China Lake Mountain Rescue Group Newsletter

Volume 110, November 1999

 

TRAINING SCHEDULE


Nov 20-21 Sat-Sun Peak 13520 & Birch Rockwell
Nov 24 Wed Standard First Aid Schafhauser
Nov 26-27 Fri-Sat Climbing Roseman
Nov 28 Sun Owens Peak Rockwell
Dec 4 Sat Rock skills Roseman
Dec 5 Sun Climbing at Owens Ridge Roseman
Dec 8 Wed Dynamic belay Finco
Dec 10-12 Fri-Sun Climbing at Owens River Gorge B. Niesen
Dec 13 Mon Meeting/Reading vitals (Schafhauser) Botham- Breitenstein-Green
Dec 15 Wed Christmas party Westbrook
Dec 18 Sat Climbing at Owens Ridge Runkle
Dec 19 Sun Stretcher practice Myers
Dec 20 Mon CPR Schafhauser
Dec 23-26 Thu-Sun Open
Dec 31-Jan 3 Fri-Mon Split Rockwell
Jan 7-9 Fri-Sun Climbing at Joshua Tree B. Niesen
Jan 8-9 Sat-Sun Advanced Wilderness EMT Schafhauser
Jan 10 Mon Meeting/ELT (Renta) Rockwell-Runkle-Castro
Jan 12 Wed ELT practice Renta
Jan 15-16 Sat-Sun Advanced Wilderness EMT Schafhauser
Jan 15-23 Sat-Sun Arizona climbing Roseman
Jan 21-23 Fri-Sun Mallory Myers
Jan 29 Sat Pilot Knob (by Onyx) Runkle

SUNDAY ROCK CLIMBING coordinated by W. Runkle

CLMRG is funded by United Way of Indian Wells Valley.

OPERATION REPORTS

Tom Sakai


99-05 5 Jul 99 Alert Madera County Linda Finco
Sgt. John Diederich called around 0710 on 5 July 1999. Sgt. Diederich was notified around 0600 that Kern County had received a fax from the Office of Emergency Services (OES) at 0300 requesting four trackers to support a search in Madera County near Bass Lake. However, since dispatch was monitoring the phones and not the fax machine, the fax was not noticed until around 0600.
Sgt. Diederich stated that the search was for a white male missing since Saturday at around the 8000-foot level. The fax stated that trackers were wanted at the search base at 0700. Mr. Guerin, the OES representative, stated that he believed our assistance would still be required even if we showed up in the afternoon. Mr. Guerin told me to call Darren McMechan at the Bass Lake Substation to confirm that our assistance was still needed.
I contacted Mary Schmierer to coordinate. Mary was getting ready to head out of town, so she started the callout but turned the coordination over to Janet Westbrook. Karen Botham assisted with the callout.
I contacted the Bass Lake substation, but Mr. McMechan was unavailable. (He was on his way to the trailhead.) I was asked how many dogs we were bringing, and I told the substation we were trackers.
Sgt. Diederich called me back to find out the status because the Southern Kern County team also had four trackers committed for the search. Sgt. Diederich wanted to call to find out what resources were really needed, so I gave him the Bass Lake substation phone number. He called back saying it appeared that Madera County wanted only search dogs for the day. But he and I agreed to keep our team on standby just in case we might be needed the next day. There was also a possible search in Kern County. I agreed to be on standby for that, also.
At 1315, I received a call from Sgt. Diederich. The subject in Madera County had been found, and the subject in Kern County had walked out.
Participants: Linda Finco (Leader), Al Green, Bob Rockwell, Eric Toler. Coordinators: Janet Westbrook, Sheila Rockwell. Telephoners: Mary Schmierer, Karen Botham.

