Brown Peak

28-Nov-92

By: Andy Zdon

It was a cold, moonless night as the wind sang ifs lonely song. We were camped at Deadman's Summit in the Greenwater Mountains near Death Valley. Our fire was the only light in the pitch black darkness, save for the occasional illumination in the eyes of mysterious nocturnal creatures nearby. The fire died out slowly as we too laid our weary bones to rest for the night.

Dawn. Windy and cold. We ambled off through the sparse desert scrub toward the ridges southwest of the peak As we neared the crest, the winds picked up in their intensity. We were happy to drop down out of the wind into the small drainage southwest of the peak (following route A of the Desert Peaks Guide -2nd ed.). The final trudge up the peak was through an intense wind that roared against the northwest face of Brown Peak. We huddled in a small rock wind shelter at the summit, signing the register and taking in the spectacular, clear views.

The hike down was through the continuing, relentless winds, and despite the beautiful desert scenery, the car was a truly welcome sight! AZ/WBZ