Donkey Poop Point and Fee-a-mint Butte

Donkey Poop Point and Feen-a-mint Butte
(Canyon Point and Panamint Butte)

Harlan W S
Dec 6-7, 2014

The road into Cottonwoad Canyon is accessed by a 2wd road from StovePipe Wells, This 2wd road is 8.4 miles long, and goes by the campground on the W side of the store, N of the airstrip, and NW up the bajada, till it drops over a wash into Cottonwood Canyon. This road was actually the biggest challenge; there were 1.25" of rain a few days before, and the low ground near the airstrip was turned to soupy mud. Two folks who were supposed to join us got stuck in the mud and weren't pulled out till the next day.

The DPS guide says it is an extra 8.7 miles from the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon, up to the trailhead for Canyon Point; in truth, your car odometer may read more like 10.5 miles, as the route up the wash is very sinuous. We were lucky enough to follow the recent track (in the sand!) of someone who knew the way; there are lots of places one could get into trouble, as the old 4x4 road is still visible, and leads to washed-out, 3' drop-offs. Get out and look for alternatives whenever you have the least doubt.

We took the west route to Panamint Butte, with a slight modfication to avoid an unpleasant stretch. This must be the only time that I have seen the DPS guide overstate the difficulties of the road; "Follow this road 5.7 miles to where it begins to curve right (NE) toward the mountains. All vehicles park here. The road is basically impassible to all vehicular traffic beyond this point." Jodie drove 1.1 miles beyond "this point."

Overview map. John R and Craig J were going to meet us at the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon, but they got stuck in mud just outside Stovepipe Wells.	Part of the road and the hike to Canyon Point. The weather made this a neat trip, but the humidity made Jodie's LSU clothes seem especially appropriate.	The crux of CP is a pile of loose rock right off the end of the road.
	After this point, the route goes over mild class 2. Most of the walk is benign.
Oops, the summit is about to enter a cloud.

		"Conditions" (and the Canyon Below) make this hike.
The springs are that-a-way	Hole in cliffs on drive out.
Next we drove around to the west side for Panamint Butte.	Campsite, dunes to NW	View east up approach canyon at sunset.
Next day we started up a variation of the DPS route.		The top is up there somewhere. We'll gain about 4300-4400' over some steep stuff, only to reach an almost flat top!
	I call this TiO2 ridge in honor of Jodie's life saver gummy candies. Actually, the black-brown basalt rock has more TiO2.
		Sierra to NW, Langley to Russell (lower end of Inyo range at right)
Olancha Peak in back	We came right up this ridge, which was falling apart and rather sketch in places, so the flat top was a bit of an anticlimax!

		Telescope Peak to SE. Note the fog in Panamint Valley.

Heading back down.
	Jodie is up there somewhere, coming down "The Thing," a basalt-talus-covered lump.
We had gained about 800' in this pleasant canyon in the morning, and now it provided some shade.

Donkey Poop Point and Feen-a-mint Butte(Canyon Point and Panamint Butte)

Donkey Poop Point and Feen-a-mint Butte
(Canyon Point and Panamint Butte)