San Sevaine Lookout, Buck Point, Chalk Peak

4 April 1970

By: Les Stockton

Leaders: Les Stockton, Ken Ferrell

These two peaks are not often scheduled (or climbed) because permission must be obtained from the owner and a cable across the road, in place the year around, prevents access unless you hike the 15 miles to these peaks. So 56 people arrived to simplify the acquisition by driving. Although you can drive up to San Sevaine, your leader, conscious of the image created by leading scheduled driveups, parked the cars on the ridge and hiked the group down hill to bag the peak. The climb, under these conditions, is back to the car and the peak list should be changed from San Sevaine to Volkswagen.

Buck Point was four miles further on by road and some elected to climb this distance rather than ride it and by the time we had the cars turned around and parked on the "one way" dirt road, they had almsot reached us.

Although starting one mound too early and stopping on the summit one mound too soon, your leader managed to get everyone up this "strenuous" bushwhack. My thanks to Warren von Pertz for his fine bush cutting job the week before.

The day being still early, 13 decided to climb nearby Chalk. This peak is steep, brush, and scree-ey! The best route should be carefully observed from the road to avoid the thick brush. The summer ice axe is particularly valuable as a pants saver in scree of this nature. This is the bouldery non-running kind, that of which there is none worse!

We completed the day in 3 non-civilian cars attempting a night climb of Cleghorn, led by Bob Van Allen. Taking a direct route to the Barstow Freeway led to a near immersion (?) in the river (creek?) alongside the freeway. The usually open access roads were locked so after fitful soul-searching the project was abandoned and a successful night assault on Cleghorn has still to be made.