Telescope Peak

25-Apr-53

By: Lloyd Balsam

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Bill Henderson's much heralded "climb-a-thon" to Telescope Peak from Death Valley interested some 23 enthusiastic Dersert Peakers and friends. They had their share of poor luck most of which occurred in the form of two major breakdowns to the hired bus, en-route to the jumping-off place at Badwater in Death Valley--elev. -262'. The delays of the breakdowns caused much lost sleep (literally!) and the climbers were more tired than they should have been for the long climb to the 11,04.5' summit. Unseasonable heat even during the usually cool night hours (they started from the bus at 7:00 pm, Saturday, Apr. 25) further drained the climbers' strength and they decided to turn back at a point about half-way up; that is all except Barbara Lilley, Sam Fink, Dick Woodward and Jim Forlan who went over the top to the Wildrose Canyon road where they hitch-hiked home --25 hours of steady going. Whew Jim Forlan amused his fellows by catching a live rattler and carrying this creature in a paper bag over the summit, down the other side and even hitch-hiked home with it!


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