Dragon Peak & University Peak
23-24 July 2016
Eric, Craig, Cory, and I set off for University Peak on Saturday morning. Eric was not feeling well from a bad batch of beef on his last traverse (or was it unfiltered water in Ionian Basin???) and decided to head back to Onion Valley. Thankfully he was feeling better later in the afternoon. The three of us negotiated the lengthy rock hops and tricky route-finding on the Crest well, not to mention the vertigo-inducing ledge beneath the summit. At one point we tunneled under a chockstone to gain the Crest, which may not have been part of the established route, but was tons of fun anyway. The prospect of beer and barbecue drove us back to Onion Valley with renewed vigor after bagging the peak. Although I do remember taking a very pleasant break by one of the lakes…we ended up talking on politics and seemed to have everything figured out, but I just can’t recall what we settled on…
We had dinner at the Lone Pine Smokehouse (sure to give the Pizza Factory a run for its money), and eluded the Lone Pine Police by carrying our beers across the street for enjoyment on the blistering hot patio. We all felt like true climbers living on the fringes of society.
Sunday had a lonely feel to it since the San Diegans left town Saturday evening to re-acquaint themselves with the conveniences of modern living. Nonetheless I had driven all this way and was determined to bag another peak. I got up early and scrambled up University Peak, which left a lot to be desired compared to the fun scramble on Dragon. Lots of loose rock on the north face of University. I will be writing a strongly worded letter to the Sierra Club requesting that Dragon Peak be promoted to the resident mountaineer’s peak of the area and University Peak be rescinded from the SPS list altogether. Those damn hippies at Cal can re-name some smoke-infested bump in the woods their flagship peak as far as I’m concerned!
Dragon Peak & University Peak photo album