trail, to be greeted once more in restful, familiar Camp CC. Wed. we reached the cars by noon, all except Bill Clifton, who lingered in the high country several days longer. Enroute home, we stopped in Valle San Felipe to enjoy the great display of yellow, orange, purple, and white wildflowers. The Baja Desert is no wasteland; in the springtime it resembles a colorful, blooming fairyland of desert flora. Desert Peakers are fortunate in having the San Pedro Martir relatively close at hand. While the topography, flora, and wildlife closely resemble the San Jacinto Range in So California, the wild, primitive nature of the Martir render it unique. One might compare it with the San Jacinto scene a century ago. Sheephole Mtn & Pinto Peak    April l4-15    -Lew Hill The main group met 20 miles east of 29 Palms on Sat AM for the caravan to the start of the climb. There we met those who tried to head 'em off at the pass. Our route led, up an arroyo to near the summit, which included some scrambling to the top. I was almost eliminated, on the way down, due to faulty hearing, but luckily the buzzing rattlesnake concerned was comfortable and well-fed! Sunday dawned bright and clear but was marred by many reluctant peak baggers at the 4:30 AM signal. Pinto Pk, as approached from Pinto Basin, is one long foot slog from desert floor, up a canyon, then a ridge, and finally a summit. Due to advance planning, adequate shade was provided on both the uphill and downhill grades. Among the many wildflower displays admired, the many cacti took most of the glory. We all arrived back at the cars safely and in good shape. Much thanks go to Sam Fink for his wonderful scouting of routes and summits. He has climbed both of these before, Thanks again, Sam. Sentinel Pk & Hungry Bill's Ranch April 20-21 -Bob Greenawalt The "invigorating" pitch as mentioned in the schedule writeup for this event was certainly no misnomer and proved to be one of my most exciting knapsacks jaunts in a long spell. Actually it was more than I bargained for. We left Panamint at the appointed time and began the 18-men trek up Frenchman's Canyon, where we soon reached random snow patches of the snow-cone variety. Along the way many old rock ruins were noted of former mining activities. The area is all forested with pinyons and junipers, many stumps still show axe and saw cuts of almost a century ago when wood was used to feed the Panamint smelters. The hike to the pass was as usual, with rest stops, and once we had that under our belts we came to our first Death Valley view-magnifique! Here we dropped our packs and rainproofed them as the group left to ascend the SW shoulder leading to Sentinel Peak. As we rounded one bend we were greeted by a huge snow bowl, in full view, and crested by limber and bristlecone pines. We admired this sight for about 30 minutes as we traversed a section of miserable scree. Again, as in the past, the real summit was beyond the first likely spire. The group broke up according to our various shape factors(i.e, hiker's physical shape) and by the time this writer reached Sentinel Pk, most of the others were nearly back to the packs. The summit views were very rewarding, however somewhat hazy, but all the landmarks were in their splendor. Back to the pass by 2:30 PM our descent into Johnson Canyon was one not unlike Grand Canyon, with constant valley views. The tail end of our group arrived, at Hungry Bill's just at dark, all of us well spent, since the old trial(yes the trail is a tria1) is obliterated in many places. About one half mile before the ranch is a fine spring which quickly disappears and then rises once more near the ranch. We had to trudge thru face-high arrowweed and willow thickets parted by burros in order to reach a good campsite. With the arrival of the last contingent, rain began. Later in the evening the weather let up and we had time to cook somewhat of a

Page Index	Prev	Page 7	Next	Issue Index