PS. I would suggest that Middle Palomas would make an excellent DPS peak. I do NOT, however, recommend the route we took. You have to want that summit in a VERY bad way (as we DID) to persist in that ascent thru the thorn bushes! Ron, I believe you used the more-sensible north ridge approach when you climbed Middle Palomas.
Ed - NO, we approached the middle summit starting in a wash to the south of the peak, attained the ridgeline and then traversed to the high point. This was not a seriously brushy route. -- RON
| March 28-29, 1992 | AVAWATZ - KINGSTON | Carey, Glavis |
This was a San Diego Chapter trip where Dick Carey took over the lead from Rob Langsdorf who had the flu. We met the group Fri. evening at the turnoff 19.1 mi north of Baker on route 127. The 19 mile signpost sure helps finding this obscure turnoff at night.
Ten of us piled into five 4WD vehicles the next morning and much to our surprise, found that a dozer had smoothed out the road. We turned left at the fork at 4.5 mi continuing up the narrowing canyon. Coming to the saddle after the last hard left turn we parked and saw the reason for the road improvements. A solar-powered repeater had been installed on the hill just next to the road. We guessed that it is a relay for the newly installed solar call boxes on 127 between Baker & Shoshone. It is best to park at this point rather than struggle on to the large rock blocking the traditional 4WD road end. We think this repeater site will alter the boundary of the Wilderness Area proposed for this range and that this road could NOT now be closed.
It took only two hours to get to the top, with easy hiking, signed the seldom used register and replaced the glass coffee bottle with a can-over-can container. We returned to the cars by 1:30 and soon began the drive back to 127 & Tecopa hot springs for a soak.
The descent was slow & bumpy with a real thrill sliding sideways in a rut toward the steep bank. After removing the lugs from the tire we discovered the wheel wouldn't budge off the hub. We kicked & cursed the tire & still it wouldn't budge. Ken mad use of a nearby call box to summon help from Baker. In the meantime, a Good Samaritan stopped to help us. He probably weighed close to 300 pounds & his kick was the coup-de-grace. The wheel gave up & let go. Another quick call couldn't stop the tow truck which had already left Baker.
Eight of us went on to the Kingston trailhead while Ken & Terry Flood went on to Smith Mtn with no spare tire. The camping at the Kingston trailhead is poor. The options are to camp on an abandoned road spur (the 2wd roadhead) or you can drive to the 4wd roadhead and camp among cows and "cow plops". As the sun set & happy hour commenced, we could see numerous lightning flashes in the Charleston area.
The next morning we climbed the peak via a mostly well-ducked route which passed through several "Tick-Thickets" near the first saddle. There are two registers on Kingston. The older one is in a capped pvc pipe and was soaking in a puddle of water inside the tube. The newer register is in a closed metal can and had many entries signed in an ink which had bled through the pages & blurred several entries. We left a pencil. During the climb we kept in touch via radio with Ken & Terry so that If they had more tire trouble we could help them. Participants: Richard Carey, Ldr & co-author with Mark Adrian; Russell Glavis, co-Ldr; Witold Martynowicz, Tom Moumblow, Dennis Richards, Ken Olson, Kathleen Mazur, Rheta Schoeneman & Terry Flood. -- Richard Carey & Mark Adrian ( from 2 edited write-ups )