Stewart Point, Brown Peak

19-Mar-77

By: Dick Akawie

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The group met at the junction of Hwys 127 and 178 at the southern end of Shoshone and drove on Hwy 178 past the roads to Nopah and Pahrump to the 58.90 marker (in section 30, Stewart Valley topo map). There we parked on the east side of the road. As we started WNW, we could see the peak ahead it looks rather flat on top, with white rock on the south side, dark rock on the north side. We headed up the fan, crossed at the saddle just west of Hill 3209 (section 25), and continued. up the wash in the. next canyon north. When we reached section 26, we turned north and then west in section 23. following the wash for a while and passing some waterfalls on one side or the other. Finally, when the wash split, we left it and climbed the steep ridge (mostly west) until we arrived at the top in time for lunch. A perusal of the register showed that John Vitz, et al, had been on Stewart a few months previously. The views from the top were far-reaching. After lunch we retraced our steps back to the cars, and then drove to Shoshone. As we crossed the pass east of Shoshone, several of us stopped to collect samples of "coal" from the bank on the north side of the road. Part of the group went to Tecopa Hot Springs for the baths. The others stopped for refreshments in Shoshone, and then drove north on Hwy 127. After driving past Eagle Mtn and crossing the Amargosa River, we turned south on a dirt road just past a 2000' altitude sign, and drove 4.8 miles to our campsite (in the NW corner of section 11, Eagle Mtn topo map). The first mile of this road is rather sandy, but the 10 vehicles (including two big Ford wagons) were able to get through without getting stuck. At Saturday night's campfire, a sample of the "coal" was tested, but it did not burn even though it became red hot. Sunday morning, we hiked SE across the desert, passing Hill 3031 on the south, and entered the canyon in section 13. We turned south for a while, then left the canyon and climbed up the slope, followed some easy ledges around to the left, and went up to the ridge north of the peak. We followed the ridge to the top, which is large and rather flat. After eating and enjoying the view, we descended by the ridge that starts SW of the top and proceeds NW. We passed Peak 4240'+ on the south side and then headed straight back to the cars. After refreshments, we caravaned back to Hwy 127 and separated for the drive home. There are a variety of routes up Brown Pk; one must only avoid the cliffs below the top. The statistics were 7 miles rt and 2650' gain for Stewart, 8 miles and 2500' gain for Brown. Among the 20 climbers there were eight who had finished the list and were out to protect their records. The group felt that both peaks would make good additions to the list.


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