Should the DPS delete the Mexican peaks because of incidents like this? No, no, no, a thousand times no. They are good peaks which can be enjoyed without any hassles. If you break the law, expect to pay for It just as would here. I'm looking forward to going back for Pico Risco and Big Picacho. And If there are any more hassles, I'll look at it as an adventure, not a mishap.
Anyway, we reconvened at our meeting spot in Calexico and waited an hour for Bill T. Remembering his license plate, we checked back at the border. Their computers revealed he had passed through the border before any of us. We knew he was safely back in the States, where ever he was. (Turns out he thought we had already left, so he did too.) The rest of us went to "El Mariachi" restaurant in El Centro for dinner. If anyone ever suggests that you eat here, pretend you're in a drug advertisement and "just say no".
This wasn't just a peak, It was an adventure.
| TUCKI/PORTER | Jan 8-10 | Jamison/Tidball-was rained out. |
A check with the Emigrant Ranger Station the day before verified that the roads were impassable at the time.
Not wanting to waste a weekend, several of the group participants met Saturday morning at the carpool point in Simi Valley, had breakfast, and headed out for some non-desert work on Mt. Pinos. Larry Tidball, Barbara Hoffman, Robin Schulman, Ellen Miller, Ken McElvany and I struggled to the top of Mt. Pinos on skis, and then spent the rest of the day practicing teletumbling and telesaulting in the popular XC ski area. Naturally we had the 10 essentials, so when we found ourselves in an area with no trail markers, lots of untracked snow and a few bewildering looks as to where in the hell we were, we pulled out the Tucki map which wasn't much good, and just headed back "up".
This eventually led us back to the cars, so we drove back down the hill and found the "Okie Girl Brewery", right near the freeway off ramp in Lebec. This proved to be the best part of the day, as we sampled the various tasty brews (7 beer types, plus a rich sasparella!) before choosing a particular one to go with the great sandwiches or meals they served. This will be a perfect stop on the way back from any trip to the western side of the Sierra.
The place looks like a big red barn, and the proprietor will gladly show-off her two story brewery and also sell you fairly large bottles of her various brews for other happy-hours.
Our plans to ski again the following day were doused by more rains on Sunday. Larry and I will give these peaks another go on October 23 & 24 of '93 (Tucki and Porter, that is!) SJ