99-06 2-5 Aug 99 Search Randsburg Linda Finco
Tom Sakai paged the group at 2215 on the evening of Monday, 2 August 1999. Tom needed an operation leader for a search in Randsburg. I accepted the operation. The search was for 12-year-old Patrick Brown. Patrick had been staying with his uncle in Randsburg for the last four weeks. The uncle, Mickey Gooden, last saw Patrick around 1100 on Monday. When Patrick had not returned by 1800 for dinner, the uncle and some neighbors started looking for him. At 2100, the sheriff was notified of the missing boy.
CLMRG met at the hut at 2300 to start the operation. We met Deputy Sheriff Lindy Tebo at 2400 at the uncles residence in Randsburg. Sgt. Craig Porter arrived shortly thereafter, and we were given information on the boy. Patrick was described as 54 and 170 pounds, with blue eyes and short blond hair. He was last seen wearing a green T-shirt and baggy blue jeans. He was carrying his black backpack with white lettering (names of rock bands), and he had a black German style motorcycle helmet. Patrick was last seen on his mini-bike heading northeast along the Randsburg Road. Patrick had left his canteen at home. The uncle thought this was unusual because Patrick was usually so careful about bringing water with him when he went out on his mini-bike. The uncle stated that Patrick enjoyed collecting bottles and other artifacts that could be found in junkyards and around mines. Patricks mini-bike was black, and the uncle thought that the bike would have at most a 20-mile range with a full tank of gas. The uncle gave us some suggestions on high probability search areas. Patrick enjoyed exploring the mines between Randsburg and Johannesburg just east of the residence. He had also recently mentioned an interest in exploring some campgrounds just west of Randsburg near BLM roads R110 and R44.
We had five two-man teams from CLMRG and four two-man teams from Indian Wells Valley Search and Rescue (IWVSAR). By 0100, we had base camp set up and team assignments. Teams were fielded along all the major roads and throughout the various dirt roads. Our boundaries were Garlock Road to the north and Highway 395 to the east. Boundaries to the west and south were more difficult to establish. We used the intersection of Garlock Road and the Redrock-Randsburg Road and BLM road R43 to the west as one boundary. There were no continuous boundaries to the south, but we concentrated on BLM roads as far south as R83 to Government Peak.
Our search teams and locals searched through the night. Nothing was found. Kern County teams from Tehachapi and Desert began arriving between 0700 and 0800. With these additional search teams, we had a total of 52 searchers. The search areas expanded to include areas contained by Goler, Garlock, and the Redrock-Randsburg Road. The search area also expanded as far south as Atolia and included roads and mines. It was felt we had pretty well contained Patrick to the west of Highway 395, although we did search major attractors (large mines) on the east side of the highway.
A Kern County Sheriffs helicopter arrived around 0745 to assist in the search. Sgt. John Diederich took over as the incident commander. The only clues being found were tire tracks from Patricks mini-bike. The problem was that the tracks were all over the area and in some places went in and out of the search area. By 1730, the sheriff released the searchers who had been involved from the previous night. Members from the Desert team stayed longer to close out a containment area north of Randsburg and to the east of Highway 395. The sheriff requested that we be available at 0700 the next morning to continue the search. At the conclusion of the search effort on Tuesday, no positive clues had been found on Patricks whereabouts.
Wednesday morning, Kern County teams from CLMRG, IWVSAR, Desert, and Tehachapi and the Mounted Team arrived at base camp. In searching the residence the previous night, it was determined that Patrick was not wearing a green T-shirt. It appeared that he must have gone back inside after his uncle saw him that morning and changed shirts. It appeared he was now wearing either a cream colored skateboard shirt or a black shirt with skull and crossbones. Both shirts were missing. Patricks black backpack was also found in the residence. This led to the possibility that Patrick was not planning on going to any areas to collect artifacts. This new information did not change the search strategy much for the day. Our plan was to concentrate in the areas where the mini-bike tracks were found. The search concentrated on the bike tracks found in the Fiddler Gulch area northwest of the residence and on the tracks found to the south near the leach fields of the Yellow Aster Mine. The sheriffs helicopter also flew the search area on Wednesday. BLM rangers assisted in the search, and Kern County sheriff deputies walked door to door interviewing people. We also began to concentrate on the numerous mines in the area. Teams were requested to flag all mines that had been searched. This area has hundreds of mines, some a few feet deep, others too deep to see the bottom. The mines were searched for evidence of Patricks bike tracks or footprints. A few mines had suspicious activity around the vertical shaft openings (tire tracks or other tracks), but it was not possible to see down into the shafts. IWVSAR used their optical camera to search into these mines to verify that Patrick had not fallen in. The search was called at 2000 for the day. Again, no positive clues had been found on Patricks whereabouts.

