The Trip that was Not To Be
Secret Lake, July 13
and 14
Led by Robb Anderson
Reported by John Page
I guess we should have known something was wrong when almost everyone dropped out the week before the main event. That is, everyone but Gordon Lohman, Robb Anderson, and li’l ol’ me.
I met Robb at the Denny’s at
the Sand Canyon exit off Highway 14 just before 9:00 AM where we had a
quick breakfast and where I was fortunate to be one of the first Desert
Explorers to see the bumper/frame/winch assembly that Robb had built for
his Toyota FourRunner. 
I
was impressed by his rugged design and his workmanship in tube bending and
welding.
We drove on to Jawbone Ranger Station where we met Gordon. He told us that his Bronco had indicated overheating lately and he didn’t think it should attempt the long climb up to the lake.
So then there were two.
Heading towards Bishop near Big
Pine, we saw dense smoke coming off the slope to the west, 
not
far from our final destination at Coyote Flats. Not good!
In Bishop, we went right to the
Ranger Station, where the Ranger told us that the fire had started a day
before during a lightning storm. Coyote Flats was still open, but the fire
was heading in that general direction. No one would be able to give us any
warning or look out for our safety if the fire did get to Coyote Flats.
She made it pretty clear that she did not think it was a great idea to go
there at that time. So we decided to scrub the trip and had lunch at Izaak
Walton Park 
in
Bishop before we separated. Robb went home and I decided to climb Wildrose
Peak in Death Valley, near Telescope Peak. I had hoped to hike to
aptly-named Thunder and Lightning Lake on Sunday if the trip had stayed on
plan.
On my way south to Lone Pine and
the turnoff to Death Valley, I stopped to take some pictures of the fire 
and
the helicopters sucking up water 
from
a pond near 395, then carrying it 
to
the fire line.
Driving past Panamint Springs 
brought
back memories of Rendezvous and good times with the Desert Explorers. Also
got a good view of Wildrose and Telescope Peaks near where I was heading. 
Then into Death Valley 
and
up Wildrose Road to Mahogany Flats 
where
I set up camp with a good view of Death Valley 
(which
was probably pushing 130° about then). After dark, I could see the lights
of Furnace Creek. At 8133-ft altitude, the night was very comfortable.
I was packed up by 8:00 AM and
drove back to the Wildrose Peak trailhead 
at
the Charcoal Kilns 
(6800-ft).
It is a 4.2 mile hike from the
trailhead at the Charcoal Kilns (6800-ft) to Wildrose Peak (9064-ft). The
book California Hiking by Tom Stienstra and Ann Marie Brown (1997,
Foghorn Press, San Francisco) gives the hike a beauty rating of Great (10
out of 10) and a difficulty rating of Moderate (3 out of 5). I guess I
agree with the ratings; I know that there was some fine scenery on the way
and
that I was really, really happy to get to the top 
3 hours after I started
and that I was really, really, really happy to get back to my truck a
couple of hours later with just a swallow of water left in my canteens.
Then home through the Panamint Valley, Trona, and Mojave with the air conditioner working full blast.
Another superb Desert Explorers trip!
