CIRCUM TANCES
Circumstance: From Latin circumstantia, present participle of circumstare; to stand around. "The boulder/and surrounding Indian Cove Campground is a delight to explore. Huge fanciful outcrops of quartz monzonite provide a natural playground for children and adults. Campers are often entertained by the astounding gymnastics of rockclimbers responding to the challenge of 'Billboard Buttress, ' 'Campfire Crag.' 'Moosedog Tower, ' 'Feudal Wall, ' and a dozen other popular climbs.'" At the end of Hidden Paradise Road, visitors will encounter one of the latest developments in climbing. For years- with their focus on the verticalclimbers have looked upwards, scaling walls, escarpments and boulders. Here, at the end of Hidden Paradise Road, the focus is on the subterranean. Tunneling under boulders instead of over them, climbers have forged new and difficult climbs, including the "Underbelly'; "Bootlegger's Highway'', "Endless Shade" and "The Vulture's Circle." A single black strand of yarn tied around a stone marks boulders that have been successfully traversed. *Cates, Robert, Joshua Tree National Monument: A Visitor's Guide, Live Oak Press: Chatsworth.
1984.
As you enter the site, you will see an arrangement of wooden stakes. A central black pole is connected to a series of colored stakes. If you follow the trajectory of each colored stake out into the landscape, you will encounter a second stake of the corresponding color, placed in the vicinity of a boulder that I tunneled under. For the past week I have attempted to tunnel under as many boulders on the site as possible. I used simple hand tools to dig: a trowel, screwdriver, steel rod, a 4-pound sledgehammer, a fireplace poker and a small 2路foot long shovel. The choice of stones was entirely personal, with two conditions: that the base of the rock be underground and that no existing animal burrows would be disturbed. After tunneling completely under each boulder, I tied a single strand of black yarn around it, knotting the yarn below the rock. The circumference of each one is reflected in the length of the strands of yarn tied between the central black post and the colored stakes at the entrance to the site. Based on an earlier trip to the Joshua Tree region in March, I estimated that in a week 's time I would be able to dig my way under 10 to 15 boulders. However, at Hidden Paradise I realized that the particularities of site and climate (the earlier trip followed the late winter/early spring snow and rain) affected the project in unanticipated ways. Four to six inches under the surface, the soil was a mix of clay and gravel that, in dry weather, resembles poorly路 mixed concrete, creating a significant obstacle. Each of the six boulders I successfully burrowed under (all the way from one side to the other) took anywhere from 4 to 14 hours of digging.
11m Clifford Circumstances Copyright 2006 www.tclifford.com