Below are a few pictures I shot in Joshua Tree National Park during my New Year weekend there. I planned on shooting some quality images in the park, especially some nighttime landscapes, but I wasn’t really feeling up to operating my camera in cold, wet and non-sober conditions. Here are a few snapshots from my amazing trip, more details below. I’ll probably head back out there again soon for more fun and photos.

I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing for the New Year weekend. I thought maybe I’d spend it with family and toast to another with them, but then a slackline buddy of mine sent a message asking, “Hey man how does new years in jtree sound?” I knew camping, climbing and highlining would be involved, and it sounded like a great idea. I figured I’d see quite a few friends from the local slackline community out there too. A few days later I had my car all loaded up and was on the road to Joshua Tree with a more experienced slacker. He guided me to the campground where we’d be staying. It was dark when we arrived and I was introduced to about a dozen people I had never met before. None of the familiar faces I had expected to see were there. It was time to make some new friends, new memories and enjoy the last days of 2016.

My comfort zone was left upon arrival at the campground. It had been dark for hours and the air was frigid. There wasn’t any parking space at the camp, so I had to quickly unload what I needed before dropping my car at a trailhead parking lot. After setting up my tent and storing my gear, I joined company around the fire. I cracked a beer, made a few brief introductions and listened to conversation while trying to memorize a growing list of names.

Apparently my Santa Monica friends were staying at another campground. I found out when they came to visit the next day since there was no cell service where I was staying.

I spent a lot of my time at the campsite, trying to stay warm, fed and in the loop. We made a few trips out to some of the highline locations, which required bit of hiking, scrambling and climbing. I wanted to try and get up on a line, but I felt they were out of my league, like the rest of the people who were patiently waiting to walk 100+ feet between two peaks on 1-inch wide webbing. I didn’t see the setup I wanted for my first attempt at walking a highline.

We were there to party. Every night consisted of properly maintaining one’s level of intoxication. This was usually done in a huddle around the campfire, but also while crammed into the back of custom camper vans, or in penguin formation under our primary rain shelter, a rickety E-Z UP canopy. The New Year celebration was held around a big bonfire in the middle of nowhere. It was about a 10 minute walk from the campsite, which ended up taking about 30-40 minutes since we got lost in the dark, in the rain. Haha. It was totally worth every step of the way though. The fire was already raging and the climbers had rigged a huge tarp near the fire, which was suspended from the canyon wall. A few of them had also managed to carry a keg out there. I’d say there were between 50 to 100 people around that fire pit, rotating in and out of the circle for warmth. It was too cold to stand still, alone and away from the fire for very long. Many warming huddles were formed where people shared stories, jokes and smokes. Luckily the rain didn’t last long. Shortly after we cheered in the new year, a light snowfall could be seen drifting into the flames. I hung around the fire till about 4am. There were less than a dozen of us around the fire by that time, and someone in the group had just finished a long and subtle trumpet solo.

I can’t fully express how epic this weekend was. On our last night there we loaded up into the back of a van and spent a few hours soaking at a hot spring hotel. It was thoroughly a great time. I made a ton of awesome friends from around the state and out of the country. I’m so looking forward to seeing some of those smiling faces again, hopefully at a highline after a rock climb. Some of my greatest memories have been forged outside of my comfort zone. I urge each of you who read this to do those things that you think you might want to do, before it’s too late to do them. Get out of your comfort zones, conquer fears, and live life to the max whenever the opportunity presents itself. Happy New Year!