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DESERT PEAKS SECTION
NEWSLETTER #41 ANGELES CHAPTER - SIERRA CLUB |
July, 1955 |
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Dear Desert Peakers: Before taking off on the high trip in the Tetons, here is another NEWSLETTER to bring you up to date on DPS doings. We're cooking up a social event for some time in the Fall. It will probably take the form of a DPS party at Harwood Lodge. |
To start with, here is Dan's next conservation column. Let's have your expression of interest in this, one way or another. Maybe you have some angle on this subject that you would like to discuss. Let's hear from you.
CONSERVATION FOR DESERT PEAKS by Dan L. Thrapp
Goblin Valley is one of the places that we had missed.
I don't know how many Sierrans have visited this remote corner in south central Emery County, Utah, but the number must be few. There is a dandy article on its discovery and exploration in a recent National Parks Magazine. Philip W. Tompkins wrote it.
Arthur Chaffin, operator of the Hite ferry, had found the valley almost a generation ago, but nothing happened until 1949 to bring it to public attention. It is so isolated it might have remained unknown for a long time. But Tompkins and Chaffin took in a small expedition in that year and the press got hold of the story in the autumn.
Because of the publicity, Tompkins related, travel to the area increased, and that is where the conservation angle comes in.
"It is extremely urgent that something be done to protect this treasure spot, for vandalism is likely to occur," the writer said.
He urged that consideration be made of incorporating the area into a national monument.
"People who make the effort to see the valley today are not likely to be the kind who would deface the formations or leave unsightly camps," Tompkins conceded. "But this would quickly change if road conditions were to be improved."
Unfortunately, jeep trips into this area already are offered by the Jackson brothers of Fremont, Utah, and perhaps others.
WINNEDUMAH TRIP
June 18 - 19 saw the DPS paying a return visit to Winnedumah (Paiute Monument) after an interval of six years. This 80-foot granite pinnacle, associated with Indian legend, is located in a broad dip on the crest of the Inyos east of Independence. Sixteen members and guests, including the small fry, made camp at the mine below Barrel Spring in Mazourka Canyon, 12 miles east of Independence. Among the guests were Mr. and Mrs. Kermit Clemans and their three boys from China Lake. Paul and Mary DeDecker of Independence joined us in the evening.
Saturday afternoon a group of us drove 4-1/2 miles up the canyon from camp to do a bit of exploring. Parking the cars, we hiked up the jeep road to Badger Flat, where we could look up Tamerack Canyon. This is a