Tom Roseman took over as operations leader on Thursday, 5 August. Teams from IWVSAR, Mounted, and Desert joined us at base camp at 0800 that morning. In addition, BLM provided a contingent of searchers who worked a well known and attractive hazard south of Red Mountain. BLM had also participated the day before, and among their team members was the ranger assigned to the area. An employee of the local water district reported some tracks going under the railroad tracks near Garlock Road, and he led a CLMRG team to those tracks. This team spent most of the day working that area. Desert teams worked east of Highway 395 and followed several motorcycle tracks for most of the day. Two CLMRG teams worked with a Mounted team east of the house following the tracks found the day before. Another CLMRG team worked in support of the IWVSAR camera team searching deep mines marked from the day before. Other Mounted teams worked around the leach fields and just east of the house. Toward the end of the day, a thorough rework of the areas near the house was conducted. Around 1700, a black T-shirt matching one of Patricks was found just east of the house in Fiddler Gulch, an area that had been searched several times before. Based on the condition and location of the shirt, the feeling was that the shirt had not been in that location the day before. An intense search was conducted in the area of the shirt. Throughout the whole search, local residents came by offering to help and providing information. With no new clues and at a loss for where to expand the search, the effort was called off that evening.
During the four days of the search, 26 members of CLMRG participated: Tom Roseman, Tom Sakai, Mike Myers, Linda Finco, Werner Hueber, Andrew Mitchell, Steve Florian, Janet Westbrook, Mary Schmierer, Terry Mitchell, Sheila Rockwell, Daryl Hinman, Debbie Breitenstein, Dennis Burge, Al Green, Mike Renta, Eric Toler, Cindy Goettig, Chuck Creusere, Dianne Rindt, Elaine Riendeau, Barry Niesen, Paul DeRuiter, Ellen Schafhauser, John OConner, and Bud Gates.
EPILOG: Patricks body was found on Sunday, 8 August approximately four miles west of the general search area on BLM road R44 near the intersection of R65. Members of a local 4-wheel drive club, the Gear Grinders, found Patricks body in rugged terrain. The local club volunteered to assist the uncle on Sunday to continue searching for Patrick. Kern County search teams returned on Monday, 9 August to try to backtrack to Patricks mini-bike. Details of that effort can be found in operation report 99-07.
COMMENTS:
1. A lesson learned for all future operations is not to underestimate the curiosity of youth. The uncle kept emphasizing how responsible and cautious Patrick was when he was out riding his mini- bike. Some search areas were determined to be too rugged for a 12- year-old on a mini-bike. However, it does appear that Patrick covered some very rugged terrain until he was unable to continue.
2. The infamous jeep worked well as a radio relay platform during the operation.
3. Base was well organized, but it was too out in the open, which tended to allow people to congregate and sometimes cause too much confusion. Also part of the problem was that the base camp area was really the only area that provided shade until the Desert team set up another shade canopy. These are little logistics that need to be considered and can make a big difference in how smoothly things operate in base.


John Muir


99-07 9 Aug 99 Search Randsburg Andrew Mitchell
On Monday, 9 August 1999 at 2015, I received a call from Sgt. John Diederich of the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Patrick Browns body (refer to operation 99-06) had been discovered by
4-wheelers at 1215 on BLM road R44 reportedly 1 to 1_ miles south- southwest (actually it was northwest) of Government Peak. This peak is west of Randsburg. CLMRG was requested to search for Patricks mini-bike and T-shirt. We were to meet Sgt. Diederich 4.7 miles from Randsburg on the Redrock- Randsburg Road at 0700 on 10 August. We met at the hut at 0600, departed shortly thereafter, and met Sgt. Diederich at 0700. We drove in on R50 for several miles and were then briefed. Two Indian Wells Valley Search and Rescue teams were already in the field following the bike tracks. Four CLMRG teams were fielded while the rest of us drove farther down the road to set up base camp. All teams were fielded by 1000.
At 1600, IWV 1 spotted the mini-bike using binoculars. Patrick had driven the mini-bike up R45 and left it on the road. Sgt. Diederich and IWV 1 retrieved it and returned it to base camp at 1641. The uncle said, It was totally out of character, when he was informed of the location of the mini-bike.
Base camp was secured at 1741 when all field teams returned to base camp. CLMRG returned to the hut at 1900.
The use of GPS coordinates was very helpful. The maps do not have all the roads on them. BLM maps proved to be very useful in keeping track of the field teams and the roads they were searching.
Team members were Linda Finco, Werner Hueber, Dennis Burge, Debbie Breitenstein, Ellen Schafhauser, Barry Niesen, Curtis Davis, Elaine Riendeau, Terry Mitchell, Sheila Rockwell, and Andrew Mitchell (Leader).

