Peak 4,127ft P500
Peak 3,943ft P300

Continued...

I had originally planned to stay out in the desert until Monday, but a broken weld on a swaybar bracket had me wanting to get it back in the shop as soon as possible because I planned to be out again the following weekend. So Matthew and I decided on a short morning out to get a few peaks we missed the day before, after which I would drive home. From our camp in Panamint Valley, we started driving by 6:30a, shortly before sunrise. It would take us about half an hour to drive back up Goler Wash 4-5mi, parking just east of the Lotus Mine, positioned between the two peaks. It was chilly when we started out, but we would be in the sunshine within 10min, after which it would begin to warm to a more comfortable temperature.

We started up Peak 4,127ft's NE Ridge directly from our parking spot at the junction of two washes. The footing was pretty good, but the ridge steep, climbing about 1,000ft in 2/3mi. The last few hundred yards to the summit were at an easier gradient, and about 40min after starting out, we'd found our way to the top. The much higher Manly Peak dominates the view to the north, across Goler Wash and the intermediate Peak 4,662ft we'd climbed the previous day. The Slate Range and Panamint Valley can be seen to the west and southwest. Our second summit, Peak 3,943ft, was less than a mile to the southeast, separated by a saddle. After leaving a register, we headed off the SE side of Peak 4,127ft, descending through some minor cliff bands not visible from above. We ended up in a class 3 gully by simply following gravity down, probably avoidable if one were to look around. Peak 3,943ft was all class 2, a simpler affair with no surprises. Once up the initial steep slope, the gradient eases for the last quarter mile to the highpoint at the east end of the summit ridge. We spent about 45min getting between the two.

We had hoped that we might find a reasonable way to include Myers BM, about a mile and a half due south, to the itinerary, but there is a very deep drainage between them with a lot of steep, unpleasant-looking terrain. We decided it would best be approached from a different direction and would leave it for a future outing. After leaving a second register, we headed off the NE side of Peak 3,943ft, trying to determine whether to drop into the drainage off the right or left side of the subsidiary ridge we were descending. We eventually chose different directions, myself going to the east, Matthew to the west. Both of the routes would funnel north to the end of a spur road that we could follow back to where we'd parked. Matthew's route proved shorter and quicker, as he easily beat me back to the Jeep. It was not yet 9:30a when I caught up with him at the finish. It wasn't even a half day's effort, but it would do. I would have more than 8hrs of driving before I would get back home. Matthew planned to spend a few more days in the area and would probably get a few extra summits in today as well. We drove back down Goler Wash to drop Matthew off at his car. After changing into more comfortable shoes, I headed north on Wingate Rd to start my journey home...

Author:

Is this a correction?