My extended DV stay

[Brice]

Paid a visit to the Funeral Mountains Wilderness to climb various bat related mountains.  Bat mountain east, Bat mountain, and Bat mountain north (high point).



It was a cool, overcast day.  First look at Bat mountain East.



The imposing red-brown conglomerate pillars closer up.  I climbed to the top of the light colored band of rock, then around the right until I found a weakness in the pillars that wasn't too frightening.



From the summit of Bat mountain East, I got a good look at my next two targets, Bat mountain (left), and Bat mountain North (right).



I don't remember which of the summits this next photo is from.  It's a nice view of Pyramid peak (right) and the colorful mountains between.  The slabs are  somewhere down in the valley.



The next day I had my sights set on the mountain that separates Copper canyon from Sheep canyon, peak 5740.  It's on the NPS list, and doesn't have any recorded summits on peakbagger which makes it a little more interesting.  Only after climbing it did I remember that the ranger on the NPS guided hike pointed out this mountain and described it as a turtleback.  That's some sort of geologic formation of which I have no understanding, but it's likely the reason why it made the list.

I decided to go at it from Greenwater road, mostly because that's the side of the range I was on already and I thought the terrain would be easier overall.  If I climbed from Badwater road it would be about 6000' of gain, but a shorter distance.  Going at it from Greenwater, I ended up with 16 miles and almost 5000' of gain but I got two bonus peaks (which I had to summit twice!) and those also don't have any recorded ascents.  So that's nice.



I haven't explored Sheep canyon so I don't know how far up it a hiker can get.  Here's a photo of the upper reaches of the canyon where I expect not many people visit.  Gold valley and a snowy Smith mountain beyond.




And a view from the summit of 5740.  Sheep canyon on the left, Copper canyon on the right.