About
The Desert Peaks Section
Who:
A legacy of climbing and hiking
The Desert Peaks Section is an outings activity section in the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club with a membership of about 250. Our section encourages members to explore and enjoy the desert mountain ranges of the Southwest, become familiar with their scenic resources, stimulate interest in climbing these vast desert ranges in the interest of preserving their desert resources, enlist public interest and cooperation in protecting desert areas and foster among our members the purposes of the Sierra Club. The oldest peak-climbing section in the largest Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Desert Peaks Section was informally organized in 1941 and formally organized in October 1945.
What:
A multi-activity club
Our activities include backpacking, day hiking and special events such as our Annual Banquet and the Chili Cook-off. During the fall, winter, and spring, we sponsor monthly social gatherings in the metropolitan Los Angeles area. While focused on climbing and hiking, our outings have a social element around the evening campfire. Travel to the trailheads for our trips often requires vehicles with adequate ground clearance and occasionally 4WD. Transportation to the outings can be arranged by informal carpools from the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
When & Where:
Where we hike
Our section sponsors outings in the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah throughout the year, although the summer season is generally our lowest activity period. Currently 95 desert mountains throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Mexico are on our Desert Peaks List. The annual banquet in the Los Angeles area is held in May of each year. We also have the Chili Cook-off, a desert car camp and culinary competition.
Membership
All are welcome to come with us on our climbs in the desert. Anyone may subscribe to our quarterly newsletter, The Desert Sage, for $10 per year. The Desert Sage includes a schedule of upcoming trips with information on how to sign up with the leaders, write-ups of recently led trips, and other articles of general interest about the deserts of the Southwest. The Section membership application form can be downloaded in Word format or Adobe Acrobat format. Those who would like to become members of the section may do so after climbing 6 peaks on the list and joining the Sierra Club. Please contact the Membership Chair for additional information.