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Apr 19, 2020 — Quartz Peak is a cute little desert peak in southern California's Chocolate Mountains. From a large cleared dirt area along Black Mountain Road (passable by all vehicles), I started heading southeast, locating an old road and following it until its end as it headed through the mostly flat landscape. At the road's end, I dropped north into a prominent sandy wash and followed this as it wandered around a bit, some nice tree covering and slickrock formations keeping things interesting.
Once I neared the head of the wash and it began getting brushier, I found a short, steep hill that I could use to exit the wash and continued to the low ridge ahead. Once on the ridge, I followed it generally east to the summit. Along the way, I passed a couple of Class 2 sections that seemed more difficult from beneath them. Any obstacles have a reasonable and intersting option for ascending, definitely under Class 3.
The views from the summit toward the craggy and weird-looking peaks, plus Picacho Peak, were nice. I returned the way I came.
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