A great almost-week in the desert – I tagged Mopah and Spectre Peaks with friend Christian Mulkey – both fun peaks with great views in amazing areas (The Turtles and the Coxcomb Mountains, respectively).  I went on to hike Granite Peak from the northeast with approach help from my mountain bike (I hadn’t found any information regarding routes up Granite other than from the south, so I was delighted that my exploratory day had worked out). A bighorn sheep sighting and an intense desert thunderstorm lit up my New Years, followed by a leisurely half day and night around Eureka Peak in Joshua Tree before heading “home”…