Pleasant Point

8-Oct-66

By: Don Minassian

Another season of Desert-Peaking got under way on Sat AM as a group of Pleasant Mtn-destined hikers marched away from the old town of Cerro Gordo, high up in the Inyo Range, and derivable by cars.

After skirting the first un-named peak north of town, we dropped packs and did the ascent of Pleasant in about 1-1/4 hrs, and encountered some poor scree along the route. Coming down the scree was more tolerable, making possible a 6-minute descent. We lunched and went northward past Mexican Spring, which runs at about 1 pint per minute. We continued on the crest trail to the Tramway crossing, old summit of the 13.8 mile salt tramway bucket line, where we camped under the pungent pinyons. Sun AM was spent exploring the area and a fine time was experienced by the 23 takers of the event, led by Hal Rosso and Bob Greenawalt. One person spotted a cougar at Mexican Springs, which is also frequented by cattle. Since the Inyos are generally dry upstairs, the presence of this little spring is one of the highlights of the area. Another spring, Cerro Gordo, was not visited, but appears to be a source of water due to the cattle paths leading to it.