Martinez Mountain

9-Nov-68

By: Bud Bingham

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TRAVERSE FROM PINES TO PALMS HIGHWAY TO VALERIE JEAN

On Saturday, November 9th, same of the cars involved in the shuttle were moved in the direction of the mouth of Martinez Canyon. Only 8 people in two cars made their way to the 4,000-ft. level on the Pines to Palms Highway.

Two people in the group had not climbed Martinez Peak and they hurried on ahead to bag the peak. Later or around 5:00 p m all participants joined together at camp located at Agua Alta Springs.

All water during the two days was carried by the group with the exception of two gallons taken from the spring. The life of a polliwog was saved when found in a plastic water jug which had been dipped into a container at the spring. Carefully water was poured out of the jug until the creature could be collected in a cup and returned to its home. The home was a 3 cubic foot steel container which was used to collect the very slow drip from a pipe.

Sunday, the group descended, into Martinez Canyon and were soon on jeep roads. When finally out of the canyon and off the desert floor, the cars just were not visable. Part of the group overshot the cars by two miles. The cars were located at the edge of orange groves, but which one? Also the groves obstructed the view of the cars. It took an extra two miles of walking to locate the cars.

Most people participating agreed that we had walked well over 20 miles for the weekend. The weather, fortunately, had been sunny but not hot.


Detailed information for visiting one or more peaks mentioned in this article can be found in the
Desert Peak Section Road and Peak Guides

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