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This trip turned out to be a double list finisher as scheduled. Randy Bernard completed it on Palmer Saturday and I completed mine on Grapevine on Sunday. We met Saturday morning at 6:3') a.m. approximately 12 miles north of Beatty. This turned out to be the intersection leading toward the trailhead. The mileage, more accurately is 6.7 mi. from Bailey's Hot Springs. Follow the dirt road as shown on the AAA map, and where it forks, take the right fork. Drive as far as you can go with standard cars, normally a mile below the saddle. You have to travel 20 miles on the dirt road before getting to the campsite. Driving time was about 2 1/2 hours. We started the hike at 9:00a.m. and returned to the cars at 6 p.m. At the end of the hike, a wonderful treat was in store for us, Jon Fredland and Steve Zoschke had iced up 3 deliciously sweet watermelons for us. Boy, they were goods Thirty-nine people made it to the summit of Palmer, anxiously waiting for the fortieth to show up. Finally, as Randy Bernard steamed up, the champagne corks started popping. I presented him with his list finisher pin. Jim Cantrell, Yolanda Gonzales, Celeste Hawksley and Treva Tilden climbed their first DPS peak. With the exception of one, they also climbed their second peak on Sunday. I hope to see them on other peaks. Zack Zoschke (8-9 years old), did a fine job of hiking and climbing Palmer. The party was memorable. Thanks to Dale Van Dalsem and John Gibba's large metal containers, we were able to have a nice campfire. Ground fires are not allowed. Food sharing, as usual, was diversified and generous. I don't believe anyone cooked dinner. As for the evenings' entertainment, the DPS has a new guitar player, Steve Zoschke, whom accompanied Marti Washburne and Suzanne Thomas on numerous songs which included some rock music. Steve Crooks tried out as drummer but I think he gonged out! Jim Farkas created a sensation in his new trend setting climbing apparel. Although he was colorful1 and I, not being a fashion reporter, I described Jim a cross between a ballet dancer and a fairy. Sunday morning, we 4w to the saddle again and headed toward Grapevine at 8 a.m. Thirty-nine of us signed the register. Since this was my list finisher, a few champagne corks were also uncorked. Randy Bernard, the new DPS chair, wearing his tuxedo shirt, presented me with the list finisher pin. We returned to the cars by noon. It was then decided that the majority of us wanted to stop at Bailey's Hot Springs for a soaking. The cost is $2.00 a person. It felt great before the long drive home. Most agreed that these springs were better than Tecopa, with three pools, two of which are co-ed. |
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