Forum Index > Trip Reports > 21 Days - Desert Peakbagging Extravaganza - Winter 2015/2016
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Brushbuffalo
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Brushbuffalo
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 8:31 pm 
Gimpilator wrote:
Heather and I have developed a kind of verbal system. When I'm leading and there's a cholla, I say "Oya" and then she knows it's coming.
I recall that we used to call them "jumping cholla." I also recall that the spines are barbed. True? Or is that just my imagination from the pain of getting stuck?

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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John Morrow
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 8:57 pm 
Brushbuffalo wrote:
Gimpilator wrote:
Heather and I have developed a kind of verbal system. When I'm leading and there's a cholla, I say "Oya" and then she knows it's coming.
I recall that we used to call them "jumping cholla." I also recall that the spines are barbed. True? Or is that just my imagination from the pain of getting stuck?
True on both accounts

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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ree
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ree
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 12:12 pm 
Wow, that is awesome! What books do you recommend for these peaks you are getting? Grapevine is one in my crosshairs too. When we drove by it we were out of time and a weather system was moving in. Pahrump Point? I've never heard of that one. Is that between the Amargosa Valley and Pahrump Valley? The strata reminds me of the mountains next to Ash Meadows. Castle... is that off 15 near Searchlight?

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John Morrow
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 12:41 pm 
ree wrote:
What books do you recommend for these peaks you are getting?
http://www.amazon.com/Rambles-Scrambles-Peakbagging-Desert-Southwest/dp/0692381317/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
ree wrote:
Castle... is that off 15 near Searchlight?
That's a different one in Mojave National Preserve, I believe you are thinking of. The Castle Peaks there are an extension of the New York Mountains which would be between I15 and Searchlight.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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Gimpilator
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 1:16 pm 
ree wrote:
What books do you recommend for these peaks you are getting?
Primarily we use www.summitpost.org, www.peakbagger.com, and www.snwburd.com/bob/ for these desert trips, but one book that has been helpful is this one, but it does not cover AZ. I had not heard of the new book John recommended, but I just bought it on Amazon. smile.gif
ree wrote:
Pahrump Point? I've never heard of that one. Is that between the Amargosa Valley and Pahrump Valley?
It's between Chicago Valley and Pahrump Valley at the north end of the Nopah Range, but it's not as nice of a climb as the Nopahs. Pahrump Point is on the <a href=http://www.peakbagger.com/list.aspx?lid=5053>DPS List</a> which is why it was on our tick list.
ree wrote:
Castle... is that off 15 near Searchlight?
This Castle is in the Kofa range northeast of Yuma.

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John Morrow
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 3:53 pm 
Gimpilator wrote:
I had not heard of the new book John recommended, but I just bought it on Amazon. smile.gif
Rambles and Scrambles is bare bones. But it covers such a wide variety of areas, and he has a great aesthetic sense for peak scrambles and rates climbs as such. One thing about desert peaks is route finding seems to often be a bit more obvious so he is sparse in some descriptions. Leaves some room for excitement and discovery. However, on harder sections he often gets more detailed.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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ree
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 3:59 pm 
Thanks for the information. Those Castle Peaks (part of New York Mountains) is a place I went tooling around a long time ago, in my pre-hiking days. I'd sure like to go back and check it out. Your Castle Peak looks really impressive - another place to check out. I love that you're doing all these great scrambling destinations, Mr. Gimp. We were in the Vegas area, trying to find a place to camp out over the holidays. We were thinking the Mojave Preserve at first, but the high elevation and low temps dissuaded us. Also you wrote a harrowing trip report about one of the peaks there... so rocky and bouldery... it also seemed not a good selection, given the short daylight hours. Instead we chose the Muddy Mountain Wilderness, which was spectacular. John Morrow - your trip report there inspired us. We didn't make the peak, but we explored Hidden Valley quite a bit. We also found a bighorn sheep skeleton. Those horns are heavy!!! Anyway, thanks again. Love the desert. The colors, quiet, and even the smells out there are wonderful. up.gif

