TALES FROM THE TRAILS MY START WITH THE DPS IN 1965 - STEVE SMITH

Ron asked me for my first DPS peak bagging recollections. Thinking back, I realize that there was really a major learning curve for me - a lot of uncomfortable situations but fortunately nothing got too serious. Of course, I feel that one of the many great benefits of desert climbing is learning to cope with the difficult situations one can encounter. In thinking back to my introduction to the DPS and experiences encountered in pursuing desert peaks, a lot of memorable remembrances start coming to mind. It was after a 3 day DPS climb when several people had described their experience going up Telescope that I headed over to climb the peak. I was really taken in by my impressions of the area's desert beauty, vastness and uniqueness. It was early in September, 1965, and hot in Panamint Valley but the trail from Mahogany Flat was cool, myriad flowers were in bloom, wild burros keep an eye on me. I still vividly remember the tremendous views from the summit. I was hooked on the desert. In those days, the DPS peaks were all listed in the back of the outings schedule. Looking at the list, I decided to do some more peaks. I went down to the USGS office in L.A., started buying topo maps for some of the northern peaks on the list, and started heading up desert peaks. The following are some of the memories I have of my first 11 DPS peaks: Boundary and Montgomery: Talked a classmate at LAVC to accompany me. He had never climbed before and brought along a bottle of bourbon to help with the climb and desert cold. Camping part way up, we utilized the bourbon and I discovered the next day that drinking on a climb was bad news. Part way up, he quit and laid down on some rocks to wait for me and fell asleep in the sun while I went on up to the two peaks. Coming back down, there he was with his shirt off and as sunburned as you can be. On the drive out, we were exploring a mine shaft. I climbed down about 30' and was holding on to a support beam when my flashlight showed something moving right next to my hand. In a split second I realized it was a snake and I'll never forget my quick exit back up that old ladder. (I never did get that friend back out on another desert trip). White and Glass: Two weeks later, I drove up towards White and the road gate 2 miles before Barcroft Lab was open. Even though the sign said no vehicle entry, I drove up to the quonset huts, and seeing nobody, quickly parked and took off before someone told me to leave. This was late October and all I had was a light jacket. The sun was setting as I reached the summit - boy did I freeze that evening. Getting back to the car at night, I immediately took off in order not to get caught. 0oops, the gate was now locked and I could find no way to get my VW bug around it. Knocking on one of the quonset hut doors, the UC and Navy researchers were really understanding and finally one of them

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