| Tigers!), who were
feeling the effects of the previous day's activities. The route B approach
spends more time in the gully mode than route A. This was pleasant, but slower
going for the group. Rear ventilation appears to be a Sheephole characteristic;
as a result of the extensive rock hopping, fully half of the group was
revealing underwear and/or posterior skin by trip's end. The top was achieved
in a leisurely style by eleven. Back at our vehicles, we toasted Peter's
qualification for DPS membership with his French cabernet and then quaffed the
remaining Spanish Peaks Blackdog Wheat beer before heading home. Enjoyable
peaks with an enjoyable group and an always able co-leader. - Erik Siering.
Peak 10,457 From Lone Pine, continue north to the outskirts of town and turn right (east) on the signed 'LP Nar Ga" Road. Go three miles to the Dolomite Road and go north on it about 1.3 miles to two dirt roads on the right. Take the first (southern) of these and go about 1.7 miles to the base of a prominent ridge on the right. (This is the road to the old Duarte Mine.) Park in any of several turnouts. High clearance 2WD can get here. You should be at about 4400'. Start the hike by heading southeast for about 500' to get to the top of Pt. 4939. Then head east up the loose rock and dirt ridge. It is quite steep and gains 2000' in only a mile. At around 6000'! found a cache of four rusty old canteens which were probably left by a miner long ago. Two of these had fallen apart but miraculously the other two are still intact and contain water. There are faint remnants of an old miner's trail but it soon fades away. Around 7400' the ridge levels out for a while before getting steeper again. This is a good place to take in the superb view of the Sierra and the Owens Valley. |
The ridge turns
northward at around 8400' and heads toward Pt. 9247. The first Pinyon pines are
encountered here and provide some welcome shade. Around 9400' the ridge turns
northeast and finally east to the summit. The views from the top are excellent. Mt. Inyo and Keynot Peak loom to the north and New York Butte a few miles to the south. To the west the Whitney group beckons while many Death Valley peaks are visible to the east. Below lies Beveridge Canyon and the Saline Valley.
The register was placed in October 1980 by Gordon Macleod and Barbara Lilley. It sees about 1 or 2 sign-ins per year although 87', 91', and 92' saw no sign-ins. Mine was the only entry for 94'. Most visits are by people traversing the Inyo crest. It is unfortunate that such a nice day hike-able peak is ignored for lack of a name or whatever. Statistics: Peak 10,457, 6.5 miles r.t., 6100' gain, class 2. -- Bob Sumner |
