Two Brown DPS Lumps (Turtle Mts HP and Whipple) in CA

Harlan W S
Jan 18-19, 2013

Life surprizes you sometimes. I mainly wanted to join friends for camping in the desert; They were going Whipple Mountain and Mopah Peak.  I had been to Mopah before, so I looked for some other DPS summit in the area, so I chose to drive down early and hit Turtle Mountains Highpoint.  I had low expectations, but I enjoyed camping alone in the desert at the Wilderness Boundary, and starting out at 6:16AM, before the sun rose.  It was windy and cold, and somehow I found that exhilirating.  Seven miles and  2h 50m later, I was on top of Turtle. (There was no sign at the wilderness boundatry, and I could easily have driven my Soob another 3.25 miles to shorten the hike... but the brisk walk did me good.)

0TurtlWhipplMopah
General map of the area; on Friday
I went up Turtle, and on Saturday
I met the Trona Firepit folks for a
trip up Whipple.		 1turtle
First day-- I started at the (unmarked!)
Wilderness Boundary at 6:16AM.
The road to this point was rough; but
actually, the next 3.25 miles would have
been easy in my 2003 Subaru Outback.		 DSCN1870
By 6:20 or so, the sun (not risen)
began to light up the eastern horizon.
DSCN1875
The early sun hits Castle Peak, Mopah
and Umpah (L to R).		 DSCN1878 DSCN1879
Tjhe indistinct top of Turtle.
DSCN1880 DSCN1882_stitch
Now I'm on the ridge, looking NW
at Turtle.		 DSCN1884
DSCN1887
View N from Turtle.		 DSCN1891 DSCN1891_stitch
Panorama N to NE.
DSCN1893_stitch
View S from Turtle.  The Horn looks
like a nicer peak, and if I'd planned better,
I would have gone there too.  Even though
I reached the summit of Turtle at 9:06AM,
by the time I was back, packed up my car,
drove slowly out, and drove the long dirt
road to Whipple, it was 3:30PM.		 DSCN1894 DSCN1896
DSCN1898 DSCN1901 DSCN1901pose
It was very windy.
DSCN1906 DSCN1907
Much-tortured Proterozoic gneiss.		 DSCN1909
Down this ridge, mainly class 2 at worst.
DSCN1910 DSCN1911 DSCN1912
I sure hope the yellow-green on my
beard is an artifact of the light.
DSCN1913 DSCN1914
More gneiss.		 DSCN1915
Coarse pink granite on right
of Proterozoic metamorphics.
DSCN1916
Finally, back in the wash, still 4 miles from
the car.		 DSCN1918 DSCN1919whipple
Next I drove up to Whipple. Incredibly,
I didn't get to the cammpsite till
after 3PM. I didn't want to drive in
after dark.  Kathy Wing appeared
about 4PM or so, and I was asleep by
7:30.
DSCN1920
...and I slept until 6:34AM! When I woke
up, there were at least 5 more vehicles!		 DSCN1924
Epidotized rock with vein.		 DSCN1926
Soon we were walking up incised
valleys.
DSCN1927
Kathy W managed to find shorter ways
(than the DPS route), staying high and
following animal trails.		 DSCN1929 DSCN1934
DSCN1938
Here we cross from one drainage to the next.		 DSCN1939
We must go up there.		 DSCN1940
DSCN1944 DSCN1947
The rest of the group is already on top.		 DSCN1948_stitch
Pano, ~SW.
DSCN1953 DSCN1954_stitch
Pano, ~NE		 DSCN1956
DSCN1959
I started to head down with tjhe others,
then noticed Kathy was on a more southern
ridge, so Rainboze and I traversed over.		 DSCN1960 DSCN1962
DSCN1964
There was one sslightky spooky spot on the
descent.  KW had left a cairn during her
climb, which showed a way around.		 DSCN1968 DSCN1969
DSCN1970
By this time of day, it seemed hot in the sun;
in reality, it was 60F at most.