2-29-92
Bob Sumner/Barbara Cohen
Ten desert peakbaggers met at 6:30 AM at the junction of Hwy 190 and the Big Four Mine Road. We caravenned to the dirt road, and parked in a large flat area on the left side of the road. This is where the road turns northeast and heads directly for the mine.
It was comfortable t-shirt weather as we hiked up the remaining stretch of 4WD road to the base of the ridge. Then up steep scree-ish slopes to get on the ridge proper. The ridge had many level stretches which provided some welcome relief. By the tine we reached the summit plateau, high clouds were overhead and a strong cold wind was blowing. We sought shelter behind some rocks just north of the summit, signed in, and had lunch.
The view from the summit of Panamint Butte was OK, and we could see snow on many of the surrounding peaks. Most agreed it was a good conditioning hike (5000' gain in 4 miles), but that the peak is not one of the best on the list. The descent went smooth1y, and we were back to the cars by 3:45 PM.
Seven people then gathered for an early dinner in Panamint Springs. Eat here only as a last resort - their pathetic food made McDonalds seem like a Beverly Hills restaurant. Special thanks to Barbara Cohen for assisting on this "I" provisional lead. The participants were Charlie Knapke, Gene Mauk, Delores Holladay, Rose Stein, Stuart Rigney, Doug Hatfield, Tom Moumblow, and Steve Nardi.
GEOLOGY OF THE MOJAVE DESERT (AND NOT THE ZZYZX CENTER)
March 7-8, 1992
Although our reservation had been made 6 months ago and our money had been paid and accepted, the Zzyzx Desert Study Center unfortunately canceled us at the last minute in favor of a group from UC Riverside. Close to 100 people applied for this trip and we were limited to only 12! This was the first time Ron or I had a great response for a trip listed with the Desert Sub-Committee.
After four last minute cancellations due to the stormy weather, 8 of us met at 8am in Baker. Ron and I camped in Afton Canyon Friday night and got 3 or 4 rain showers through the night. The desert was very green, all the way from Bell Mountain and Barstow north. Ron opinioned that this will be an outstanding year for wildflowers & that he had NEVER seen the desert more green.
We met Dr. Howard Shiflett and his Desert Geology class of 40 or so from Long Beach in Baker. After buying gas, we caravanned toward Shoshone to study the Geology of the Silver Lake Playa. This dry lake bed, end point of the Mojave River, is different than Soda Lake, Searles Lake and Badwater because it does not have salt deposits.
Next we headed into the Avawatz area and observed the structural complexities at the junction of the Garlock and Death Valley fault zones & a problem involving stream piracy. Here we inspected a wonderful stocked cabin owned by a retired Orange County Fireman. It was tucked away behind the hills and is very well maintained by them. The road in was passable with careful driving. None of us had 4WD, but we all had high clearance. The weather was threatening and did in fact drop some rain on us as we were leaving. Nancy & Julie decided to get an early start back to the highway without telling us and unfortunately, that was the last we saw of them. We assumed they returned home but instead they got hung-up on a rock, out of sight, and had to walk to the highway and get help.
On we headed for Shoshone to inspect the Lava Creek volcanic ash (600,000 year old ash blown to this area from an eruption near Yellowstone).