We got together and left the lush spot by 7:15 for the great ascent, thought by some to be a sort of nightmare. We revowed the Grand Canyon likeness after reaching the Pass by 12:30, where we lunched. Grand weather prevailed 'til about noon, when dark clouds stole away the warming sun. By 2:30 all were back to their cars, some already out in the wind-swept, dust cloudy Panamint Valley. The whole desert seemed to be one big blow.
The only regret of the weekend's arduous backpack was the lack of an extra day's layover at the Ranch to enjoy the sights and former efforts of apparently a sizeable group of persons that built the ranch. There are hundreds of feet of thick rock wal1s, many stockades, and many trees, both alive and dead. Also a number of fruit trees, notably figs. It must have taken these Indians many years to develop such an acreage in such an remote spot. Today no buildings stand, only rock walls.
To my knowledge this is the first successful DPS trip into this Ranch, after several false starts thru the years. I'd very much like to return again but I feel the easier access would be from the Death Valley side. There is supposedly some sort of jeep road leading to some two or three miles of the Ranch in lower Johnson Canyon.
One of the amazing feats to me is the lack of steel tools at the Ranch -looks like everything must have been done by hand! I just wonder how the people existed, but with their generous spring, half of life's battle must have been overcome. It is truly a delightful setting, especially for those hikers who had the security that they could get out of such an isolated location.
We thank Leon for making the trip a great success and a fond memory.
NON-SKED EVENTS----More Smatko Scrambles -
To you newcomers, we have the Dean of Desert Peakers, Dr Andy Smatko, who has climbed every Desert Peak on our list. His many-years-long pursuit is to reach the high point of every range in San Bernardino County-our country's largest.
Notes from his diary follow:
On the weekend, of Jan 13-14 Ellen Siegal, Bill Schuler, and I climbed Little Cowhole and Cowhole Mtns. How those peaks received their names I can't tell as Guddi's Place Names In California makes no mention. There are lots of cows in the vicinity.