| 5 Robe Court
Berkeley, CA 94705 December 12, 1987 |
Dear Karen,
Enclosed is a list of the desert peaks I have climbed over the past 45 years which finally qualify me for emblem status in the DPS.
I climbed my very first desert peak, Waucoba Mountain, on an unofficial Sierra Club trip during the DDS's formative period. Our group included my good friend Chester Versteeg (a prime mover in creating the DPS), Niles Werner, Parker Severson, Pat Carmichael, Jim Tow, Rhoda Goerz, Harry Paley, Martin Britt, and my high school friend Morris Vehon. The DPS took form and substance on that trip when, according to my notes, "Niles Werner was the first to be officially made a member of the DPS, having qualified by climbing all seven peaks." I well remember the celebration atop Waucoba.
Thanks to Harry Paley's stalwart Ford pickup truck, we were able to drive via Wyman Canyon to Campito Meadow to begin the long hike to White Mountain. Our group included Harry, Freda Walbrecht, Bob Nightengale, and Georgie White, who, as Georgie Clark, later became well known for her exploits on the Colorado River as a white-water adventurer and entrepreneur.
On Charleston Peak I was again with Harry Paley, Freda Walbrecht, and Martin Britt. There were 22 of us on Telescope Peak including Harry Paley, Louise and Niles Werner, Parker Severson, and Henry Greenhood.
All my early desert peak adventures were with the DPS, and Cerro de la Encantada, Rabbit Peak, and Glass Mountain have been with other Sierra Club groups. I have climbed the others with friends or, as in the case of Wheeler Peak, solo.
Few records stand the test of time. It took Nancy Keating the record time of 30 years to achieve emblem status, according to Desert Sage #l92. It took me 45 long years to achieve the same!
Here's to the desert
and its irresistible peaks! |