Pinto Mtn failure

[GoalHiking]

I tried this Joshua Tree peak on 10/5/25. The stats are moderate: maybe 10 miles RT + 2500' of gain. And, about 5 miles of that is flat. However, the rest of it is mostly walking on steep, loose rocks. It's mostly Class 1 with some Class 2, but the small rocks slow things down. And, you - or at least me - can't scree surf them. I could have continued to the top but since, per usual, I'd gotten a late start and I was alone, I decided not to push my luck. I turned around about .7 miles and 1000' shy of the peak; you can see it in the back in the first image.

On the map provided by a popular mapping site there's a green line (that appears to go up the canyon) and a dashed line to climber's right of it. I (generally) took the dashed line and turned around when it crosses the green line. If you want to take the dashed line, the best place to start is probably 33.9306058333 x -115.8103311111. You'll see a slight use trail and perhaps a duck. I started to climber's right of that, but the other spot is easier.

While you're walking on a ridge, I wasted a lot of time trying to follow the dashed line. While there are occasional glimmers of a use trail, in different spots it was unclear whether I should go to the right or the left of the ridge around obstacles. That's especially the case near the end of the return.

Also, I can't recommend poles highly enough for this. That also holds for the flat area: it's littered with animal burrows and you can easily posthole into one of them. The poles will help you maintain verticality. You probably don't need long pants for this but that'd help avoid carrying lots of sunscreen. If you're using your phone to navigate, a wrist strap would be a good idea.

Note: if anyone's interested in doing this or other desert peaks - or Grand Canyon Rim to River in a day - feel free to DM me.

[tekewin]

Pinto was pretty cool. It's on the DPS list so gets a little more traffic than otherwise. The summit had a unique cactus wire art thingy. Since the approach was long, it takes some time. You should give it another go when you have plenty of time.



Also, good call on the burrows. So annoying to crash through every 20th step.

[dima]

Thanks for the photos. It's interesting how these slopes look similar to the post-fire debrushed slopes of the San Gabriels.

[GoalHiking]

You should give it another go when you have plenty of time.

I had two headlamps and I'm OK with night hiking, esp since it was near a full moon. The main issue was worries about the solo part, esp since I had a rock fall into me on nearby Eagle Mtn, breaking a rib, causing a small pneumothorax, and leading to overnight accommodations in Glendale Adventist.

[JeffH]

Is navigation completely necessary or is it picking what appears to be the path of least rock and stickers?