After the Sheep Hole Mountains failure, I needed to get as far away from Joshua Tree as possible. I just kept driving; to this day I still don't remember the route I took or anything that happened along the way. I wandered inconsolably hither and yon and back to hither again.
But, then suddenly, I looked up and I saw a way to redeem myself: Picacho Peak, located near Casa Grande, Arizona, between Phoenix and Tucson.
Not wasting a minute, I bounded up the trail, which soon turned into a minor league aid climb with railings bolted into the rock and even a chute of about 40' that required some upper body strength to get up. "Out of my way, tourons!" I screamed at the dozens of hapless losers clogging the trail and blocking my path. Before I knew it, I was on top and I'd exorcised the Sheep Hole daemon!
Except, up top they were filming scenes from Picacho Peak The Movie, an upcoming blockbuster starring Nicolas Cage. He plays a reluctant hero who eventually agrees to rescue the World President who's been taken hostage by terrorists (yes, the Baader-Meinhof Gang was decades ago, but German-speaking terrorists will never go out of style). I won't spoil the ending, but Nicolas saves the day as usual.
Then, on the return, I took a spur trail to a minor outcropping that had some welcome exposure and - even better - was completely free of tourons.
