EISPIRATEN

Sean and I made the long drive to the trailhead for Stepladder Mountains (DPS #94, 2940') on Friday and camped. Well, Sean set up a tent and I slept in the truck. From highway 95, there were 17 miles of good, then bad dirt roads. The powerline road was smooth, the pipeline road not as good, and NS254 was poor. The sharp 270 degree turn onto NS254 was confusing since it looked like it turned into a wash, but made a quick right turn south. The last 5 miles on the bad road left us in the middle of the a desert landscape where everything in a 25 square mile area around the trailhead looked identical. It was a factor at the end of the day. On the drive in, Sean spotted a witness post and a benchmark just off the road (west) marked "11 FMK". On the drive out, we found another one on the other side of the road (east) marked "10 FMK". Strange places for marks. It was cold overnight, 41F, but we stayed warm enough. Shockingly, we both had 2 bars of cell service in the middle of nowhere.









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.

Thanks, Tekewin, for planning and leading this hike. It was a nice challenge, and tons of fun.

Because of my various health issues, I tried to take a less rocky, less sidehilly route back to the car. I had studied the landmarks earlier and figured I could at least get within view of the car. But this was a mistake. The best landmarks were too far away to be of much use. Everything within a few miles radius seemed like the same relative position in a flat, homogeneous landscape.

A couple particulars also caused me confusion. I lost sight of Tekewin and didn't know if he had continued east or north, though I suspected east. However, I then came across an old road. This faint road had sign posts that were similar to the ones on the road where we had parked. They indicated the closed portion of the road due to a wilderness area. So I figured I was still too far south and needed to follow the road northward to the car, which was parked outside the wilderness boundary. Little did I know that this was a different road, and it was taking me too far north. Also, I mistook a blue mylar balloon for a different blue balloon that we had noticed on the walk in. This, coupled with sporadic footprints on the road, led to a false belief that I was going the right way.

After passing yet another set of closed road signs, and not finding the car, I concluded that I had made a mistake and that I was lost. I was either on the wrong road, or went in the wrong direction, but I wasn't sure which. I knew that I couldn't be terribly far from the car, but I didn't know in which direction to look. I also figured I was too far away to hear Tekewin, assuming he was doing his best to make sounds for me.

It was time to rely on my cell phone. I took it out of my pack and was very thankful to have a signal. Tekewin sent me his coordinates. I had missed the mark by 1.5 miles. Following the wrong road took me too far north. I should have continued eastward, along the last line I saw Tekewin taking.

Tekewin was curious about what I would have done if I couldn't use my phone. First, I would have tried to stay calm and think. I would have taken inventory of my possessions. I had brought some emergency supplies, which I normally always carry in my pack. This time I had a small tin box with a whistle, box of matches, and a lighter. I also had a small knife, extra clothes, beanie, gloves, hand warmers food and water. Enough stuff to start a fire and stay relatively warm and fed until rescuers could find me. Supposing I was alone and didn't have Tekewin to call for help, with only a liter of water remaining, I probably would have started eastward toward the highway. I had a headlamp and could have travelled through the open desert at night.

Some additional photos...

That is a seriously remote location! You were as close to Phoenix as you were LA. Getting lost would be spooky.

That area is poorly mapped geologically but your interpretation of a volcanic tuff conglomerate is believable.

Was Stepladder still a visible landmark? I suppose worst-case scenario you could have back-tracked to Stepladder to re-orient and then descend the same way you came up?

Uncle Rico wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2024 12:09 pm Was Stepladder still a visible landmark? I suppose worst-case scenario you could have back-tracked to Stepladder to re-orient and then descend the same way you came up?

Stepladder was visible and the closest range. The problem was getting back from the main gully over a 2.5 mile stretch of mostly flat terrain broken up with lots of small gullies and dry stream beds. Enough of the shrubs were head high and blocked the ability to see objects more than 0.2 miles away. Without GPS nav, it's just a guess on the direction and you have walk through that 0.2 mile radius to see the truck.

Highway 95 was visible and walking toward the Chemihuevi Mountains would get you there. It's probably 9-10 miles of open desert from where we were. The highway had light but steady traffic, so in a worst case, you could aim there and have a good shot at getting help.

Sean had a first hand account. His route finding skills are several levels above mine, and were not up to the task in this instance.

Uncle Rico wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2024 12:09 pm Was Stepladder still a visible landmark? I suppose worst-case scenario you could have back-tracked to Stepladder to re-orient and then descend the same way you came up?

The Stepladder range was always in sight. It was becoming a concern that I was too far north, based on my position relative to Stepladder landmarks I was using. But the closed road really confused me and led me astray, further than I might have been had I simply continued eastward.

I doubt I would have backtracked and tried to reorient. I wasn't able to sufficiently orient the first time around. Also, I was down to one liter of water and couldn't waste energy doing that. I needed to reach civilization before starting to suffer the effects of dehydration. I'm sure I would have started for the visible highway, one way or another.

For the record, I would have been better prepared had I been doing this alone. I would have started my own GPS track and known the area better. Still, shit happens, devices fail or get lost, and you better be prepared to self-extract in a worst case scenario. This is why you do these sorts of hikes with a partner. It increases your chances of survival. Unless, of course, you pick a serial killer for a friend.

Why separate? What did I miss?

No disrespect intended.

When I go with others, I'm admittedly less prepared, especially if it's their route and they know what they're doing. But that's really me leaning into them when I shouldn't. Your experience Sean is a good reminder to not be so complacent about it. You never think shit is going to happen, but shit happens. Better to be prepared for that than not.

HikeUp wrote: ↑Wed Dec 18, 2024 9:19 pm Why separate? What did I miss?

No disrespect intended.

The direct route from the truck was very rocky and went through some annoyingly deep washes. Sean was looking for a path with fewer rocks and obstacles since his feet were starting to hurt. The mistake I made was assuming he had the track and could get back to the truck. I should not have let him out of my sight.

I should have studied this trail map beforehand.
We parked along NS254 at the Wilderness boundary. Confused, I followed the closed jeep road west of it, thinking I was south of the boundary on NS254.