too far down the rope. We ate an early lunch, then started the long boulder- hopping trek up canyon. A mile up canyon occurred our first misfortune - a sprained ankle. The victim tried to continue with us but found the going too painful, so he gave up the effort. During the confusion caused by the ankle injury, the party became separated. Half went on ahead and camped that night about 6 miles up canyon. The rest, including the two leaders, stopped about 5 miles up. The night was mild, and the half moon shone brightly on the towering granite sidewalls of the gorge. Friday morning we reunited and continued up canyon; all except one individual whose knee was sore from a wrenching the previous day. The going became more brushy in the upper canyon, and several obstructions had to be circumvented by climbing steep granite slabs. By 3 p.m. we were all selecting camp spots under the tall cedars at Campo Noche, 14 miles up canyon. At precisely 6 a.m. Saturday, a line of 57 climbers began snaking up Night Wash toward the North Summit of Picacho del Diablo, 4000 feet above. Across the ridge, into Slot Wash, upward, ever upward, we traveled. High above, the sun shone brilliantly on jagged ridges of white granite, but we remained in the cold shade throughout most of the climb. The leader, to his embarrassment, missed Wall Street on his first try, and we passed the grave of Joe Darrow. A quick 200 foot descent and traverse to an adjoining gully got us on the right route, and we scrambled up the narrow chute of Wail Street to the 10,154-foot North Summit, arriving about 11 a.m. All 57 who started reached the summit, including Fred Bode, 72 years young, who became the oldest ever to reach the top. The view was fabulous, stretching from fog banks over the Pacific eastward to the sparkling blue Gulf of California. The party was in good spirits as we began the descent. But not for long. Assistant leader Jay Wiley was leading and I was taking up the rear when, about a third of the way down the Slot Wash, we heard a woman scream, "Help! Quick!" One of the party - Ed Sweeting of Pasadena - had lost sight of the hiker in front of him and tried to descend into the bottom of the Slot Wash instead of following the easier route that traversed around and down. He had fallen about 15 feet onto rocks, bouncing twice before coming to rest. Jay hurried to him with his first aid kit while I hurried down from above. By some miracle (judging from those who witnessed the fall), only his right shoulder appeared to be injured. Jay applied a splint to the arm and tied it against the body, and gave the victim Darvan pills to relieve the pain. Most of the party was sent on down to camp, while both leaders and 6 volunteers remained to help Ed slowly down the mountain. His shoulder was in severe pain, made worse by the jarring involved in climbing down over large boulders. In steep spots, Jay belayed him from above while several others gently lowered the victim. It was after dark (about 5:30 - the accident occurred at 2:30) when we finally reached Campo Noche and put Ed into his sleeping bag near a large campfire. Jay and I decided to send the main party out the next day and ask for volunteers to remain with us to help get Ed out. Seven volunteered. If Ed felt he could walk the next day we would escort him down: if not we would send for a rescue party. Eric Schumacher and Dick Akawie were appointed to lead the main group out. At 6 a.m. Sunday the main party left Campo Noche. Ed felt he could walk, so a short time later we started down very slowly, pausing often to let Ed rest. His shoulder was still very painful. Around 8:30 a.m. occurred the second major accident. 5 miles down canyon from Campo Noche is a sloping sidewall of brown marbled rock that must be traversed to get around a small waterfall. With packs, it's a little spooky, particularly for those inexperienced in class 3 climbing. Ed Krause of Ontario had completed the

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