Starting along an old dirt road.Wooden posts at the historic boundary of Joshua Tree National Monument (before it became a national park in 1994).Dropping into the wash on the left.Starting up a Class 2 chute.Aiming for the right of the two notches.Class 3 obstacle.View back from the notch.View back.Aqua Benchmark comes into view.Scattered pinyon pines are found within the shady canyons.Starting up Aqua Benchmark's north slope.View back from Aqua Benchmark's north slope.Approaching Aqua Benchmark's summit.Aqua Benchmark summit. View toward Dyadic Point.Descending Aqua Benchmark's north slope toward Spectre Peak.Arriving at a wash below Spectre Peak.Class 3 slabs.Spectre Peak summit. View northeast toward Aqua Benchmark (left) and Dyadic Point (right).View east toward Dyadic Point and the southern reaches of the Coxcomb Range.View south toward Pinto Basin.Descending Spectre Peak's east slope toward Dyadic Point.View back at Spectre Peak's east slope.Starting up the ridge to Dyadic Point.Class 3 section with large pockets.A 10-foot, Class 4 downclimb.Looking back at the downclimb (left). The route continues past the tree on the right.Large choke stone, surmounted via an awkward spanning move.From a closed contour on the topo erroneously labeled "Dyadic Point", view of remaining ridgeline to the obviously higher true summit.Short downclimb along this ramp to bypass an intervening peaklet.At the bottom of the ramp, starting up this small chute to the climber's right.View through a notch to the base of Dyadic Point.One option to gain the summit is this Class 5 lieback on choosy rock. There's an airy jump to a small platform at the top. I was uncomfortable committing to this move, so I downclimbed and searched for another option.A second, friendlier option is this narrow Class 4/5 chimney. I had to ditch my gear to fit inside, so the next several photos were taken with my phone.Above the chimney, continuing up the Class 3 slabs ahead. The dead tree on the left was a hindrance; due to it's frailty I wouldn't trust it as a climbing aid.On the ridge crest, I friction-climbed the slabs on the right to avoid the exposure to the left.Crossing over to the south side of the ridge, I found this 1-foot wide ledge. It can be bypassed by dropping down to some exposed Class 3 terrain on the right.View back across the ledge. Note the exposure on the left. After this, it's straightforward Class 2 to the summit.Dyadic Point summit. View northwest toward Aqua Benchmark.View south.To avoid downclimbing the friction slabs, I returned via the north side of the ridge. This is the view back.An exposed leap used to rejoin my ascent route. This move looks particularly dicey in the reverse direction, shown here.After retrieving by backpack, I returned to the saddle between Spectre Peak and Dyadic Point.View back toward the west slope of Dyadic Point.Turning right down this northerly drainage to the saddle below all three peaks.View back up the drainage.From the saddle, starting down a northeasterly drainage that serves as the standard DPS route to Spectre Peak.Some tedious, bouldery terrain.View back.View back from the bottom of the drainage.View southeast as the drainage merges with a major wash.At the bottom of the drainage, headed northwest toward a minor saddle.Class 2 to the saddle.View back from the saddle. A use trail materializes.Following a northwestern drainage.Some standing water inside a mortero.Class 2 boulder-hopping.Rejoining the old road.Final view back toward the Coxcomb Mountains.
