Dayhiking the DPS Peak List
2002 - 2011

Last Updated: 10/24/11

Dayhiking the DPS (Desert Peak Section of the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club) list is not all that difficult. In fact, the only peaks that usually requires more than a day are El Picacho del Diablo and South Guardian Angel. The latter isn't so hard if you don't use the DPS route and either have a guide (as I did - thanks Courtney!) or good route-finding skills. El Picacho del Diablo is a hard one and took us more than 14hrs, though still much easier than the tougher ones on the SPS list. Others have dayhiked Big Picacho before us.

Though I first climbed a DPS peak in 2002 with an ascent of Rabbit Peak, I was oblivious of the list at the time and did not start in earnest until 2005 when Matthew finally convinced me these were worthwhile peaks. I spent several years tackling these with Matthew and Evan. They were great companions on many a desert trip. Chasing this list was a great way to spend the winter months, giving me a much better perspective of the desert regions of California. The peaks in Nevada took more time because of distance, and the Utah peaks even more. When the three Utah peaks were all that I had left, I finished them off in two days with a marathon stretch of driving. The list finish was a lonely affair on Navajo Mountain in South-Central Utah. Though by myself, the weather was fantastic and I had a wonderful time - even got two Utah county highpoints later in the day.

Peak list with TR links