Eagle Mountain #2, Stewart Point

21-Jan-95

By: Greg Roach

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It was a cloudy Saturday morning. The parking lot was full of cars in front of the Crow Bar in Shoshone. Ten adventurous souls signed up for the climb of Stewart Point. We drove out the Charlie Brown Memorial Highway towards the town of Pahrump. The climb of Stewart Point starts from the high point of highway 178 before it turns east and drops down hill towards Pahrump.

The clouds hung low on the mountains and it was drizzling rain as we reached the trailhead for Stewart. It did not look like a good day for a hike. Clouds covered the top of Stewart and it looked like it would rain any minute. However, some members of our group determined to hike the peak come rain or shine. (It's this kind of attitude that gets the list finished). So despite some howls of protest from other members of our group (and I don't mean the dogs) we decided to go for it. It turned out to be a good hike. The weather improved and everyone stayed dry. The view from the top of the peak was somewhat limited due to the clouds but we climbed the peak and had fun doing it. Ten DPSers and two DPS dogs signed the register.

After climbing Stewart we visited Tecopa Hot Springs and then camped at the "Mud Flats" near Shoshone. We enjoyed a great dinner and campfire. Some members of our group then went over to the Crow Bar in Shoshone to play billiards and enjoy the local Innkeeper hospitality.

The next morning we were up early to climb Eagle Mountain. Not everyone made roll call that morning. The Crow Bar billiards players opted to sleep in and/or climb other peaks. "He who hoots with the owls all night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning."

Sunday our group of seven climbed Eagle Mountain. This is one of my favorite desert peaks. It rises out of the desert floor like an island. There are colorful stripes on this mountain showing the layers of ancient strata that were then turned from horizontal to nearly vertical to form the mountain. There is some fun climbing near the summit and a great view in all directions. Congratulations to Kay Daugherty; this was her second desert peak.

The climbers were: Fred Smith, Wynne and Andy Zdon, Kay and Mike Daugherty, Scot Jamison, Julie Rush, Patty Kline, and Bill Lawrence. Thanks to all who joined us.


Detailed information for visiting one or more peaks mentioned in this article can be found in the
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