15116 Del Prado Drive
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
October 2, 1991
Mr. Ron
Jones
DPS Sage Editor
119 N. Helen Dr.
Fullerton CA 92635-3520
Dear Ron,
Having just finished climbing The DPS List, I'd like to
thank Randy Bernard for his genius and enterprise in publishing the section's
climbing guide. Had it not been for this useful pamphlet of route descriptions
and topo map reproductions (and the fact that I married a man with a 4-wheel
drive van), list completion would still be a dream. Randy, you should be proud
of your publication!
Sincerely,
Mary Gygax Motheral |
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| Letter to
Editor re Panamint Butte --- Hey Ron! |
WES SHELBERG
SAN DIEGO |
In his
enjoyable communication on Towne (7287-ft) and Dolomite Canyon (the Desert
Sage, 215, Sep (1991)), Steve Smith mentioned the possibility of going north
from Towne to Panamint Butte, possibly on a backpack. The purpose of the
present communication is to suggest what would be a neat rucksack traverse from
Towne Pass to Panamint Valley via Towne and Panamint Butte. Previous experience
(see below) suggests that such a traverse should be a feasible day excursion
and offer much more variety and scenic splendor than the usual up-and--dawn
route for Panamint Butte that is described in the DPS Road and Peak Guide (Feb
1989 Ed., Guide No. 2.5). The traverse would proceed along the Panamint Range
crest (over Towne) from Towne Pass to Panamint Butte and then descend the DPS
Road and Peak Guide's standard route to Panamint Valley. The 11-mile traverse
would involve a total elevation gain of 3640-ft and a total loss of 6140-ft;
should be accomplishable during sunrise/sunset (especially during the longer
daylight of the early/late desert season); and involve an easy car shuttle
between the start and finish which are 16-miles apart.
The suggested
traverse should be a feasible one-day trip since Jack Grams and I accomplished
a longer one-day trip from Towne Pass over Towne to Panamint Butte and back
during the shorter daylight of 28 January 1978 (The Desert Sage, 145, Aug-Oct
(1978) - This 14-mile rucksack round trip required sunrise (early) to sunset (a
wee bit beyond) and a total elevation gain of 5500-ft.
The suggested
traverse affords expansive vistas of desert and far-off mountains and a
potential for sheep and horse encounters. On the January 1978 trip:
- The Argus Range, Panamint
Range north of Telescope Peak, Hunter Mountain, Olancha Peak, Southern Sierras,
Inyo Mountains, White Mountains (fantastic), and Spring Mountains (with
Charleston Peak) were viewed. All the high ranges were magnificently
snow-capped! Towne had about a foot of snow but there was none on Panamint
Butte or the rest of the route.
- As Jack and I topped a
small rise in the saddle between "Peak" 6625 and Towne, we startled a herd of
14 desert bighorn sheep only about 100-ft. away. Did they ever take-off! Also,
we topped a small rise just before Panamint Butte and startled a herd of ten
wild horses about 50-ft away. Two were totally white; one looked like Mr. Ed of
television fame and the other like Ed's long lost pa-pa for whom he was
searching.
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