Memorial Day is somewhat of a problem.  On one hand it's an opportunity for a long weekend close enough to Sierra season to make me want to run amok up at altitude.  But on the other hand it's a bit early for trailhead access and for the snow pack to be melted not to mention the history of somewhat bad weather.

But of course a long weekend isn't something to be wasted.  So enter the now annual Memorial Day Massacre.  It started way back in 2010 as a normal enough three day backpack with an aggressive schedule.  A planned hike from Canebrake back down to Walker Pass along the PCT grabbing 7 or 8 peaks in the process went a bit downhill after a (not uncommon) route finding issue on Spanish Needle followed and a water source reported to be running which turned out to be dry.  Cue a bit of a reroute lasting until 10:30 pm or so followed by a few somewhat long days and the majority of the group not getting near all of the planned peaks.  Fun was had by all.  Except those that took an extended break from hiking as a result.

Following the aftermath of that little jaunt I rebranded it the Memorial Day Massacre and started making plans for the following year.

In 2011 we headed for Shepherd's Pass only to have an only unpleasant weather forecast transform into a 100 mph fun fest.  One retreat from altitude, a torn tent, and a night spent in a rather friendly bush with snow coming down on top of us later we bailed out and settled for a dayhike of Olancha.

The Third Annual Masochistic Fun Fest we stuck further south.  This time bad weather was largely shrugged off and we managed an impressive 100 miles, 20k gain, and 6 peaks.  Granted I limped out of Haiwee Pass 5 days later with some of the worst blisters I'd ever had and was barely able to walk for the trip the following weekend.

Having found success in that model (Gee, Kern can be done as an easy 2 or 3 day from this trailhead, lets get it from waaaaaaaay the hell over here) I set my sights on Courtright for the sure to be legendary 4th annual outing.

Dogtooth Peak (10,302')

Black Peak (9,773')

Zingheim Heights (11,138')

Mount Henry (12,196')

[Pics] [Map]

It's been a fun start to the year with the occasional desert trip snuck in between the always awesome 10 week Wilderness Travel Course and the spring session of the Advanced Mountaineering Program but at long bloody last it's time to kick off the Sierra season.

This particular weekend along with the Alabama Hills rock climbing trip a few weeks back were planned as private outings to give the WTC students of Kaweah group the opportunity to learn some more advanced skills beyond what we teach in the course.  (WTC used to be called BMTC and included rock climbing and ice axe and crampons but these days we are limited to rock scrambling and winter backpacking)

The original plan had been more along the lines of a car camp with a day of ice axe and crampon practice followed by a easier but non trivial peak climb to put the new skills to use.  Unfortunately this seasons rather apathetic snow levels meant that there wasn't much that was easily accessible.  So instead we changed it to a backpack with the plan of hopefully finding some decent snow up high.

After some last minute debate I settled on Julius Caesar out of Pine Creek.  It had spectacular views, the approach was a trailhead I'd never used before, and at 13,220 ft I figured we'd probably be able to manage some amount of snow.

May 18th & 19th, 2013

Mount Julius Caesar (13,200')

[Pics] [Map]

We're currently in the lull between the end of the 10 week Wilderness Travel Course (WTC) and the start of the 3 week Advanced Mountaineering Program (AMP) both of which I help out with and enthusiastically sacrifice weekends to.

Usually the unclaimed weekends between these two classes are spent in a series of mad dashes out to remote areas of the desert car camping and grabbing all manner of peaks raining from impressive and enjoyable to nondescript and painful with large blazing campfires and much fun had by all.

Every now and then I like to throw in something different and so this weekend was an open call weekend for anyone in Kaweah to come join us for a weekend of sport climbing out in Alabama Hills.

April 20th & 21st, 2013

Alabama Hills, CA

[Flickr]

What:      

     Spectre Peak (4,482')

What:

   Rainbow Wall (6,924')
   Gunsight Notch Peak (6,160')
   Juniper Peak (6,109')
When: March 30th, 2013
Where: Red Rocks Nevada
Who: Matthew Hengst, Jeff Atijera, Harlan Stockman

What: WTC Joshua Tree Rock Scrambling & Navigation
When: February 9th & 10th, 2013
Where: Indian Cove Campground, Joshua Tree
Instructors: Matthew Hengst, James Montross, Laurent Hoffman, Paul Warren, Jeff Atijera, Wendy Miller
Pictures: Matt's Flickr

January through April is the season where myself and many other regulars on my peakbagging trips wander in from the wilderness, start showering regularly again, and act as volunteer instructors for the Sierra Club Wilderness Travel Course.

Two peaks, one sausage-themed happy hour, 3.5 popped tires, a minor freeze, and a whole hell of a lot of wild donkeys later we declared victory and got the hell out.

Last year while trying to come up with a way to liven up a two-day desert climb of the somewhat unremarkable Manly & Needle a few of us hit on the idea of making it a theme trip. And hence the First Annual Mustache Mosey (then referred to a the Manly Mustache Mosey) was born!

January 5th & 6th, 2013

Another winter weekend another long drive out to the desert to grab a pair of DPS peaks. And sadly they can't all be as pleasant as the pre-Christmas set had been.

This time it was off to Death Valley to climb Tin & Dry from Racetrack Road. Others had commented these two were a rough slog and after having done them (admittedly on a very cold weekend with bad weather) I can say they don't have near the appeal of some of the other nearby climbs like Corkscrew or Grapevine and Palmer. Not to mention the camping opportunities are poor and no campfires are allowed which takes away one of the perks of desert outings.

December 2nd, 2012

Stud Mountain (2,130')

Little Picacho Peak (1,920')

[Pics] [MapStud] [Map Picacho]

After spending the previous two days climbing Baboquivari followed by a slightly less successful trip to Mexico which morphed into a somewhat bushy descent on Mount Ajo we had relocated out to Yuma after another lengthy late night drive.

Sunday morning we woke up in the desert north of Stud Mountain at what I'd loudly declared to be Camp Studly.

December 1st, 2012

Cerro del Pinacate (3,937') (Attempt)

Mount Ajo  (4,808')

[Pics] [Map]

So while Baboquivari and Little Picacho were both repeats (the first redone because it qualified for an E provisional and the second because it's just a fun little climb) Cerro Pinacate was a peak in the area I still hadn't done.

Granted there was the small complication that it was 30 some miles into Mexico.