Ahead could be seen a saddle with large antennas similar to those we later found on the east side of Potosi Peak, located immediately to the north.
Looking down route B from the junction, could be seen what appeared to be a good dirt road leading almost to the foot of the steep portion. There was a large structure near the upper end.
From the junction, Guide directions were followed; we walked parallel to a cable on the ground. It had been severed; judging from the clean condition of the white strands inside, the damage had obviously occurred not long before our climb. This brittle appearing black tubing had also been crushed in another place. (Could the damage explain all the new looking, closely spaced, uniform size, red "No trespassing" signs along the length of road, route B would normally be started from?)
The cable route was indirect with little gain. There would seem no advantage in making the detour instead of heading up the ridge directly for the summit; the route drawn on the Guide topo. From the junction there is a chute just to the north of the topo route, which is probably used. Possibly causing further damage to the cable is another reason for not following the printed directions.
From the summit one has a unique view for a peak on the DPS List; that of a large city, Las Vegas, Nevada, almost within striking distance.
Five weeks had elapsed since our previous attempt, and the only snow that we saw on the ground was a 10 x 20 ft patch near the summit.
On the way down, we followed the main ridge. There were ducks at the turnoff for the Route A Variation. We passed a mine and crossed a road as we neared our vehicles.
It took three attempts (once by route A) for Paul, Anne Marie and I, to finally bag Potosi; but there is something appealing about the Peak and area; we may even venture there again to do some exploration. Ed Lubin
EL Picacho Del Diablo, 5-23/25, 1992, Dale Van D.
Only 8 of us met Sat A.M. at the Vallecitos turnoff from the Observatorio road. The Observatorio sign is gone at the Hwy 1 turnoff, but the Rancho Meling sign is there, but hard to see at night. Didn't get away from MDR until 3 P.M. Friday; didn't get to the Vallecitos turnoff from Observatorio road until 3 A.M. Unless you get away by noon on the Friday of a holiday weekend, forget it.
We drove in 12+ miles to the shack, hiked NE to Blue Bottle saddle & paused while some climbed Cerro Botella Azul, 300' gain. Then the 3,000 drop to Campo Noche, following the painted green dots down the talus in the middle. About a 7.5-hr day.
It rained that evening; no campfire. Around 7:30 P.M., Larry Tidball, Barbie Hoffman, & Bill Oliver returned from bagging the peak, via the Night Wash/Slot Wash/Wall Street Ruta Normal. They had come in a day earlier and planned to attempt the fearsome pinnacle Ridge route. A touch of snow (?) & a bit of rain & they, of course, wimped out & packed down to Campo Noche and bagged the peak on the day we hiked in.