Sat, Jan 8, 2022
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Peak 5,164ft later climbed Fri, Feb 25, 2022 |
Day 3 in the Old Woman Mtns was planned for a trio of summits on the main crest of the range just north of Old Woman Statue. I failed to find a way up the first of these, but, feeling better than I had the previous two days, managed to add a few unplanned bonus peaks in the afternoon for the overall win. It was another fine weather day, with chill morning temps that settled into the low 60s for the afternoon.
I got an earlier start today, right around 7a and only a few minutes after
sunrise. I would make use of just about all the available sunlight
today. My
starting point was inside the Old Woman Mtns Preserve, a short
distance north from where I had started the previous day near Painted Rock. I
chose this point so I could use an old road for the first 2/3mi, closed to
vehicles, but good for foot traffic. It led me to
an old corral and a
guzzler before I turned off to traverse left into the larger drainage on that
side. I found
easy cross-country for a mile and a half, gaining
elevation slowly until
the base of the range was encountered. Both Old
Woman Statue and Peak 5,164ft were in view for most of the initial hike. I then
spent about 30min climbing the western slopes of a subsidiary ridge for about
1,200ft. Once
atop this,
Old Woman Statue and the
higher summit are in closer view, but still another 45min away. I
followed the rough terrain of the ridgeline to the northwest and west,
eventually reaching
the north side of
Peak 5,164ft shortly
after 9a. Things certainly did not look easy nor obvious on this one. Both John
Vitz and Andy Smatko had recorded ascents on LoJ, so I expected there should be
a scrambling route somewhere. I tried
a slanted ramp on
the northwest side to begin with, but didn't get very far.
Looking up from the highest place I could reach safely, it seemed to
grow only more difficult. I backed down and then began an hour-long
circumnavigation of the huge summit blocks, trying four or five additional
avenues on
the south,
southeast and
east sides. It
seemed hopeless. I eventually had to admit defeat, give props to Vitz and
Smatko, and continue on my way.
When I got home a few days later, I was curious about the recorded ascents. I looked up Smatko's hand-written entries that I have in a binder, and in the far right-hand column of his entry for this peak, was the short note, "Didn't quite make top." An understatement, but that was making more sense. I then sent an email to Vitz inquiring about his ascent. He replied the same day with the admission that he hadn't either, most likely. So now I'm wondering if this might be the most prominent summit in the state without a first ascent, an intriguing idea.
Things got easier once I left Peak 5,164ft behind me. The ridge
heading north is undulating with a number of obstacles
along the way. I would bypass these smaller rock outcrops on the left
or right as I deemed easier, none of them proving difficult, all class 2. The
next summit was a mile to the north, and it would take an hour and a quarter to
reach it. A Smatko party had left
a register here
in 1983, dubbing it South Soda. The next peak, only 1/3mi
further north, I surmised would be called North Soda, the names a play
on the higher Carbonate Peak in the area. There had been a few visitors later
in 1983 and 1984, then no one for 38yrs - a neat find. It took only 30min to
traverse
the ridgeline north to the
3rd summit, which as
expected, held another
Smatko register naming it North Soda. It was
the same party on the same date as South Soda, to no surprise. There was a
second register left by Barbara and Gordon
dated 1980, but this must
be in error, because on page 2 they had transcribed the Smatko party entry from
1983. Later I confirmed that Barbara's notes had them climbing it in 1986, which
would make more sense. There were half a dozen additional pages of entries,
some of them repeats, some residences of Painted Rock before the Wilderness was
created. The last entries were
dated 2009.
I had planned to head back after this summit, but seeing as it was not yet
12:30p and I sufficient energy, I decided to continue north to
Peak 5,049ft, another 3/4mi in that direction. The terrain on this
next segment was a bit more complicated as the crest curves to the east and
goes over some rougher terrain. I decided to drop off the crest on the west
side to make a more direct route between the summits, with a larger drop, but
easier terrain. This seemed to work nicely and I enjoyed this section,
the best of day. Seemingly remote, it nonetheless held lots of surprises - old
rusted tins,
random cairns, wooden claim markers and the like, dating
back many decades, no doubt. I reached
the summit not long before
1:30p, finding a third Smatko
register, calling it ByCarBonate Peak.
This register was considerably older, dating to 1970. Andy had climbed it in
conjunction with Carbonate Peak, about 0.8mi to the west. There were several
other entries from the 1970s, including one by R.S. Fink, a notable Sierra
Clubber from back in the day. Then no entries for 47yrs - not bad!
It was now time to head back, though I still hoped to get one more bonus on a
lower summit near the Jeep. My next order of business was to get off the crest
and back down to the desert flats below. I decided to follow the crest back
to the southeast for about half a mile, then slipping off the ridgeline
between Pt. 1,439m and Pt. 1433m, two rock outcrops along the crest. If I headed
straight down, I'd land myself in a drainage heading north, so I had to traverse
across the slope for a while to get me into the correct drainage
heading southeast, called Azalea Wash. It was almost 2:30p by the time
I got down to
the flats, then some
cross-country to pick up
an old road within the Wilderness. The road goes to a pair of old
homesteads at the base of the mountains to the west. I had seen one of them
while I was atop North Soda, and thought I might pay it a visit, but now I was
too far east of it to take the time to backtrack. I followed the old road east
and southeast toward Sunflower Spring on the northwest side of
Peak 3,795ft. There's another
old homestead found there, but
I turned off to head to the peak before reaching it.
The climb of Peak 3,795ft proved challenging. After climbing 2/3 of the
elevation up a steep, sandy slope, the remainder is essentially a pile of
granite rocks in all sizes and shapes. It's a challenging class 3
scramble from
the west side, and probably much harder from the other
directions, near as I could determine. I did not find a Smatko register atop it,
so I ended up leaving
one of mine. It was now almost 4p and time to
finish up. I could see the Jeep about a mile to
the southeast, so I
didn't have all that far to go, but I still had to get off this diminuitive, but
challenging summit. I reversed the
upper part of the route that I had
ascended before veering southwest and finding an equally challenging
decent route off that side. The sun had slipped behind the crest to
the west before I had gotten
out of the boulders. Once on the flats,
I made a beeline for the Jeep over very easy ground. It was 4:40p by the time I
returned, happy to call it a day. I would return to the same wash
outside the preserve where I'd camped the previous night. I had one more short
day planned for the next morning, then the long drive back home...
Continued...
This page last updated: Wed Feb 2 17:21:13 2022
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