Upper Pat Keyes Tamarisk Removal October 3-7, 2008

by Marty Dickes, BLM

A small group of 3 technical climbers and myself are going in September 21-25th to put in the hardware and set up the ropes for the October 3-7th service trip. We decided we wanted to get everything in place first before we started working with volunteers.

For the October 3-7th Service Trip.

Meet: 9 a.m. on Friday, October 3rd at the Triangle Campground off 395 at the intersection with the Westgard Pass road on the north edge of Big Pine. We will carpool in to our base camp near the mouth of Pat Keyes Canyon in Saline Valley. Be sure to gas up in Big Pine before meeting the group.

Bring sturdy shoes and work gloves. Gear to car camp, daypack and to backpack overnight should we get far enough up into the canyon to want to overnight. At least 2-3 quarts to carry water in each day. (The water in Pat Keyes upstream from where we will be working is potable. Bring a water filter if you are concerned about it.)

Personal gear. (I recommend a spade for digging a cathole and a plastic bag for carrying out your TP.) A tent and/or bivy sac should it rain. Warm clothes in case it gets cold. Your favorite snacks and warm drinks.

We will supply food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Extra water for camping and cleaning. We will also supply helmets and harnesses. (But, if you have your own, please bring them!)

We will be working with certified climbing guide, Todd Vogel and a technical climbing assistant, John Drumm. Todd and John led Tom Budlong and I down Pat Keyes Canyon from the top a little over a year ago. (We rappelled down the waterfalls.) So… they are well acquainted with the canyon and its falls. Our challenge is to get up over the falls using mechanical devices to ascend rope. We will be harnessed to the rope and belayed off an independent line. Todd and John will show us how to safely do this.

The tamarisk is between the falls. The highest infestation is at 4,150 feet. There are 15 falls between that tamarisk and the bottom of the canyon. At least 3 of these falls are ones we can climb around. We do not expect to be able to get to all of the infestations this time around. We will do as much as we can and save what's left for the next year. This is a trial run to see how much we can do this way.

This should be a great adventure and a lot of fun! It's a great opportunity to see and experience something few people have seen and felt!