Subject: I survived Stonewall Mountain (Trip Report)
From: "James F. Parkyn" <jparkyn@kilroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov>
Date: 2 Oct 1995 22:26:47 GMT
Message-ID: <44pov7$192@lo-fan.jpl.nasa.gov>

Mojave Desert Rodent Reporter On The Run


 I and three other hardy souls made the (at times near vertical) climb to 
a legal vantage point in the Stonewall Mountain range. Glenn took time 
from his radio broadcast preparations to be the official gate opener, 
military salute giver, and bon voyage escort when the forlorn party of 
four trudged up the canyon. The other hikers were AKA Zero, Tom, and the 
ever so nice Geri (SP?), wife of Tom. Glenn and Tom wore last year's 
6-color "Desert Storm" cammo, I showed off my DOD surplus non-pc
three-color cammo, and Geri and AKA Zero wore more sensible civvies.
My outfit was declared the first serious challenge to the wardrobe of 
Agent X! Sort of like Halloween a little early.  8*)

 If you like scenic wonders and desert wildlife, this is a grand place
to go! We spotted a bighorn sheep and also the bones/remains of two 
bighorns and a mountain lion. Geri had a fantastic eye for noticing 
little bits of nature such as wildflowers and odd-shaped stones. The 
Stonewall Spring site must be really great when the snow melts and the 
water roars out of the mountainside. There was also a tumble-down log 
cabin and a couple of adits. Adit was a new word for me and is a name for 
a horizontal mining shaft. Glenn poked his head in one, perhaps to seek 
the Swiss Mountain Bat.....

 Tom set a blistering pace and his experience as a hiker was obvious. I, 
on the other hand, have only recently been preparing for such a hike and 
deliberately (if stupidly) carried a well-loaded backpack. It was rather 
nice at the top to be enjoying a ham sandwich, chocolate pudding, fruit 
drink, and a change of socks though! I also lugged my GPS, binoculars, 
35mm camera, 6 qts of H2O, heavy jacket, scanner, and first aid gear.
I paid a price for my choice but I felt like a Speshul For-sees Dude
with my big pack, selection of gear, and the fact that I actually made 
the round trip alive.

 I preprogrammed a lot of frequencies into the scanner and had some good
traffic on some of them. I will post those and any relevent info in 
another message.

 Now you are asking; "Dammit! What _Did_ You See?"

 I was hoping to login here and find a message from Tom that would have 
already revealed just what transpired. As he was first to the top I would 
like for him to make the announcement. I can say that conspiracy theories 
will spring anew, skeptics will pooh-pooh, but only those who hike to 
8100 feet can truly view what we viewed.

 I would like to thank my companions for their tolerance of my plodding 
pace. I learned much and am not too sore nor blistered of foot. AKA Zero 
came with party favors in the form of bright orange mail bags labeled
"DOD PRIORITY MAIL". We had a roaring fire and many tales that were 
swapped Friday night. The stars were glorious and the temps were low but 
I hope to make this trek many more times.


 Jim

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JPL/CalTech/NASA have no knowledge nor take any responsibility for my
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