Manly Peak, Needle Peak

7-May-94

By: Greg Roach

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We met Saturday morning in the Panamint Valley where the Wingate road turns east about a mile before entering Goler Wash. This is a beautiful narrow canyon. As you approach Mengal Pass the canyon widens into high des-ert. The road before the pass gets rough with many rocks in it; 4WD drive is very helpful and high clearance is mandatory.

The Butte Valley on the other side of the pass is a se-cluded high desert valley. There are many cabins here mentioned in the guide which are worth visiting. The Ge-ologist cabin is clean and has a cement floor, tables, chairs, and a fireplace. This would be a good place to spend the night if the weather is bad.

We started the hike up to Manly peak from the Russell cabin. (This cabin is like an old ranch house. There was a backcountry ranger living here who was friendly and seemed happy to have some visitors. He had been living there since November.)

The route up to Manly went well. We all enjoyed climb-ing on the Big Rock on top to sign the register.

Saturday night we camped in Anvil Spring Canyon near the start of route B to Needle. The sandy wash made a good sheltered camping spot. Sunday morning we climbed Needle Peak by the B route. The weekend was enjoyed by all. Our small but congenial group included Dennis Richards, Rob Rizzardi, Mirna and myself. Thanks to all.


Detailed information for visiting one or more peaks mentioned in this article can be found in the
Desert Peak Section Road and Peak Guides

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