Beauty Peak, Iron Spring Mountain, Combs Peak, Boucher Hill
13 March 1993
By: George Schroedter
Leaders: Frank Goodykoontz, George Schroedter
We met at the triangle in Aguanga at 7:30 Saturday AM and then carpooled up to
the trailhead for Beauty and Iron Springs. We were glad to see that some grading
had been done to repair the roads into the trailhead. The roughest part was the
last stretch, but it was passable.
As expected, the brush had grown considerably, so the clippers we carried came
into good use. Progress was slow. When we arrived at the earth dam, we found our
path blocked by a fairly large lake. This necessitated a scramble through the
trees, brush and mud around to the west side of the dam. After a brief rest, we
continued on to Beauty Peak without much difficulty. We enjoyed our lunch under
bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures.
On the way down from Beauty, Walia Ringeler re-injured her left knee. She was
able to walk, but painfully. Back at the dam it was obvious that she needed to
be taken back out. Patty Kline took over as sweep and the group slowly clipped
their way up to Iron Springs. It was close to 6 PM when they got back to their
vehicles.
That night we stayed in the Oak Grove Campground. Some cooked their own dinner;
others drove the 5 miles or so east and dined at Maggie's.
Shortly after 7:30 Sunday morning we drove east for Combs Peak. Going up
Chihuahua Valley Road we were passed by a white van traveling at high speed and
followed by 2 highway patrol cars with their lights flashing. The van wasn't
stopping. About 1/4 mile up the dirt road we came upon these vehicles with 18
illegals sitting on the ground. At first it looked like we were blocked because
the driver of the van had taken off into the brush with the keys. Fortunately,
it was possible to drive around the 3 vehicles through the trees and get back
onto the road. Had the van stopped almost anywhere else, we would have been
blocked.
The hike up the PCT to the saddle east of Combs was a pleasant relief from the
bush-whacking of the previous day. The last part of this hike is 1/2 mile up a
fairly steep ridge, so we did get some good exercise. It was a bit cold up on
top, so we took just a short break before heading back. Total time rt was 2-1/2
hours.
We considered driving up to Hot Springs Mtn, but decided against it. Most of the
group drove home, but Jean Hermansen joined the leaders for the drive to Boucher
Hill. We elected to park up the road outside the park and hike the mile up to
this peak. The north side of the loop road had been washed out, so it was not
possible to drive to the peak this day. We hiked up the paved road, and came
down on the lovely trail inside the loop. Walia, who had ridden with me, found
that she could barely walk that morning. Hence, she was forced to wait in my
truck while we hiked that day. We all hope that she will be back hiking with us
soon. The participants were: David Jensen, Tal Kanigher, Harriet Edwards, Neal
Cosand, Dave Wellborn, Theresia Glover, Gordon Lindberg, Peter Doggett, Patty
Kline, Dolores Holladay, Harry Rockey, Eileen Seligson, Betty Sterrett, Jean
Hermansen, Jone Clevis, Walia Ringeler, and Tom Moumblow.
