| Even for desert rats there are limits. Some think that the blood-sucking cone-nosed kissing bug is too much of a good thing. Some draw the line at centipedes that drop from the ceiling into your cooking pots. Some hesitate at six-foot diamondbacks coiled on the "Welcome" mat in the evening. But these are petty annoyances. More serious divisions of opinion between desert rats concern places. Some, for example, feel that Death Valley, in the summertime, at 130° F. in the shade, is going too far. Most would agree, however, that the ultimate among the various provinces of The Great American Desert is Sonora's Pinacate region, at the bead of the Gulf of California. This region is the bleakest, flattest, hottest, grittiest, grimmest, dreariest, ugliest, most useless, most senseless desert of them all. It is the villain among badlands, most wasted of wastelands, most foreboding of forbidden realms. At least in the Southwest, the Pinacate desert is the final test of desert rathood; it is here that we learn who is a true rat and who is essentially only a desert mouse. |
Sincerely
Geoff Godfrey
March24,25 Martinez(6548),Sheep(5141),Asbestos(5265),Cone(6800+)
Leader: Larry Machleder
Eight participants assembled Sat morning outside the Pinyon Flat Campground on Route 74. John Lutz acted as assistant all weekend and filled in ably for Harry Brumer who couldn't make it due to urgent last minute personal business.
We hiked past the Dolomite Mine at 8:30AM and arrived at Cactus Spring at 10:l5AM. Contrary to the HPS peak writeup there was lots of water there. At this point two hikers decided that Sheep Mtn. alone would be adequate for the day and detached themselves from the group, while six continued on to Martinez. All were on the summit by l:15PM. We left the peak at 2:00PM and cross-countried to Sheep arriving at 4:3OPM. We made it back to the Cactus Spring Trail at 5:3OPM. We continued out and arrived back at the cars at 7:30PM with the aid of flashlights. It was a full 11 hour day with lots of cross country, but certainly feasible as a day hike for reasonably conditioned groups that start early. Incidentally, the peak writeup could use an update.
Sunday six assembled at the same place as Sat. and caravaned north to the end of Jeraboa Rd. where we began our hike on the jeep trail. The cars could have actually been driven to the base of the mountain. The hike up took about one hour.
After the descent of Asbestos, two decided that their weekend was already complete, but four felt that only Cone Peak would make a fitting conclusion to an active weekend ,so we endured the brush to get the peak. There was no register at the summit ,just as there was none 16 months ago. A determined party armed with shears and clippers could do wonders for this peak.