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John Morrow
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 4:26 pm 
ree wrote:
we explored Hidden Valley quite a bit. We also found a bighorn sheep skeleton. Those horns are heavy!!!
Would love to see pics! I found some, but I believe there must be much more rock art throughout that special place.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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John Morrow
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 4:36 pm 
Another climber's personal website: Harlan Stockman http://hwstock.org/ His trips index by map area: http://hwstock.org/map/

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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ree
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 4:54 pm 
John Morrow wrote:
I found some, but I believe there must be much more rock art throughout that special place.
John- We went all over that place trying to find petroglyphs!!! The problem is, there are SO MANY places to look! Ultimately, we did not find any. We did go to Valley of Fire and natch, there were lots there. Hidden Valley was very special though. I will put some pictures up, but if you don't mind, can I just regurgitate your thread - so I don't have to start a new one? Sorry Mr. Gimp. I did not mean to hijack your thread. This is an awesome post for future reference. I kind of wish you would put up a map that contained all these places you mentioned in this thread. Your reflections on Vegas were great. Btw, we did Sheep Mountain - that big ass peak that sits on the north end of Las Vegas Valley. I did not put up a trip report about it here, but if you are interested maybe I will. That was a prominent peak I'd been eyeing for a long time. The nice thing about desert scrambling is that the rock is quite nice, and you don't need a trail on the terrain.

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Gimpilator
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 5:12 pm 
John, thanks for mentioning the Stockman website. I have used it in the past and it's an awesome resource, but I had forgotten about it.
ree wrote:
Sorry Mr. Gimp. I did not mean to hijack your thread.
I don't mind at all. I think it's a great discussion.
ree wrote:
I did not put up a trip report about it here, but if you are interested maybe I will.
Please do! I'd like to see that. We had considered doing Frenchman Mountain on the east side of the Vegas valley, but then I read about a troublesome fence which prohibits visiting the true summit, so we didn't bother.

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Gimpilator
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 5:54 pm 
ree wrote:
I kind of wish you would put up a map that contained all these places you mentioned in this thread.
Overview Map
Overview Map
There you have it. hockeygrin.gif

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John Morrow
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 5:57 pm 
ree wrote:
can I just regurgitate your thread - so I don't have to start a new one?
By all means, regurgitate away! If you head back that way someday, I can map you the rock art I found.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”-Mary Oliver “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” ― MLK Jr.
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ree
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PostThu Jan 21, 2016 1:15 pm 
Thanks for that map, Gimpski (lol, BPJ!) I can see you jumped around quite a bit! Avawatz area is so cool... all the mining crap there. So how did you like looking down at the San Andreas Fault from Pinos??? It's pretty spectacular. I remember some hot springs nearby... I forgot the name though. I thought they were between there and Ojai. Was there a Superstition in the Mojave Preserve? I read your trip reports and the peakbagging seems a bit strenuous. One of these days we'll drive out there to check it out. The historic depot seems pretty interesting, and maybe they'll reopen Mitchell Caverns too. That is funny someone left a rubber snake on the summit, although I can imagine it'd startle someone. John- When we were out hiking MMW, we talked about you making it all the way to the summit. We were like, "wtf... did he RUN?!" It's a long schlub across the valley. You bet we'll be back, and I'll pm you about petroglyph locations. Bird and Hike is the site we used for beta. Jim doesn't like to divulge too much about unknown rock art sites for obvious reasons. There's always some jerk that wants to vandalize it. Btw, Gimp, did you check out Ash Meadows when you were out that way? The springs out there are gorgeous blue shades of cobalt and ultramarine... and you can see the rare pupfish out there. They are so small! Also Tecopa Hot Springs are pretty neato. People like to diss LV, but they usually are ragging on the smokey casinos, etc.. But there's a heap of cool places to check out that have nothing to do with the Strip. Speaking of which, the Neon Graveyard is a pretty awesome tourist attraction. LV cool.gif

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