Trek Date: May 28, 2016

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."

JTree is one of the best climbing areas in the United States, with over 8,000 named routes on various cliffs, domes, outcrops and formations spread through the park's amazing 790,000+ acres. But climbing is just one of many enjoyable aspects of JTree. Wandering is another, and one of my favorites. Combine wandering with trying to identify some of the huge rock piles in a specific area and you've created an extremely enjoyable trek. And investing in one of the better rock climbing books will help put names to the faces you find in the rocks.