first aid kits appeared than you can find in a drug store. One band-aid and one tired joke got the party started again. As we. started up the face itself, Gene tried the wrong route first, then zig-zagged up some spooky third class. One huge slab of rock whistled down the mountain missing Bob's head by an inch or two, then disappeared into the sky below us. One of the women in the party said upon reaching the summit, "If I had known it would be like this I wouldn't have come, but now that I've made it, I'm glad I came." For some reason the entire group preferred to descend the easier east side. After a long traverse around the base of the dome, Gene decided to take the group back a canyon to the northwest which looked much easier and faster than the way of ascent and he assured the group that it would end up on the road a half mile from the cars. It turned out to be one of the longest half miles in DPS history, but everyone got back to the cars in time to return home by bedtime. 38 CLIMB BLUE BOTTLE, BUT FOREST FIRE MARS TRIP - John Robinson This year's San Pedro Martir backpack trip (April 3-7) attracted a record 55 participants, saw a record 38 reach the summit of Blue Bottle Peak, and ended with everyone battling a forest blaze - an action packed five days. Leaders Bill Clifton and I assembled our large group under sunny skies at the Meling Ranch on Saturday morning; then we caravaned up the much improved Observatorio road onto the San Pedro Martir plateau. After a liesurely lunch at Vallecitos Meadow, we hoisted packs and hiked five miles southeastward to Los Llanitos, a small clearing near the great La Tasajera rock ridge. Here we made camp. Because of the size of the group, about ten separate cooking fires were utilized. That night the wind blew at velocities ranging from an estimated 20 to 40 miles per hour. Next morning after breakfast (featuring bacon and eggs supplied by a generous Freda Walbrecht), we packed up and hiked southwest into the intricate La Tasajera country. Boulder-hopping down winding arroyos, scrambling across rocky ridges, we reached La Encantada, the largest meadow in the range, by early afternoon. The meadow was surprisingly dry, but we managed to find a small spring at the north end. Here we set up camp, with a beautiful view across the four mile long meadow surrounded by boulder stacked ridges. Monday was a layover day with something for everyone. Some just relaxed in camp, while others explored the meadow. Bob Vinton made what he hoped would be a first ascent of South Palomas (9100'), only to find that a group from Arizona had climbed it 21 years before. I led 38 up Blue Bottle (9550'), the highest point on the plateau. We utilized a good trail from La Encantada to a high mountain bench below the peak, then scrambled up easy second class ridges to the summit for a breathtaking closeup of magnificent El Picacho del Diablo. But most of us were not looking at El Picacho, Down to the northeast a tongue of smoke was rising from the forest. We immediately recognized the spot as Los Llanitos, our previous night's camp. A call went out for volunteers - only strong hikers - and 13 responded. Hurriedly we raced down to fight the blaze. Les Reid and Art de Goede were left to shepard the main party back to camp (which they did admirably). It took but an hour and ten minutes to descend the four miles to Los Llanitos. As we approached the endangered camp, we saw columns of smoke pouring from the forest and wondered about our chances of containing the fire. Arriving at the scene we fanned out and surrounded the blaze which was consuming approximately two acres on and immediately around a forested knoll. Working in extreme heat and choking smoke, without water, we managed to clear a six to eight foot perimeter around the fire and smother some of the burning brush and

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