The Desert Peaks mopped up the Randsburg area over January 6 and 7. Saturday morning we scaled Fremont Peak, a miniature Matterhorn, in some 32 minutes. After lunch Red Mountain was conquered, before retiring to the Owl Cafe for a wonderful Indonesian banquet. At campfire Roger Mitchell of the USC Geology Dept. told of the formations and the mines of the region - the Yellow Aster, the Kelly, and other multimillion-dollar producers.
Sunday we scrambled up peak after peak, finally reaching the summit of Klinker, only to see Dome Mtn. 3-plus airline miles away. The mesa between sported beautiful wildflowers, most unusual for a January day.
After lunch we started back by climbing over all the false peaks, until we reached the cars just before sunset, with the two leaders, Trudie Hunt and Walt Wheelock, vying for last place in the line.
GRANITE MTN #2 (4063') & PALEN MTN (3851') John Robinson
A small but enthusiastic group of nine persons showed up on the
warm weekend of Jan. 27-28 for the climb of two qualifying peaks in the Blythe
desert area. Granite Peak, the longer climb, was done on Saturday. Six reached
the summit after a lengthy and tiring ridge traverse over and around several
false summits. Granite # 2 is one of the more strenuous desert peaks. The cars
were reached after dark. The group had almost given up finding them and were
preparing a desert bivouac.Only four persons (Charles Gail, Eric Thompson, John Svenson, and John Robinson) decided to ascend Palen Mtn. on Sunday. Piling into a VW, the foursome rambled across the desert floor in a ride that would challenge the best at Disneyland. This got the group within striking distance of Palen, which was easily ascended in surprisingly warm weather.
Leaders were Alden Sorbo (Granite) and John Robinson (Palen).
DESERT PEAK GUIDE NEARS REALITY Walt Wheelock
At long last the Desert Peak Guide has been officially approved by the editorial board of the Sierra Club. Part 1 will cover the Argus, Coso, Inyo and White Mtns. Dorothy Cutler, relieved from the task of publishing the Southern Sierran, is now busily beating out the master copy of the Guide. Niles Werner has contributed a most excellent photograph of Mt. Montgomery to use as a frontispiece, and Ruth Daly is touching up the four maps that will make this guide more useful. Editor Walt Wheelock is busy with scissors and rubber cement, so it is hoped that we will have the copies for sale at the DPS Banquet. Price: $1.00 CASH.
We are still looking for offers to help scout Part II, the Death Valley Country.
