Panamint Butte dayclimb, Death Valley, C A

“Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/275262813oCuIeB

Calhiker, Bishophiker and Snow Nymph hiked Panamint Butte (6,584') in Death Valley. We followed the Panamint Dry Lake road north from HWY 190, and ended up in a wash. Wondering if this was even still a 4WD road, we parked and decided to hike the rest of the way (Bishophiker had 4WD, but only street tires).

We hiked up the wash about 1/2 mile, followed a faint trail to some old abandoned mines, and then the trail disappeared so we headed straight up. We now were following a ridge that was like a roller coaster, gaining elevation, and then dropping down again. The ridge mellowed slightly for awhile, and then we came to a steep, cone shaped scree slope, a "1 step up and 3 steps back" ordeal. Once this was behind us, the ridge continued into the clouds, looking more like a knife edge now. At this point we couldn't see much, but every once in awhile the clouds would clear enough to see where the next steep ridge was, verified by the closeness of the lines on the topo map.

We scrambled up the last chute, finally reaching the summit plateau. We walked towards a ghostly bump in the distance (no visibility), and found a big ammo can with a binder, register and blanket. There were two round metal canteens under a piece of plywood as well. We had made it! Bishophiker checked the thermometer and it showed 34 deg. Calhiker's demeanor seemed to show that he agreed with the temperature reading. We signed the register, took a group summit shot, and left.

On the way down the clouds cleared in places so we could find our way. We knew we were on the right track when we found the dead, up-side-down bush that Bishophiker had left as an "old-school way-point"! We also recognized Joshua Tree's that had distinct shapes and the lava bomb we had noticed on the way up. We all agreed this was the hardest desert hike we'd ever done. Bishophiker commented that he might have turned back if he had been able to see what was in store for us on the way up. But because we couldn't see how steep it was, we kept on going. Back at the trucks, we all felt good about bagging this peak in difficult conditions! Especially me, no back/shoulder/neck pain like last fall! This is going to be an awesome year for hiking! 5,000' el gain/loss in 8 miles .”

“Very cool hike. Your crowd is on my must hike with list.”

“Currahee, let us know when you're out here!

Bishophiker's photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/274562869RkMbbi/0”

“Great pics! And your little pink unidentified flowers with a purple spot on each petal? I do believe they are Death Valley Monkeyflowers, Mimulus rupicola. Congrats on finding them, they're pretty rare.
last edited: 2/17/05 4:12:58 PM”

“Awesome pictures. Yeah...jealous, but that's okay, I get my turn to climb at least a couple of your peaks sooner or later :)”

“Cool trip! I especially liked the flower pics!”

“great trip...must have been surreal. the dew drop photo is a great shot...any poor slob can take flower photos...the artist takes water droplets in interesting places. kudos!”

“Sounds like Justin forgot to pack his blank-key.....

Cool photos....great looking hike as usual.....

And i'm sitting here knowing that I should be heading out your way right now but dilly dallied like a schmuck....ok....time to go bang head on wall....

Peace guys.....”

“Looks like a lot of work and a lot of fun. I could really see what you meant about finding your way in the clouds.”

“Beautiful pics. What a heck of a hike! What camera are you using now?”

“Wow...what a hike! Nice pix Snowy :)”

“BC: Thanks for the flower ID. These were on the slope above the mines, but only a few of them.

Gemini: If you're coming in July, I'll see you at Onion Valley.

Buck: thanks!

Stikmon: The little red things made the drops really stand out. That's one of my favorites too!

Stratusloop: Missed you, but thought about you.

wbp: The clouds and low visibility added to the trip. We weren't sure we were going to make it because we couldn't tell where the summit was. We made it 5 min after our turnaround time. We were glad it cleared enough to see how we were getting down. We have to do it again just for views.

Tango: Awesome hike! No back/neck/shoulder pain on both hikes! I'm still using the Canon S50, but will probably be getting another camera soon. Not sure what yet.

Thx, WW!

Bishophiker's Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/274562869RkMbbi
Bishophiker joined us for Sunday's hike

Calhiker's Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/274631877fsuFQm
The first part is Saturday's hike to Searles Peak and Slate Benchmark”

“I'm sorry I thought I commented on the lack of pain! That is so great for you!!”