It worked after the 3rd go at it. Now on "hard" ground I followed my track back by lurches and bucks, my battery growing weaker and weaker, to the freeway. 1-1/2 hours later I hitchhiked to Baker, got a tow back to that town where I abandoned my VW to an all night garage. A Greyhound transported me to my wife and children in L.A by Monday night.

(MORE OF THE ADVENTURES OF BILL AND HIS RED VW TO FOLLOW)

==> Many desert experiences only left to our memories will be lost if you, all of you, desert lovers don't commit them to paper. We've all had a unique, interesting and unforgettable experience or two. They may be humorous or they may celebrate the mood of the desert. Send them in. I'll edit them as little as possible and include one or two in every SAGE. -- Ed.

DPS SURVEY: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Fifty-five DPS members responded to the 1990 survey, and some results will be reported in the next issue of the SAGE. But preliminary results for the section about the insurance crisis show that of the 55 respondents to the survey, 39 said that the Sierra Club's current inability to offer insurance to cover technical and snow climbing negatively affected their view of the Sierra Club. Only 16 reported no change in their view. (Remarks offered by respondents will be reproduced separately and will be transmitted to Sierra Club officers.) DPSers were generally in favor of the Sierra Club's conservation efforts but split on the Desert Bill. 47 respondents supported conservation efforts by the Club, 6 of these qualifying their support to partial or a half the time; 8 respondents were not supportive. However, only 27 respondents supported the Desert Bill, another 6 were indecisive or lukewarm about it, and 22 respondents did support the Desert Bill. On the follow-up question about specific Sierra Club efforts supported in the recent past, 24 people specified their efforts (and 23 did not specify them). For example, 5 supported the Desert Bill (only one mentioned going to the Federal Building hearing) and 2 contributed to the Legal Defense Fund. 6 mentioned Big Green, 2 the Population Committee, and individuals worked for the preservation of bighorns in the San Gabriels, the Club's collection of a complete set of Desert Magazines, the protection of old growth, education for WSAs, the LA River, and so on. 23 of those who generally supported conservation did not list any recent effort in that area. Finally, we asked DPSers about the new California Mountaineering Club, founded in response to the Sierra Club's discontinuance of mountaineering insurance. 23 DPSers (of the 55 survey respondents) are also members of the CMC and half of the rest were interested in joining it. Views of the CMC ranged from superb, eventually will replace the DPS and SPS to a necessary evil, elitist, a bunch of macho loudmouths, and technical climbers only."

Karen Leonard

SCHEDULED TRIPS * * MISSING * * * * MISSING * * ===> Write-ups for the following past trips:

10/13-14 Stewart - Brown 12/1-2 Avawatz - Old Dad 12/8-9 Smith - Brown 1/1 Weaver's Needle 1/19-20 Nopah - Smith - Brown

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