What:
  Sledding The Dunes At White Sands
When: November 11th, 2013
Where: White Sands, New Mexico
Who: Matthew Hengst, Kristen Lindbergh
Pictures: [Matt]

Similar to our quick tour of Biosphere 2 a few days back this was something I've wanted to do for some time now and had just been waiting for an opportunity.

White Sands is a national monument in New Mexico known for its strikingly colored sand.  In addition to the usual driving through and taking pictures the major activity for visitors is to go sled down the dunes.  Usually while screaming...

It's become a tradition the last few years to take advantage of the long weekend around Thanksgiving to get out in the wilderness somewhere.

Last year it was Valley of Fire Nevada (and some surrounding DPS peaks) and the year before that it was Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah.  This year circumstances allowed for a longer trip so I set my sights a bit further out and planned a 6 day long haul roadtrip that would include a tour of Biosphere 2 in Arizona, the Texas state highpoint Guadalupe and nearby bonus peak El Capitan, sledding the dunes at White Sands, two days roaming around Sedona with a peak or two included, and a finish on another DPS peak I needed on the way back called Mount Tipton.

November 28th, 2013

Guadalupe Peak (8,749')

El Capitan (8,085')

[PicsBiosphere2] [PicsHike] [Map]

This is annoying.

What:
  Palen Mountains High Point (3,848')
When: November 2nd, 2013
Where: Near Blythe, CA
Who: Matthew Hengst, Kristen Lindbergh
Pictures: [Matt]
GPS Track: [Map]

After yesterdays slightly overlong stroll up Granite #2 the plan was for the slightly easier Palen Mountains High Point followed by a leisurely drive home.

However the fact we again woke up a bit on the late side and our decision to camp near Granite #2 meant we had a good hour and a half drive to get to the Palen trailhead before we could actually start walking.

Good thing I like headlamps...

What:
   Granite Mountain (4,331')
When: November 2nd, 2013
Where: Near Blythe, CA
Who:  Matthew Hengst, Kristen Lindbergh
Pictures: [Matt]
GPS Track: [Map]

Last weekend was a bit on the rough side as a quick two day to grab some interesting looking peaks out near Lake Mead ran a little late.  The cherry on top was a 5.5 *hour* delay to get through a 13 mile section south of Baker after a bad accident all but shut down the 15 until 3 or 4 in the morning.

So this weekend I decided to stick a little closer to my nebulously defined home and grab something off the dwindling list of Sierra Club Desert Peaks Section peaks I still "needed" (for list finish #1).

What:
  Jumbo Peak (5,761')
  Mica Peak (5,758')
When: October 27nd, 2013
Where: Near Lake Mead, NV
Who: Matthew Hengst, Jeff Atijera
Pictures: [Matt]
GPS Track: [Map]

After the previous days successful climb of Mormon Peak ended a bit early when we couldn't find a way to traverse to a nearby bonus peak set off further east along the 15.  A quick refueling stop in Mesquite later we started down the long bumpy road to Whitney Pockets and beyond.

What:
   Mormon Peak (7,414')
When: October 26th, 2013
Where: Nevada
Who:  Matthew Hengst, Jeff Atijera
Pictures: [Matt]
GPS Track: [Hike] [Hike+Drive] [Whole Drive]

Mormon Peak is one of those oddly prominent bumps out there that makes you question why the club would leave it off the Desert Peak Section list while a number of significantly less memorable peaks are included.

Granted it is near the far more memorable Moapa Peak which tends to grab ones attention a bit more from the free but still.

And then I climbed it.  Suddenly I'm not such a big fan of adding it to the list...

September 28th to 30th, 2013

Mount Starr King (9,092')

[Pics]

Well crap, end of Sierra season already.

For me the Sierra season is bounded by the Spring and Fall Advanced Mountaineering Program courses that I help teach.  I really enjoy helping but they do keep me local Those keep me local to OC and tend to make a delimiter between run out to the desert time of year and run out to the Sierra.

This year things had started the third week of May with a two day to Mt Julius Cesar and trip #16 has been the hard and fast 9 days on the JMT

And now there was one more.  A laid back, 3 day, 1 peak, 16 person, *16 person*, 1 peak though requiring ropes and two low 5th class pitches...

Starr King was going to be fun :)

The  John Muir Trail is 220 miles of some of the more spectacular scenery the Sierra has to offer.  The trail runs from Yosemite Valley in the north to Mount Whitney (the highpoint of the continental US) in the south and its a popular goal to hike it from end to end resupplying along the way.

September 14th to the 22nd, 2013

The John Muir Trail

Happy Isles to Kearsarge Pass

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map] 

I've eyed doing the John Muir Trail for the last few years but always stopped well short of making serious plans due to not having 2+ weeks away from work.

Then came this year where the eternally "it's really bound to end sometime" Boise project was in a convenient place and a combination of events in my personal life left me with more flexibility than I figured I was likely to see again anytime soon.

And so I went for it.

With summer largely over and with my compressed JMT trip looming I wanted to fit in  trip or two with a little more relaxed party bent to them.

But of course I still wanted peaks!  To that end Neal Robbins and I planned a max permit size outing to the Saddlebag Lake area to grab the 3rd-class-if-you-really-want-them-to-be peaks North & Conness aimed at WTC students for the weekend before I was set to start the JMT.

September 6th to 8th, 2013

North Peak (12,242')

Mount Conness (12,590')

Day 1: 4.3 miles, 2,300'

Day 2: 8.3 miles 2,900' (Conness)

Day 3: 9.2 miles, 2,100' (North & Out)

[Pics] [Map]