Mount Patterson, Glass Mountain Ridge

11-June-77

By: Paul Nelson

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A sleepy group assembled at the old courthouse in Bridgeport at 8:00 a.m. Saturday. We piled into campers and vans and drove north on highway 395 about 10 miles to the Swauger Creek road. This was a good dirt road for about four miles but suddenly the ruts in the road were big enough to swallow the cars so we parked in a beautiful aspen grove. At 9:00 sixteen climbers headed up Swauger Creek while Pat Nelson and Betty McCosker stayed at the cars bird watching and picture painting.

We followed the canyon northeast from the end of the road and at about 9600' climbed out of the canyon and towards the high plateau, reaching the summit at 12:30. The Prince Albert can on the peak held two small pieces of paper but no register so we started a new register which included the memorable names of Barbara Lilley, who completed the DPS list on Patterson, Bob Conquergood, who climbed his sixth DPS peak and will soon join the Section, Lynn Wallace, who climbed her first DPS peak, and all of the rest of the 16 who attempted the peak. The day was beautiful and clear, with striking views of the Sierra Nevada and White Mountains.

We were back at the cars by 3:30 where Barbara Lilley celebrated her list completion and treated us to champagne, assorted cheeses, and other goodies. The champagne was soon gone and we returned to Bridgeport. Simone de Miguel, Jim Jenkins, Mark Hurst, and Mary Stevens took off for Hot Creek, John Hellman and Mary Bihl left the group to climb Cathedral Peak the next day, and the rest drove to Sawmill Meadow. The Forest Service Campground at Sawmill Meadow turned out to be a pleasant one with lots of good camping sites, wood for the campfire, and best of all no one but us in the campground.

At 8:00 o'clock Sunday morning we drove back the Sawmill Meadow road about a half mile and then west a short way on a dirt road. Fourteen climbers headed up the ridge to the saddle and then southwesterly to the peak. Sunday was another beautiful day with delays for camera shots on the way up and on top of the mountain. We climbed the south summit first, which purportedly is higher than the north summit although the northern one is identified as Glass Mountain on the topo map. All fourteen climbers signed the registers on each summit. After filling our packs with enough obsidian for a lifetime supply of arrowheads and tomohawks, we headed down the mountain, returning to the cars at noon.


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