Co-leaders: Paul Bloland and Ed Lubin
The twelve members at our party were ready to go at 7:30am so we motored up to the actual saddle parked, and filed southeast across the shallow canyon to join the main ridge which we followed up and down for hours with Sandy Point often in sight but always remote. Our thirteenth member, Dave Hammond, had arrived at the roadhead 45 minutes late but, by taking a more direct route, he was able to catch us about a third of the way. From our perch we could see the white Inyos to the west with the even higher and whiter Sierra Nevada looming behind them, obscured in spots by dark storm clouds.
It was getting colder so we left the summit after 45 minutes and followed the same roller coaster ridge back, the last person, me, getting in about 5:00pm. John Castel, sporting a brand-new digital pedometer, estimated the actual distance walked as over 12 miles rather than the 10 given in the DPS guide. It certainly felt like it. Although she acquitted herself like a veteran, Sandy Point was Nancy Ornelas' first mountain. Andy Zdon of Bishop had business on Sunday so he left us at this point.
Last Chance Mountain (5456'). Back at our cars we relaxed in the warm sun and discussed our planned climb of Last Chance the next day. We had read that the Guide route road was in poor condition so Ed asked Tom Sakowych to scout it in his Jeep CJ. After he reported that it looked possible for passenger vehicles, we caravanned east down the road to a junction with a sign reading Crankshaft Junction: and featuring a pile of rusting old gears. We turned left (NW) on a poor dirt road, clearly marked on the Auto Club Death Valley map, climbing up until we could see the corrugated iron cabin at the mouth of the canyon below Last Chance Spring. All of the cars made it to the cabin, including two low-clearance 2-wheel vehicles.
We promptly made ourselves at home, some setting up tents while others appropriated space in the cabin which was soon made comfortable