all the classic 5.9's in the park, I'd recommend the Vogel guide. And, if you love guidebooks, have some extra cash, and want to be super-informed, buy the lot!

Also, for PC enthusiasts, a new sort of guide is available. The Route Browser is a database application that currently covers over 650 routes in the Hidden Valley area. Read more here.

Details

Joshua Tree Rock Climbing Guide
Randy Vogel
616 pages
Chockstone Press, 1992
ISBN: 0-934641-30-7
$35
Order Online!

Rock Climbs of Indian Cove
Alan Bartlett
74 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1991
$8.95

Rock Climbs of Lost Horse Valley
Alan Bartlett
92 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1991
$8.95

Rock Climbs of Hidden Valley
Alan Bartlett
108 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1992
$9.95

Rock Climbs of Central Joshua Tree
Alan Bartlett
124 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1992
$9.95

Rock Climbs of Pinto Basin
Alan Bartlett
116 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1995
$9.95

The Wonderland Guide
Alan Bartlett
140 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1998
$9.95

Joshua Tree Bouldering Guide
Mari Gingery
76 pages
Quail Springs Press, 1993
$9.95

The Bartlett and Gingery guides can be ordered online from Vertical Adventures.

This document was last updated on Tuesday, March 23, 1999