backpackers this season, so likely as not we were the first party into the plateau this spring. We were all had COLD and WET feet by the time we reached Los Llanitos (8200ft). Because of the snow, we decided to abandon our plan to seek a cross country route from Los Llanitos to Horse Flats, and instead the next day hiked along the well-ducked trail that Dick and I knew well from several previous Martir hikes that leads thru a forested valley and down to La Encantada meadow at its north west end. From there we proceeded along the north and north eastern edge / arm of the meadow to a big, ducked boulder that marks the start of the well-ducked La Encantada - Horse Flats trail. Most of the snow disappeared as we got below 7800ft elevation, and Encantada Meadow (7200 ft.) was entirely free of snow. We ascended this trail past a year-round spring to Horse Flats at 8200 ft, then hiked toward the three Palomas peaks. The west face of the peaks was almost entirely free of snow up thru to the summit. We made camp about 20 minutes from the base of the peaks in an idyllic bit of forest next to what normally is a tiny trickle of a spring, but what was at this time a respectably babbling brook. Dick and I had 4 years ago tried and failed to climb Middle Palomas via a relatively brush-free route that led from the middle of the base of the peak north to the notch between the north and middle peak, then up toward the summit of the middle peak south along its ridge. We had gotten to within about 300 feet of the summit or less when we encountered a tricky move that was sufficiently difficult and exposed that it turned us back. This time, to avoid that area, we decided to climb directly up a heavily thornbrush-filled gully on the south part of the west face of Middle Palomas. This gully passes between two "pillars" just north of a 50 foot vertical and bare area on the southern ridge of middle Palomas, and reaches the ridge about 200 ft. and 15 minutes travel from the summit. It took us THREE and HALF HOURS to laboriously fight our way thru the VICIOUS torn bushes to attain the ridge. There we encountered a slightly exposed class four move to proceed further up the ridge. Dick and I would not have tried it, but Dave Poulliet, an experienced and strong climber, scampered up without the slightest hesitation and sent down the 30 foot goldline "emergency rope" we had carried, belaying us over that and one other slightly sticky portion. The summit had a Sierra Club, Los Angeles chapter, DPS register (a 17 cent spiral note pad inside a glass Tang jar under a single rock), and we noted that roughly 30 people had climbed the peak since 1973. We recognized about a quarter of the names (John Robinson, Bud Bernard, Andy Smatko, Ron Jones, Jerry Schad) as well known San Pedro Martir Mountaineers and authors of various books and maps about the region. There also was an older register nearby with entries going back to 1963. We had a nice view of the eastern deserts and the Sea of Cortez to the east, and of the Martir plateau and out all the way to the Pacific Ocean to the west. Curiously, there was NOT a good view from the summit of Picacho Del Diablo...perhaps North Palomas was in the way. We noted CONSIDERABLE snow cover on the north and east faces of south Palomas, which was our first clear warning that we might not be able to complete the Canyon Del Diablo part of our trip. The descent down the thorn bush gully again took about 3 1/2 hours. We were picking thorns out of our hands and legs for the next week or so.

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