SIERRA CLUB ANGELES CHAPTER DESERT PEAKS SECTION NEWSLETTER #31 March 20, 1954

Dear Desert Peakers: After a long silent three months since the last newsletter, your new chairman has finally completed a "must-be-done" assignment for Harwood Lodge and can concentrate on pounding out the DPS news-sheet. Until the last two weeks news and activities of the section had been at a minimum. Highlight of the New Year week-end was the trip to Rabbit Peak. 21 climbers including one guest and four children safely reached the summit. Dorothy Cutler attained her sixth desert peak and Henry Stege joined her in qualifying for DPS membership. Camping out on a level ridge midway between the cars and the top, the group reached the summit at 8:30 AM, in time for a leisurely descent back to the cars by Sunday night. Bob Bear, the leader, reported that none other than Sierra Clubbers had signed the register since it was placed by Bill Henderson's 1947 expedition. The last week-end of February saw 41 persons willing to drive a long way to the Turtle Mountains area. Most of them arrived at windy campsite early Saturday evening. Randall Henderson enlivened our campfire program with some local history and Indian legends of the area. Sunday morning he and Thomas Corrigan generously gave the group a lift on their four-wheel drive Willys along a boulder-studded road to a point half a mile below Mopah Springs. From there the climbers hiked to the base of high walled Mopah Peak. Encountering a wide chimney on the west side which required considerable rock climbing, the group retreated and sent out scouts to search for a better route. Ed Gammon and Tom Corrigan found a feasible rock-climbing route and led 5 of the party to the summit after a long rock climb with several 4th class pitches. Lee Wininger led a group searching for a route without considerable rock climbing and they finally returned to campsite without reaching the summit. Still others in the group went rock hunting for chalcedony roses which are found in abundance in this area. Those five led to the summit were Randall Henderson, Bob Bear, Pauline Saylor, Lillian Casler, and yours truly. The announcement made by Marion Dean at Turtle Mtns. campfire concerning the proposed Blue Cut road through Joshua Tree Nat'l Monument proved a bit premature. Supt. Samuel King of the monument had reported to us that Conrad Wirth, director of the Nat'l Park Service has handed down a written opinion opposing the request of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for a Calif. Division of Highways survey of the Blue Cut route. This opinion seemingly closed the matter temporarily. Then about one week later local newspapers carried an account of an attempt by the Desert chapter of the Western Mining Council to obtain a highway through the monument by requesting the Calif. state legislature to ask President Eisenhower to amend the act which created the monument and open the area to mining. It is now apparent that the Coachella Valley Advisory Planning Committee wants a short cut route through the monument at any cost. Our Chapter conservation committee has asked 10 or 12 persons from Southern California to write letters of protest to Calif. State Highway Commission, Sacramento, Calif. protesting the request of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors for a survey of the proposed Blue Cut route through Joshua Tree Nat'l Monument. Alden Hilton is now convalescing at his home 2005 Palm Grove Ave., Los Angeles 16, Calif. following major surgery February 8th. He would be glad to see or hear from any of his DPS friends while in Southern Calif., for he probably will not return to work before the end of March. The Martinez Peak trip last week-end was a huge success. 41

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