Rawe Peak, W Canyon

3 Feb 2010 - by Steve Firebaugh

Took the afternoon off from work in Dayton to climb Rawe Peak which I look at every working day. On the net, I found a published route up the East side which I did not use, and instead decided to attempt what looked to me like a more direct ascent completely visible from most of Dayton, a route up a canyon on Rawe's West side.

From the Dayton Airpark industrial area, I drove up a 4WD track toward Rawe. When snow and mud made further progress dicey, I parked and started walking. After the track ends at the mouth of the canyon, I continued cross country on a mix of thin snow covered boulders and sage. The canyon curves back and forth a bit, and with unstable footing, I cursed that I neglected to pack trekking poles. Oh well.

At the head of the canyon, the slope steepens a bit, but the route remains relatively open on a mix of boulder fields and smaller talus. My progress was a bit slow without trekking poles and air pockets in the snow. When I reached the ridge top, of course, the elaborate installation of towers and antennas presents itself, with a road. I descended the road until I could kick steps up to the summit, arriving 2:30 hours from the car.

I did not descend the route. A maintenance crew (John and Brian) were headed down from the installation, and when they offered to drive me down, I accepted I had about 1.5 hours of daylight left. But once down to Dayton, I still had to walk several miles to get back to my truck.

I recommend this route without snow, with sneakers, and definitely with trekking poles.

The route:

RawePeak

I have some photos on my iPhone, but will upload those later.


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