The Shovel Handle

My friend Tori, with the shovel handle, 1992

Why is Tori smiling? She was part of a hike the year before where I got seriously confused twice, and we ended up coming out after dark, using our (we prepare for such possibilities) flashlights. The hike started at the parking lot for Queen Mt., went up the saddle on the west side of Queen, finds a north-south running wash until it meets another wash that curves left and drops down into the north end of the Wonderland. My first confusion ended up taking us down the wrong wash towards the Wonderland, putting us a fair amount out of our ways towards Rattlesnake Canyon. However, we got back on course, passing by the Shark Tooth

which is a major landmark of the east-west route that was to get us back to the far north end of the Wonderland Wash. Now I had only been on this route once before, following along on a Sierra Club hike led by former Club hike leader Jim Furness, who had worked out this route. It had been some months since that hike. Having followed along easily behind Jim, along with several other Sierra Clubbers, I hadn't taken note of all the intricacies of the route that I might have. Anyway, in my mind (always seems to make hikes easier and shorter in time) the route from Shark Tooth to the Wonderland Wash was all level. So......as I intrepidly led my little 1991 adventurers, Tori and Patrick, and my son Kevin, along, on past the Shark Tooth, we came to a place where boulder scrambling was needed to go further. I backtracked to find a level route turning south and on to the Wonderland. After several tries at this impossibility, I decided to backtrack all the way past the Sharktooth, to the level crossroads area, and take the Wall Street wash route out of the Wonderland. However, on the way backtracking we spotted the Shovel Handle, and I knew we were indeed on the right route! With new found confidence, I turned around again (beginning to get dark at this point (and my son Kevin getting upset that we might have to spend the night in the rocks and he would miss a school field trip the next day that he really wanted to go on) we gave up on the idea of finding the level route (there ISN'T one) and forged on over boulders until we got to a level area, headed south, and indeed, before long, recognized large cliff walls that only could have us in Wonderland Wash. Then, even by flashlight, we were home free.

From all this, you see, that shovel handle has become a place of personal meaning to me, and I always enjoy seeing it (I've done this route and similar ones that take me by it many times by now).

Click on the small photo of the Shark Tooth for a larger view of the area, and a description of hiking into this spot starting from the Wonderland Wash.