We followed a long wash between some lower peaks, then reached an ascent gully. Even up close, Stepladder looked improbable. We could make out the natural ledge system, but it wasn't clear how to reach it. We climbed up the gully a little, then continued up the ridge with some class 2 scrambling. Higher up, we could see a notch that was the start of the first ledge. There was short class 3 section to reach the notch. The rock was conglomerate, hardened mud that glued a mix of volcanic and other rock together. Holds had to be tested. Once we hit the first ledge, cairns marked the way, including bend points. The ledges were fun and we scrambled under a giant horn before we reached the top. There were no marks on the summit, but as a DPS peak, it had an ammo register box. The summit block was a 10' fin, easy class 3 with good holds. We took turns climbing it. The register was placed in 1999 and had fewer entries that expected. Sean brought an eispiraten flag to plant in the summit cairn. We took a long break to enjoy the geological wonders.
Getting off the ledges was uneventful. We decided to stay in the main wash a little longer on the way back to avoid some of the deeper washes that braided the plain. After a bit, I veered to follow my GPS track, while Sean continued down the wash looking for a smoother path. As the distance between us grew, I occasionally looked back to make sure I could see him moving along 500' or so south of me. I guessed he had his own track back to the truck. When I was a mile from the truck, it struck me that I could not see it and that everything looked the same in all directions. We were too far from any landmarks to do any dead reckoning or triangulation. I realized that it might have been impossible to find the truck without GPS, even with a map and compass. I finally spotted the truck from 0.2 miles away, but had lost sight of Sean. I noted the time and started packing up my gear. 15 minutes later, I climbed up on the bed to look for Sean with no luck. I had started reloading water into my pack to go look for him, then Sean texted and said he could not find me. We traded locations via Google maps. He had ended up a little more than a mile north of the truck, having crossed behind me at some point. Had we not had cell service, it might have ended differently. Later, he rolled up from the north. We had a chuckle and discussed various strategies one could use if lost in a desert Bermuda Triangle. It didn't detract from the experience and we had a safe drive back.