99-08 6 Sep 99 Alert (OES #: 99-OES-0410) Mt. Whitney Tom Sakai
Sgt. John Diederich of Kern County Sheriff's Department (KCSD) called at 1414 on Monday,
6 September 1999 to relay a request from Inyo County Sheriffs Department (ICSD) via the Office of Emergency Services (OES) for ground search teams. Deputy Keith Hardcastle (of ICSD) had requested our help in searching for a 56-year-old white male last seen on Saturday, 4 September near his camp at Consultation Lake on the trail to Mt. Whitney. I called Deputy Hardcastle for details. He was requesting us to report to the Lone Pine Airport at 0700 on Tuesday, 7 September for air transport by Lemoore helicopter to Consultation Lake. I was to leave on vacation Tuesday afternoon, so I put out a page asking for a leader. Andrew Mitchell said he would take it and started a call out with Mary Schmierer as coordinator and Karen Botham as telephoner. At 1457, Sgt. Diederich called me again saying that Bob Gerber of OES had rescinded the request for our services, presumably because of a call from Deputy Hardcastle. The reason given was that Inyo had strong reason to suspect that the subject had drowned in Consultation Lake, and the effort was going to be concentrated on searching the lake with high-altitude-capable divers.
I called Mitch to terminate the callout. Al Green and Bob Huey committed before the callout was terminated.
The subject was on a solo trip to climb Mt. Whitney. Other campers in the area noticed his absence and reported it to ICSD on Monday. His wilderness permit indicated that he should have already come out. A search of his tent revealed some medicines for high blood pressure and kidney problems, backpack, walking stick, food, etc. His sleeping bag, however, was found in or near the lake.
ADDENDUM: The body of the subject was located on Tuesday, 7 September off the trail at about 12,000 feet by the Mono County team. I dont know why or when they abandoned the lake search or why they didnt call us again.

99-09 16 Sep 99 Incident Mt. Whitney Bob Rockwell
On Thursday, 16 September 1999, Loren Castro and I climbed Mt. Whitney by the Trail. We made average speed on the ascent and left the summit at 1600.
On the descent, we stayed pretty much together until Trail Crest, where I told Loren that I would go at my own rate and wait for him at Trail Camp. But when I got there, Loren was way behind, and I finally saw him through some binoculars I borrowed.
He was moving very slowly, and since he had mentioned his going- downhill knee problem, I decided to hike back up and lend him my ski poles. When I got to Loren, he was hunched over sideways and shuffling along. He said his back hurt a lot, but did not remember injuring it. I gave him the poles, my emergency bivvy sack, and windpants. It was clear that it would take him many extra hours to get down.
I would go ahead and wait at the car. I did not see a need for us to stay together, and I was anxious to get to the car and my cell phone to tell Sheila that I would not be home that night. I was sure that I would see him well after midnight at best.
At midnight, two guys woke me up, saying they had a message from Loren. They had passed him above tree line (about 11,000 feet). His back was really hurting him, and he would probably stop for the night soon. Besides, his headlamp was beginning to dim.
At 0400, I went to PJs in Lone Pine for breakfast and got four sandwiches for Loren from the Mini Mart. I figured that at worst (actually, this seemed pretty likely!), I would find Loren unable to walk and needing a helicopter ride.
So to save time, I asked Sheila to find a leader who would be available if a callout was needed later. She got Tom Roseman, and we made telephone contact about 0500. Tom would leave Ridgecrest immediately, bringing a cell phone and radios, and start up the Trail. (As it turned out, he also got Bob Huey to go along.) When I got to Loren, I could call Tom and remain with Loren if necessary while Tom got the proper response going.
At 0550, I was on the Trail, and in only 20 minutes or so, there was Loren! Hunched over as before but shuffling along. As it turned out, he had hiked all night, stopping every 10 minutes for a 5-minute rest. The ski poles had helped a lot. He had got to the intersection with the old hikers trail at 0400 and stopped for 2 hours then started going again just a few minutes before we met.
Around 0630, I called Tom and Bob, and they turned around at Pearsonville. Loren and I were home about 0900.

Editor: Here are some observations from the subject (me). It was indeed a 12-hour walk from the summit to the top of the old trail. Bob's ski poles were invaluable because my automatic balancing system was inoperative. I don't know what was wrong with my back. I'd never experienced anything like it, and I had been on a 50-mile, week- long backpack with my nephew and his boy scouts about 6 weeks earlier. The 2-hour stop at the top of the old trail wasn't boring. Lightning across the valley gave me a good light show, and an huge number of day trippers passed by on early starts to the summit. After we got home Friday morning, I took a couple of aspirins and felt better. I took two naps that day and slept well that night. Then I went square dancing for three hours the next evening without discomfort. My most vivid impression of this trip was the realization of how fortunate I am to be associated with this group of mountain rescuers.




