The next day we caravaned to Joshua Tree National Monument for a climb of Pinto. We entered the Monument and parked our cars at a designated place off the Pinto basin road, the road that connects the main headquarters in 29 Palms with the Cottonwood Springs Station down near Interstate 10. The Rangers insists that all automobiles be parked at this area and that no vehicles be driven off the paved road. (There are old roads that take off from the pavement to and about the mountains but these roads must not be used. So to keep the Rangers from having nervous breakdowns, we should obey them. Our future cooperation will make them mellow. The climb of Pinto was uneventful and straight forward. It was low key, unstructured and enjoyable to all. In fact that last sentence can be used to describe the whole weekend.
Kofa Peak and Castle Dome	Jan 21-22/78	Banner/Gail
Twenty-three of us gathered just off highway 95 about 20 miles south of Quartzsite, Ariz. and waited for 9:00 a.m. PST !! The first hour was lost. Then on the approach road the leader failed to make a 135 deg left turn. In the process of returning a second hour and a whole vehicle were lost. The road-head in Kofa Queen Canyon was finally reached at about 10:30 a.m. Wes Shelberg's directions in the Sept-Oct 1976 SAGE are repeated here for future dead-reckoners: From highway 95, 33 miles bearing 110 deg., 0.6 mile bearing 335 deg., 4.0 miles bearing 85 deg. to the mouth of Kofa Queen Canyon, then 2.7 miles in Kofa Queen Canyon bearing 120 deg. to the mouth of Indian Canyon. Nineteen made the summit, two celebrated attaining emblem status. Later we drove back to highway 95, went south about 30 miles to the Castle Dome Road and drove north of the mine to a campsite as darkness approached. Unfortunately, we were just short of an existing campsite about 3 miles North of the mine. Next morning we drove North to the mouth of the canyon that leads to the NW approach to Castle Dome. There the road crosses the wash a BLM sign prohibits vehicular travel up the canyon. This road-head is about 9.7 miles from highway 95. Park at the sign and follow the wash bearing about 85 deg. for about 0.4 mile to the true canyon mouth and then follow up the canyon for about 1.2 miles bearing about 110 deg. before leaving it up a steep gravel bank for the ascent. Ron Fracisco's guidance took us to the base of the peak, then Gene and Ron took part of the group up the SW route, while the 'listed' leader and the remaining ones followed the trail around to the NE side for the advertised easy class 3 ascent.

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