TURTLE MTN, CASTLE ROCK, and MOPAH PEAK - Art de Goede A perfect desert day greeted the thirty plus eager desert peakers as they gathered at Rice the morning of February 7. The sky was clear and people were correctly predicting a two quart day It was 7:30 am and as some finished breakfast others laced their boots and loaded summit packs. Soon we were caravaning to the starting point for the climb of Turtle Mountain. A group of rock climbing enthusiasts left the main party to climb Castle Rock. Someone said that it couldn’t be done, but, Wally Henry and his friends proved that it could. Theirs was a first ascent of the impressive rock. Meanwhile the rest at the group followed the leader to the summit of Turtle. It was a most enjoyable climb, with a comfortable pace, frequent stops, and a long lunch break on the top. The trip down was made in good time and we began the long drive to the main highway, stopping once to push a car through the sand. After a stop in Vidal Junction we drove on to our evening's campsite arriving after dark. Dinners were soon cooking and bed spots selected. During the evening we did some star gazing and enjoyed a tire fire, several of the group registering complaints. It seems that their camper-bedrooms filled with smoke and soot. However, those who chose to rough it were not inconvenienced. Sunday was another beautiful day in the desert and the climb of Nopah was most pleasant. It is a short but interesting third class climb. There was another long summit stop and, a few eager climbers scrambled over to an adjoining summit. Everyone was back at the cars by noon for the start of the homeward trip. MANLY PEAK and AVAWATZ MTN Preparations for the climb included checking with the local ranger as to the conditions of the roads in the Butte Valley area. The directions are included for thOse who wish to climb Manly from the easy eastern approach. Two miles north of Ashford Ruins turn left up the West Side Road and continue to the Butte Valley sign. Turn left and continue to the mine. Two miles past the mine the road becomes rough and low clearance vehicles should be left behind. Armed with these directions the leader met with the other climbers at the ruins. As we were peeparing to leave we were joined by the ranger’s wife and two year old son. Any doubts that we had about her ability to pack her son up the peak were quickly disspelled as she kept up with the group. Thirteen people reached the summit, taking about five hours for the roundtrip. Saturday night we camped at Sheep Spring which is the roadhead for Avawatz. In the morning eight hikers started out to the south and all reached the summit. It was cold and windy on the summit, but the hike back to the cars was quite warm.

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