Peak 1,686ft P300
Peak 1,679ft
Peak 1,450ft

It was time for my annual Birthday Desert Trip, scheduled for 18 days this year. I was up early at 4:30a so I could get a half day of hiking, after almost 8hrs of driving. Today's three peaks are the southernmost in the Marble Mountains south of Interstate 40 and east of Kelbaker Rd. They are also the last three summit to complete the range.

It was 1:40p by the time I got to the end of a BLM spur road off Cadiz Rd that got me to the base of the range on the SW side of the peaks. My clockwise loop would cover 4mi and 1,300ft of gain, a fairly tame outing. Still, it would keep me occupied until nearly sunset before I returned to the Jeep. My route was probably not the shortest as there's another spur road going to the saddle just northwest of Peak 1,450ft which could take off some time and effort. I enjoyed walking around the range though the terrain wasn't that great - lots of rubbly slopes and washes to slow me down, but all class 2. I visited the highest and furthest summit first, Peak 1,686ft, via the West Slopes. Andy Smatko recorded a visit in 1977, but I found no sign of a register among the summit rocks. This was the only one of the three with more than 300ft of prominence, so I left a register here before heading to Peak 1,679ft, only 1/3mi to the southeast. I dropped to the saddle between them and scrambled up to the top of the second peak. I took a few quick pics and continued off the opposite side, nearly down to the base of the range on the east side before following a burro trail to the aforementioned saddle on the last peak's north side. The NNE Ridge featured some mild scrambling along the blocky fin that forms it, but nothing to make one write home about it. Someone had left some sort of marker on a pole sticking out of a cairn below the summit, purpose unknown. No registers on either of these last two summits. I dropped off the NW side, briefly picking up the road/trail below, then cross-country across a few minor washes to return to the Jeep. It seemed like a good warm-up for the bigger days to come.

I took a shower and camped close to where I had parked. I knew this wasn't the best campsite due to the proximity to the busy train tracks, but I didn't feel like driving back up to Cadiz - this would do...

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