99-11 17 Oct 99 Search (OES #: 99-OES-0478) Beaumont Tom Sakai
On Wednesday, 13 October 1999 at 1550, Sgt. John Diederich called to relay a request for assistance from Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit (RMRU) on a search for a missing deer hunter in the hills south of Beaumont on or near privately owned property. He had tried to call Mike Myers, but Mike was in a meeting and could not be reached quickly. I was next on the sergeants list.
I tried all the coordinators, but could only get answering machines. After about 15 minutes, Carol Burge called back to take the coordinator job. While I made a few calls to get details from the operation command post, Carol started the callout with help from Karen Botham.
Four others, Mike Myers, Linda Finco, Steve Florian, and Eric Toler, committed to go at a time to be determined.
Riverside wanted us at the search base as quickly as possible because they intended to search through the night. I said we could be there to start searching about midnight, which was okay with them. I called Carol back to have her tell the others to meet at 1900. After overcoming a few glitches, the five of us left at 2000. We arrived at the command post at 2300 and were briefed and given an assignment.
The missing hunter, Mark Vasquez (31), had gone out hunting around 0430 Monday, 11 October wearing camouflage clothing and was expected to be back by noon. He is an experienced hunter in good physical condition (510 and 205 pounds) but had little in the way of survival gear (food, water, coat, etc.). When he didnt return, his family and friends went to look for him. They found his truck and virtually destroyed any tracking signs in the area around it. After an unsuccessful search, they reported Marks absence to the Sheriffs Department sometime late Monday evening. RMRU searched Tuesday to no avail and initiated a request for help through the Office of Emergency Services (OES) Wednesday morning.
Our initial assignment was to divide into two teams (Myers-Florian and Sakai-Finco-Toler) and drive to Mark's truck on the ridge above the command post, a 30-minute drive, hike about a kilometer north to the top of some steep drainages, and search downhill through two gullies that started near each other to the flatlands below, where the command post was situated.
We started our assignment at 0030 on Thursday, 14 October with virtually no moonlight and had to cross slightly hilly terrain with moderate brush cover and many gullies. We had the UTM of the top of the gullies we were to search, GPS receivers, and a night vision scope, which made this assignment possible. Even at that, it took us three hours to traverse the one kilometer to the start of the first gully. The second team had to go an additional 0.25 kilometer to their gully. Both gullies had steep sides and dense brush for much of their extent. In addition, Team 2s gully had two 40-foot vertical waterfalls to negotiate. Unfortunately, Team 1 had taken the night scope, so navigating around the falls in the dark was a bit tricky and time consuming.
Both teams completed their assignments by 0730 without finding any sign or clues.
Our second assignment was to go back to Mark's vehicle and search gullies to the south of the ridge. These were even steeper and more densely vegetated, at least at the top, than the earlier gullies. These gullies also had higher and more numerous waterfalls than the earlier gullies. We started down about 1130 and were picked up near the bottom by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department helicopter at 1630. Again, neither team found any clues.
On Friday, 15 October, the two CLMRG teams got their first assignments. Team 1 was flown in at 0800 to re-search the gully they had done Thursday morning. Team 2 was to search a different gully down the south side of the ridge. Team 1 actually started their search in an adjacent gully just west of the Thursday morning gully. At 0830, Team 1 reported a fairly recent track. A short while later, they were able to identify it as Mark's shoe print. A little farther along, they caught a faint scent that could have been rotting flesh. They followed the scent until it was very strong. This led them to the edge of a steep gully that had a significant amount of blood splattered about. At about 0930, they heard a low moan and looked into the bottom of the gully. There, lying within a few feet of a dead buck, was Mark--alive!
He had a gash on the back of his head, a bruised and swollen left eye, a left leg that he couldnt straighten, and scrapes on his arms, and he was very dehydrated and hypothermic. An air evacuation was started. He was taken to the command post where a helicopter from Mercy Air was waiting to take him to Loma Linda Hospital.
All field teams were returned to command post and released. CLMRG was released at 1430 and arrived at the rescue hut at 1830.
NOTES:
1. The night vision scope was very helpful in the cross-country travel to get to the top of our assigned gullies. However, the traverse could have been done in a little more time with just GPS, map, and headlamps.
2. This area had very poor anchors for rappelling down the waterfalls, so we had to find alternate ways around any significant falls we came across.
3. After Mark was found in critical condition, command post imposed strict radio silence on all teams except those directly involved with the evacuation. This was a good idea.
4. Steve Florian made a good call when initially approaching Mark. He asked the whereabouts of Mark's gun so that he didnt also become a victim of a possibly incoherent or irrational person.
5. I learned from a television news report Friday night that Mark was in critical, but stable, condition. He had a fractured skull, fractured pelvis, and broken arm along with the many cuts and scrapes. Mark was lucky to still be alive.
Editor: The next paragraph is follow-up information dated 8 Nov 99 from the MRA web site address https://www.mra.org/vasquez.html as reported by Steve Bryant of RMRU.
The latest information I have on Mark is: Mark is at home now. He had kidney problems, a skull fracture with subdural hematoma, and a hip fracture. The kidney problems have apparently resolved, the hematoma is being left to its own devices, and he had a partial hip replacement (head of femur).


