SIERRA CLUB DESERT PEAKS SECTION NEWSLETTER #11 March 19, 1951

Dear Desert Peaker: Over fifty menbers and (mostly) guest turned out for Niles Werner's and Walt Collins' TRIP TO THE CALICO MTS. on the weekend of March 10-11. The weather was swell and one of the girls turned out in shorts! Our leaders chose a snug campsite tucked in the steep walls of the upper Odessa Canyon. Thank to Sparky Wilson's description of the minerals and geologic formation of the range, complete with Geiger counter and violet ray lamp, plus entertainment in the forms of singing and charades engineered by the sisters Smith, Mary Galton, et al our campfire was a dinger. Then next day, on foot in the morning and by car in the afternoon, we explored some of the many interesting areas of the range, with particular attention to the innumerable diggings and mines from which much silver and borax has been mined in years gone by. Most of us picked up so many interesting rock specimens we must now qualify as rock hounds. After breaking camp Sunday noon many cars drove over the corkscrew route of the Doran Scenic Loop. This memorable detour is reminiscent of Death Valley side trips for its rough road and verticle canyon walls in vivid hues. The time and place for our TRIENNIAL DINNER has been set by Committee Chairman, Henry G., for the evening of Sunday, June 24th at the Rainbow Angling Club in Azusa. Much consideration was given to the problem of how to please the most people, and the above arrangements represent our best guess on the subject, except that we should have preferred a Saturday evening. After a special trip to look over the Club, Henry came back firmly convinced we couldn't find a nicer place for a congenial gathering. Now he's busy gathering his committee to guarantee the affair will be a huge success. I'm wondering if all or us Desert Peakers are aware of the LITERARY TALENT which has recently come to light in our midst. We have just put said talent to work for the Section providing us with high class publicity in the columns of the Southern Sierran. Far more ambitious than that, our writer-member has burst forth in print on the pages of Desert Magazine's March issue with an article on a trip to climb Picacho del Diablo in Baja California. My scouts tell me that another article by the same author, on the Avawatz Mts. is soon to grace a future issue of Desert Magazine. You've surely guessed by now that our accomplished literary member is none other than Louise Werner. In handling the initial issuance of the DESERT PEAKS GUIDE, I have received a great deal of satisfaction observing this wide-spread interest and constructive reaction to our project. We have supplied copies to people as far away as Washington, D.C., and Winston-Salem, N.C., to Art Lembock of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and to our old time member, Hugh Lowe, respectively. Two of the Club Directors (all Directors are sent copies of all of our publications) have lent encouragement and helpful comment. Our two long-time consultants on the Guide, Randall Henderson and Weldon Heald,

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