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Mar 19, 2021 — Towne Benchmark and Pinto Peak are two high-prominence mountains on either side of Towne Pass. There's a large dirt pull-off where parking is fine. I started with Pinto Peak, heading east through the open desert toward a small drainage that carved through some odd-looking rocks. Rather than head into the drainage, I kept to its left, following a social trail up the Class 2 loose slope. Above this the ridgeline continued southeast as it ascended on pleasant terrain for a while. A steeper section of steep Class 2 scree/talus led toward the top of a slope to a ridge. The crest of this ridge is craggy, so I kept just below it on a bench-like feature until I could more easily continue along the grassy ridgeline. The final mile or so to the summit was easy walking on very mellow, sweeping slopes. There is one dip along the way that loses about 200 vertical that needed to be regained on the way back.
Back at Towne Pass, I started up toward Towne Benchmark to the west. Reaching the ridgeline required ascending a Class 2 slope. I don't know if there's any one "best" way up since the black volcanic boulders seem to be strewn across the entire slope. Once on the ridgeline, I stayed near the rim where finally the hike got more interesting, nice views into the eroded southern face of Towne Benchmark. A social trail led along the rim, the occasional easy Class 2 breaking up the otherwise mellow terrain. I headed up to Peak 6620 and then down its opposite side. This peak is more of an inconveneince than a true peak, since I needed to reascend on my way back. The social trail sort of disappeared for a while until the last half mile up to Towne Benchmark, where the ridgeline became more steep, but still nothing to complain about. Along the way up, keep a lookout for the remains of a plane crask on the southwest slope of the peak. The summit views were nice.
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Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!