OPERATIONS REDUX

Mike Myers


This message just arrived from the Mono County Sheriff's SAR Team regarding the search for Melvin Butterfield in the Bridgeport area in June. For those who did not go on this operation, Butterfield was never located. Editor: Refer to The Talus Pile Number 109, Operation 99-04, 27 Jun 99.

Dear Mr. Myers:
I apologize for the delay in getting this thank you to the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group for helping in the search for Mervin Butterfield in late June. Our Team is very grateful for your team providing volunteers in the search for Mr. Butterfield. As you can appreciate, our Team resources were stretched very thin with the significant area to cover and the number of days involved. The resources your volunteers provided was greatly appreciated. Please pass this thank you on to your members.
Sadly, this past Friday, hikers located the partial remains of an individual while hiking in the Blacksmith Creek area southwest of Twin Lakes. Saturday morning members of the SAR Team, along with Mono County Sheriff's personnel, hiked to the site to recover the remains. Based on evidence at the scene (clothing, jewelry, ID cards, etc.), the Sheriff's department has made a tentative determination (pending a dental records check) that the remains belong to Mr. Butterfield. His location was UTM 0290592 4223997. We were unable to locate the towel and shaving kit he had with him when he was last seen. Also, no determination could be made of the location where Mr. Butterfield died as his remains were scattered over a wide, wooded area filled with dense brush and downed trees. It is also doubtful that the cause and date of death will ever be known due to the lack of physical evidence.
Again, thank you for your team's assistance in this matter. If you or any of your team members have any questions regarding this, please feel free to call me.

Sincerely,

William L. Greene, Secretary



ACTIVITIES

Bob Rockwell


Tom Roseman, Walter Runkle, Curtis Davis, Mike Myers, Tom Sakai, and I went to Mt. Whitney today, Nov 4, to test our times on the Whitney Trail. Actually, I didn't push myself because I already had a pretty good time (for me) last month. Good thing, too--look at these figures! Tom Roseman, especially, is a tiger! (I've noted the times for John O'Conner, Dave Doerr, and myself to give the complete list so far.)

Name Time
Tom Roseman 3:38
Walter Runkle 3:51
Curtis Davis 4:02
Mike Myers 4:11
Tom Sakai 4:50
Bob Rockwell 5:20
John O'Connor 6:22
Dave Doerr 7:40

So eight people have tried this. Hopefully, everyone who is a field member will give it a go. Remember that 6:00 is a good target to strive for on the Qualification Checksheet if you are a field member. But participation is the main thing, just like with the 50- pound packs on B Mountain.
The best time by a group member in the past that I know about is Terry Moores 3:11 in September 1979. The same day, Bob Westbrook and Dennis Burge did 3:40. But that was a long time ago, and the trail was better then.
Daylight hours are dwindling now, but there is still a chance to join the list this year.


O, let us always have a mountain within our soul, with a peak so high that we never quite reach the top . . . for then we will always strive for greater things and will not be content with merely climbing hills.


Ardath Rodale




DONATIONS
Steve Florian

CLMRG gratefully acknowledges recent gifts from the following friends:

Mario and Yolanda Gonzalez Valley Village, CA "In memory of Dave Dykeman "

High Desert Classic Bike Race Ridgecrest, CA

SCREE


Check our web page at https://www.clmrg.org.

All telephone numbers in The Talus Pile are area code 760 unless noted otherwise.

The area code for telephones in Bakersfield is now 661.


Editor - Loren Castro

Web Page - Janet Westbrook 11/19/99