Geologists Cabin - Butte Valley

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Trailtrekker06
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Geologists Cabin - Butte Valley

Post by Trailtrekker06 »

Not sure where these pics really belonged- this was after and before hiking so......

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/557356018geQLUJ

...maybe they should have stayed in my camera!
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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

Fun weekend! :D I'm still recovering! :retard: Three nights in a row I've gone to bed early! My pix should be up tonight.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

Saturday, 27 January 2007
Goler Wash, Neuman Cabin, Barker Ranch, Mengal Pass, Stella's Cabin, Russell Cabin, Geologists Cabin.

PHOTOS: http://snownymph.smugmug.com/gallery/2411890#126460962


This weekend was a mix of different groups meeting and turned out to be a big group (15 vehicles in one group, 6-7 in ours according to e-mails). Originally Lewis invited me on a desert group trip with the Waags. Then others started asking me what was on for the weekend. We eventually had 8 of "us", and decided to do our own trip.

Lewis spent Friday with the big group. NormaR drove up Friday night. SnowDude and I drove both the Rubi and FJ really late, arriving at 3am. Tomcat met us at our campspot in Ballarat Saturday morning. Lewis met Cat and Mike in Ballarat, but didn't bother to look at the camp area for us. Desert Mouse left the big group in the afternoon and joined us. Trailtrekker and sdsierrahiker showed up Saturday evening at camp.

Since I've been to the cabins a few times, I posted links to the pics from previous trips. These are mostly people pics in this album.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


http://snownymph.smugmug.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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CinnamonGirl
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Post by CinnamonGirl »

What a great weekend!!! Fun, terror, Fun, peak bag, stuck, terror, long drive, tired eyes with good friends. That pretty much sums it up for me!

Great photos Snowy and Trailtrekker.

NormaR
:righton:
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tomcat_rc
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Post by tomcat_rc »

On Saturday morning I drove to Ballarat Camp to greet SnowNymph, Snowdude, & Norma - turns out they were still asleep as the Snow pair did not arrive in camp until 3am. After a short visit I headed on towards Butte Valley. I wanted to get there early to lay claim to the geologist cabin. It turns out to have been a good call as I beat another prospective inhabitant by less that 15 minutes.

Next I drove to Russell Camp where I parked for my hike up to Manly Peak. This was a solo hike for me - everyone else was doing something different things. This was ok because it doubled for me as a private memorial service to a former hiking/fishing buddy whom I had lost to cancer earlier in the week. I will miss my friend. I located the register box and signed in but did not climb the entire summit block. I would feel more comfortable doing this with a short rope for protection. I will be back.

Met everyone at Stellas place where a couple beers were in order to wash down the trail. Camp at the geologist cabin was great. Good food, good wine, good friends - what better way to wind down after a day on the mountain.

Sunday morning was a late start - it felt good to sleep in :D . Finally everyone was packed up and we all said our goodbyes. Snow Nymph, Norma and I hiked Needle Peak. Two new peaks in two days - nice start to the new year. We got back to our vehicles a little before 5pm to start the drive back out Goler Wash.

I made a blunder at the rock garden and managed to get myself stuck on some rocks in the Ford Ranger. Tried in vain to do some jacking and propping - but it was looking like I may not get unstuck. The back differential was wedged against a rock so I could not back down and the front traction bar bracket was up against another rock to inhibit forward progress. It was time to to change into warmer clothes and contemplate what to do from here. Some time later Sooz and John arrived for help. They had summited Morman Peak and it had taken longer than expected(thank goodness for me). With John's help and coaching we returned to the tact of jack and stack. Eventually we achieved enough clearance to back down from my situation. The next run up the garden went exactly as it was supposed to and everyone continued on safetly down the road.

We finally got back to the Ballarat turnoff well after 10pm at night. After airing back the tires is was time for all to drive home. I got home about 1130 and that was just a drive to Ridgecrest. I know my friends must not have gotten home until the wee hours of the morning.

Made to work the next morning by 630am - but was dragging ass by afternoon. Monday night I slept for nearly 12 hours and it took another 2 days to feel totally human again.

All in all though it was a great weekend. I finally got all my pictures uploaded. great pictures Sooz and Snowy. Thanks again to all who were there.
http://members3.clubphoto.com/tom103807 ... uest.phtml
mountain hiking is addictive:
I can quit anytime I want - I just choose not to want
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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

Norma R wrote:What a great weekend!!! Fun, terror, Fun, peak bag, stuck, terror, long drive, tired eyes with good friends. That pretty much sums it up for me!

Great photos Snowy and Trailtrekker.

NormaR
:righton:
Terror = NormaR driving rough roads :D

Do a few trips with me (as a passenger) and you'll enjoy it more. We'll give you some rum and coke for the drive. :D

Next time we'll do a longer 4x4/hiking trip instead of only 2 days.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


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Snow Nymph
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Post by Snow Nymph »

I figured out where I lost my Camelbak bottle. In your photos, my bottle is almost falling out just before I climbed into the hole in the rock for a photo. So its probably there. That's why we didn't see it on the way down.
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


http://snownymph.smugmug.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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tomcat_rc
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Post by tomcat_rc »

somebody gets an "A" for observation - I have looked at those pictures and I didn't even notice - but now that I look again - guess we have to send a S&R team
mountain hiking is addictive:
I can quit anytime I want - I just choose not to want
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CinnamonGirl
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Post by CinnamonGirl »

Snowy~
If there is a next time 4x4 for me... i'll need a Prozac with that Rum & Coke!
:eek:
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Post by Trekker »

Tomcat, sorry to hear about your friend. Sharing the outdoors with someone else is always special. What a great way to honor your friend's memory! Glad you got to spend your weekend with new friends. :nod:
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