Moments in Dirt and Ink

Barstow BLM San Bernardino National Forest Click for map. When I realized I'd have extra morning chores before the hike up Granite Peaks, I probably should have turned my attention to the shorter Silver Peak hike, but it does seem a little less romantic a thing. This is another Hundred Peaks Section listed peak and it seems more straightforward. There's a couple of ridges that present themselves as likely start points to connect to a road over the top. Yep, that's right, it can be done as a drive up. I ain't counting no drive ups. Most people have hiked up it from the south side when they engage a similar ethos. The road is open to there, but I'm here, so I'll try it from the east, give or take some degrees north. I did stop a bit short of my previous parking spot because I felt I was almost there anyway only to find I still had a mile to go. Whatever. It's a much shorter hike. I can do another mile on the road up. Silver Peak and just this plai...

Barstow BLM San Bernardino National Forest Click for map. I managed to drive up with less beating on my car than the day before when I was only seeing if I could. The road has plenty of wide spots and I took one just before an intersection. I'm going down the road at the intersection and expect it to be worse. With a higher car, I could probably get a mile closer. With 4WD, I could get two miles closer. To further slow down my start, I had to make some pancake mix before I could turn it into breakfast. It's no use fretting about such things. I get moving along. The side road is narrower, but generally not so rough except for a couple nasty dips. The road is not so bad here and has plenty of parking on the weed covered side. Round Mountain on the right has a few little mines that weren't noticeable in comparison to the huge mass of tailings on the left. Somewhere out there is another road that I also considered for my approach, but could not determine if it...

Barstow BLM Click for map. I came up the road first to see how far I can get on it and second to grab the benchmark on the hill. I decided that if I'm going to beat up the car, I should only do it once and turned back. This is just a little hill, but the contours look very tight on the map indicating a very steep terrain. To the point I stopped for the hill, the road is fine even for little cars although there are some deteriorating parts. After this, it hits a wash and becomes full of medium rocks. I seem to have stopped in front of a couple prospects. They're a smaller version of the larger mine workings around the place. Those larger ones have foundations and a few other artifacts surrounded by audits and holes. These are just little holes with some tailings. Meanwhile, the hill looks very doable. At second glance, those contours are actually 20 foot contours instead of the usual 40 foot. Not so much up between each, so not so difficult. The Old Woman benchmark i...

Barstow BLM Click for map. Copper Mountain is north of the college named for it and its peaks wrap around the east side of Coyote Lake or Sunfair Lake depending on what map one is looking at. This generally dry lake bed is a better known spot to get some free dispersed BLM camping while visiting Joshua Tree National Park. It and Copper Mountain are also quite popular with the off roading crowd, so I expect this hike won't be quite as nice as the last one. The climbing might be easier. I've spotted a rough road up this side of the high point to aim at. It is a little hard to see when looking directly into the sun in the morning, but I'm sure it's still there. The high point of Copper Mountain with a radio antenna and a few other bits and bobs is at the south end of the chain that make up this mountain. A long, narrow bulk is at the north and some smaller bumps pop up in between. Setting off across the flats, there are distinct vegetative zones. I expe...

Calico Mountains (BLM) Click for map. You know what? It's cold out here! One might even think it was a bit into winter. I have this idea to wander over to places that have large prominence peaks, but they tend to be even colder and particularly cold at the top and, well, maybe now is not quite the right time. So, with a little bit of grumping, I am off to an opportunistic bit of peak bagging in the Calico Mountains. The mountain itself looks fun except for the swarm of truck trails wandering all over it. (Also, the sounds of ammunition from random target shooting isn't inviting.) A geocacher offered up an alternative (by way of putting a geocache at the top) that looks much quieter and can even be done in the few hours of light left in the day. The mountain is actually unnamed, but this person dubbed it "Dunioth Mountain" without explanation. I may as well call it that. One name is generally as good as another. Already in shadows to start on the late after...