ANZA (con't) present say Borrego Springs they entered into Coyote Canyon and were overjoyed to find bountiful streams of pure water. The group proceeded up Coyote Canyon to the tableland of present-day Anza and then on to the Mission of San Gabriel. Thus the expedition was a glorious success and De Anza acclaimed as the great leader he had proved to be. The following year this trip was repeated, this time with colonizing families to settle in the San Francisco area to head off the Russians who were filtering down the north-west coast of California. This was another grim trip especially for the women and children, and not all survived the trip. One Spanish lady gave birth to a son, Ignacio, at a place mid-way along Coyote Canyon, Upper Willows. A fine plaque memorializes this event. Our DPS hikers climbed out of the bus in the mountain country out of Terwilliger, hiked through the mountains, dropped into Coyote Canyon and arrived at Middle Willows by mid-afternoon to set camp. A beautiful stream of clear water coursed down the rutted ORV road, but before we could collect this precious fluid, an array of 13 4WD's ground relentlessly onward through the muck befouling our intended drinking water into a blue-black ooze. However, it cleared in a couple of hours. A late afternoon assault of a 500' boulder block mountain yielded us the delights of discovering old Indian mortars (Bedrock mortars, that is depressions in the rock where seeds are ground with a pestle). Mary Omberg (above all) was absolutely thrilled on spying her first big-horn mountain sheep. Two were perfectly silhouetted against the sky. They gazed at us a long time as we did them. Mary claimed that she thought Ed had been putting her on. Sunday we trekked through miles of desert to head for Cougar Canyon, where we found a delightful mountain stream, another example of the bountiful springs of the area. Then it was down to Lower Willows swamps and thickets where some had water over their boots. Back to the mini-bus nearby with 15 tired but happy hikers, and dining out, hilarity and relaxation all the way home. We'll have to set up a similar bus trip. Monroe Levity suggested a cross-country over the top of Martinez coming out at the Valerie Jean Date shop. That sounds like a good one ??????????????????? TELESCOPE PEAK          Feb. 23, 1974         Dick Ramirez The trip did not start at 6:00 am as indicated. It was postponed till 7:00 am. However, I was aware of the car parralleled to mine at 5:30 am, when I noticed the back part of the interior engulfed in flames. By the time I was out of my car and over to Dick Banner's vehicle, he was successful in getting his stove out of the car. With the excitement at that time in the morning I was sure I would not return to slumberland. However, 7:00 am arrived with me jumping out of my bag and rousting the people out of their cars and kilns. A forty minute late start saw 13 climbers get off to a cheerful start. We took a short cut up to the road about 3/4 of a mile from Mahogany Flats. I had decided not to take the trail as it might be engulfed in snow and ice. At the relay station we decided to contour to the east of Mt. Bennett, as the trail seemed to be snowbound. A previous climber's footsteps in the snow made our way much easier until we ran out of snow, then that damned scree made contouring rather tough. At the big saddle between Bennett and Telescope, we left a member of our party. That person promised to remain until we returned. A steady pace with the usual rests put us on the peak at 2:00pm. We donned our crampons for the last 800'. The weather was magnificent. The views of the Sierras thru a telescope carried by Jack Koshear, showed us details of Mt. Whitney.

Page Index	Prev	Page 12	Next	Issue Index