Continued...
Fry Mountains
I was disappointed that we were unable to drive into Upper Johnson Valley for
the pair of range highpoints Bob Sumner and I had planned for the day. It seems
somewhere around 2011 the Marine base was extended west into Upper Johnson
Valley, heavily signed for
Keep Out at the new border about 4.5mi north
of Soggy Lake (dry). We didn't find this out until we drove in the previous
afternoon. Bob had gotten up early today, sometime before 5a, to drive
homewards, leaving me alone when I awoke before sunrise. I decided since I'd
put my van through the pain of driving into the area I'd check out some of the
summits in a cluster of hills north of Soggy Lake. I had little at all on them,
but they looked to have some prominence (though I knew less than 900ft) and
would be a nice way to spend the morning. Using headlights,
I drove the van across Soggy Lake and
then some, about 2mi total to put me about 2.5mi SSE of the highpoint in this
group of hills. It was about as far as I could safely drive given recent rains
and somewhat soft conditions I found on the unmaintained road north and west of
Soggy Lake. Water puddles added to my nervousness and I was happy to find a
solid clearing to turn around, park, and start hiking. I made a 7.5mi loop
around this southern extension of the Fry Mountains. My GPS identified a point
northeast of the highpoint as Fry Mountain, so it seems at least one of several
summits had a name. Oddly, it wasn't the highest point in the area. That claim
belonged to Fry BM, about 400ft higher, and it was to this that I headed first
(the highpoint of the range is some 9mi further north with much shorter access
off Camp Rock Rd and slightly less prominence).
Having driven across the lake in the dark, it was still 30min
when I started hiking across the desert with just enough light to forgo a
headlamp. I followed the gently rising floor of
Fry Valley on the south side of the range for about a mile and a half before
starting up proper. Sunrise painted the desert a very
pleasant orange overlooking Cougar Buttes and Lucerne Valley
. was painted in similar color with
vivid constrast when it came into view as I crested a rise. 20min later, about
an hour after starting out, I reached on the west end
of the range. A battered and broken from 1955 was found at
the top along with a register with very
brittle pages from a notebook, most of which had fallen loose from the binding.
These went back as far as 1981, the oldest entry from a
.
Looking into the sun, I could trace out the ridgeline I thought
I would
follow back across the range with one or possibly two other points exceeding
300ft of prominence. Oddly, the point marked "Fry Mountain" on the GPS (and
also on the 7.5' topo map) is but a bump along the ESE Ridge extending down
from ,
with hardly 50ft of prominence. I have to believe the label was
mislocated on the maps and in the USGS database (the USGS/GNIS database also
has it at this odd location). In any event, it was an enjoyable traverse across
the connecting ridgeline over the Fry Mountain location and then continuing
to the two unnamed points further east. The first of these was the more
interesting. It has a that is class 3 from the
northwest (the
ascent route) and easier class 2 from the SE (descent route). The
is lower and easier but has a nice view
to the south. Neither of these had registers.
It had rained more than a few drops in this area a week earlier, the wettest
part of the desert I had visited on this six-day trip. Karl Fieberling, joining
me on day 2, had commented that we might be in time to see the desert start
to bloom. I laughed it off as a bit too premature, but Karl was of the mind
that it happens fairly quickly. We saw nothing over the next few days and forgot
about it. As I was
from Peak 4,041ft back down towards the desert,
my eye caught the tiny green sparks of new desert life amongst the rocky soil.
They were
but unmistakeable, and once noticed it was apparent that
the new sprouts were coming up all over. Another week and the ground might have
a colorful new tint to it. I got back to the
and my car around
9:30a, finishing up a surprisingly fun little jaunt. I drove back
and then out to SR247. The rest of the day was taken up with a handful of
named summits, all easy, off to one side of SR247 or the other.
Negro Butte
I was surprised to see this one still in the USGS database. All of the
placenames with "Nigger" were changed to "Negro" many years ago, and most of
these in
turn were changed to "Black" or some altogether different name 40-50yrs ago.
This is one of 12 such placenames still remaining in California. It
in this part of the desert because of it's blackish color, contrasting with the
lighter brown colors of its surroundings.
It is found along with Cougar Buttes north
of SR247 between Lucerne and Fry Valleys. Santa Fe Fire Rd is a good dirt/sand
road heading due north from the highway to service scattered homesites here. I
parked at the northern terminus of this road (high clearance can drive further)
just over a mile from the summit. is easy across open
desert flats. Those areas that aren't private homesteads are part of the BLM
Open Area. less than 300ft
. The most interesting part of this hike is
of sorts found on the SW side of Negro Butte. This
large encampment of trailers, shacks and a few buildings looks like the perfect
home for a fanatical cult. It has a shooting range set up on the flanks of Negro
Butte and an
lined with hundreds of empty champagne bottles. While
it looks like it could provide quarters for 15-20 families, I didn't see a
single person moving about when I walked by both coming and going. There were
several serviceable vehicles about the place and other signs to suggest it's
still occupied, but I suspect most of the trailers are empty and only a few
residents could be found if one went looking for them.
Pickaninny Buttes
This term is also considered derogatory these days, referring to children of
color (not necessarily black, but usually so). It was given to a pair of tiny
rising above the flats of Lucerne Valley, about 2mi NW of the
junction of SR247 and Camp Rock Rd. Paved Rabbit Springs Rd off Camp Rock Rd
can be used to get within a third of a mile. Homes between the peak and road
are only a mild hindrance - a vacant lot to the west can be used to reach the
buttes without crossing fences or violating
No Trespassing signs.
are rather inconsquential and hardly worth the effort -
they have but 80ft of prominence.
Strawberry Peak
This small peak lies at the southern tip of the Granite Mtns which divide Apple
and Lucerne Valleys. It can easily be reached
just north
of SR18. A homeowner living at the base of the peak on the south side has
installed a made of aluminum poles strung with
Christmas lights. An extension cord runs almost 300 vertical feet from the
summit . I climbed from the north side through an
empty stretch of property off
Rabbit Springs Rd. An ignorant but well-intentioned visitor used a spray can to
paint entirely unnecessary
to direct folks up and down this class 2
summit. Such are the hazards of being too accessible.
Peterman Hill
This small hill is located just north of dry
Lucerne Lake and west of SR247 after
it turns north from Lucerne Valley heading to Barstow. I used a buried gasline
road on the south side to access it ,
but it is easy to climb
directy from SR247 as well. The summit features two crosses - the larger
is located on an adjacent, lower summit. It appears to have come from a
defunct church. Equipped with lights behind translucent panels, it is no longer
illuminated as it has no power source. This would require a
really long
extension cord to reach the nearest house. A second, smaller
is
found at the highpoint, a memorial left by a grieving friend or relative. The
summit has a good view and .
It was almost 1p
by the time I finished with the last of these minor peaks. I had a seven hour
drive to return home to San Jose and thought it a good time to close the book on
this roadtrip. Until next time...