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Looks like a nice area, would have thought there would be some water by now though.....I like the deer...nice TR, thanks for posting and welcome to the forums...

Last weekend the Barrel Cacti in Indian Valley were looking pretty good.

Henderson Cyn is always spectacular but crowded....anywhere that has big open sandy washes will be blooming.

What story? What details do you want? Unfortunately he ended his life in his desert. Not sure what other details are needed to be released.

Love that area, thanks for sharing. You can definitely get cliffed out easy in the Fish Creek Mtns. Hope to get out there this xmas break.

BM Lost is about 1.2 miles north of where Canyon Sin Nombre dumps into Carrizo Creek. Easy hike and nice views. The only other named BMs I know of out in that area are Pelvis, Valle, Leckie and Gert.

https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/CORS-Proxy/NGSDataExplorer/ is a good source of info on BMs and I use it all the time

Thank you for posting. I've still got to bag both of these peaks. I hit Red Top and Sawtooth Mountains HP this past weekend. I didn't realize the steepness or the amount of boulder scrambling that was involved. I got my butt kicked and hiked out in the dark. I've been following your blog online and your gps tracks on Peakbagger for some time now. Thank you for all of your hard work! I still haven't figured out how to make the time to blog about hikes I've been on. I feel accomplished if I get photos posted to Facebook for the week. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you rock!

Crack climbing without a crash mat? 😊 I did Red Top a few years ago (2012), starting at Agua Caliente, through Moonlight Canyon, camped in Inner Pasture, then ascended Red Top early via the WNW slope in the shade. My mistake was spending too much time bushwhacking in the drainage that approaches Red Top from the south end of Inner Pasture.

We did a loop hike once from Indian Valley up and over False, down into Canebrake and then circled back out via the low saddle just east of False.
I lost my GPS going down into Canebrake so on a different trip I did the reverse of that loop looking for it. We have done many variations of that coming in from McCain.

I have seen that chain at Sombrero before, no idea what it is for. Is the register still missing? It used to be an ammo box chained to the top boulders but went missing several years ago.

Great trip report, thanks for sharing

I used Greg Gerlach and Patrick ONeill's gps tracks. I like to load multiple tracks so I have options. It's the same route you describe. I camped on the small ridgeline due North of the lowest pass you cross over. The plan was to hike Stage BM the next morning but that didn't happen. I hiked Villager/Rabbit/Mile High four days prior and I wasn't fully recovered from that hike. I found a lot of pottery shards so I spent way too much time exploring, and I deviated from the gps tracks going up Sawtooth and summited from the South-West side of the peak. Huge mistake. I was thinking about leaving Groan as my last just because I feel like the name is an apt one to finish on!

I too thought the view from the “other” Sombrero was much better.

There was a register on the real Sombrero in February 2017. We had a hard time finding it. It was near the slightly lower summit block, not the one with the crack climb.
edited by Buford on 1/11/2018

Nice trip! Amazing that there is still some water at Natural Rock Tanks. How much water did you actually carry with you? Read your blog too... my favorite electrolyte drink is 9/10 water + 1/10 orange juice + dash of table salt. The acidity of the O.J. is no problem because it is so dilute and it doesn't go bad in warm weather either. Again, impressive trip. - Jim

If I do the loop, the decision between heading down Rattlesnake or the Villager ridge will depend on what I see when I get there. I saw a report somewhere that Rattlesnake Canyon is passable all the eay down with a couple dry falls to contend with.


I think I saw your blog in the Goat BM register recently and just made the connection with the post here.

Tekewin’s post got me motivated enough to do the loop today. Thanks for posting the route!

Started at 6:45 am, a little later than planned.
Bagged Pyramid at 8:30 after a straight forward climb.
I was surprised at how good the use trail was going to Rosa.
Made it to Rosa Point about 10. The final stretch was rough.
Summited Mile High at noon.
Dropped down to the saddle at the top of Rattlesnake Canyon. Decided to hit the Villager ridge line for the superior views.
Climbed the Villager ridge line and topped out at 1:00.
Realized I was ahead of schedule and had plenty of food and water and could hit Villager again since it was only 1k of gain and a mile away, but then realized I was ahead of schedule and could get to Dudley’s before closing. Immediately went downhill and out.
Back At the car at 3:00, Dudley’s about 4:15.
No sheep on the hike, but plenty of signs of them. I did see a ram cross Montezuma grade this morning about 6:00 am.
Tons of roasting pits along the route.

There was an icy wind up high. I had to find a sheltered spot on each summit to sign the register and eat a snack. A couple gusts were strong enough to affect my footing. The cold wind helped cut down on water needs.

Edit, can’t get pictures to show up from mobile. I’ll add a few later.

edited by Buford on 2/18/2018
edited by Buford on 2/18/2018

Nice day hike with fantastic views. Thanks for sharing. I hope you were using hiking poles going down!

When I was coming down from my failed attempt of Gasp, I was in a steep downward hill. I had a 2 foot drop so I dropped my pole down to steady myself so I could leap down. The hill under my pole gave way and I flipped over and skidded down on my pack for about 10 ft. Ended up in a comfortable position and did a prayer that it didn't break anything. Wonder if theres any other opps on trek poles out there.