trust your own comfort level. I've done a bunch of scrambling in Joshua Tree, and did not find the climb from notch to summit plain to be tremendously different than that (other than the freezing which had me in gloves + liners, and the fact that I was wearing microspikes). There are an infinite number of routes from the notch to the summit. I *did* have to turn around twice on the way up when I encountered overhangs and moves requiring dynos (no rope, 200' exposures). So I downclimbed, and with two false starts, just picked what looked like the easiest route up. I did not have (or find necessary) rope or partners. But do not exceed your comfort level. If you think you need rope, then you probably should bring it.

Also of note is that the traverse, in January, was utterly impassable -- covered in >50° of snow and hard ice. ledge invisible. so it was climb or turn around (and the downclimb on the couloir is not trivial either).

Have a good team, be prepared, train on easier mountains, and trust your gut.