
Peak 3442 seen top left. We navigated a wash, then nice desert to reach the base.

A steep slope to escape a wash before starting up the ridge seen left of center.

Nice terrain for the most part along the ridge.

View back as we start the length ridge ascent. The car is left of the lumps in the center.

Some Class 2 along the way.

And some small Class 2+/3 obstacles, nothing too crazy.

View back along the ridge. It may have been more efficient to join the ridge later rather than hike additional ups and downs, but we were enjoying ourselves.

Peak 3442 seen ahead.

Much of the ridgeline was like this up to Peak 3442.

With a spattering of large boulders adding some scrambling.

Peak 3442 ahead.

View back the way we came from the summit of Peak 3442. The small lump left of center is where we left the car.

Onward to South Palen, seen left. You can also see Middle Palen in the center.

Lots of descending, though overall it was pretty tame terrain, if steep at times.

An animal trail wrapped us around a small lump to the saddle of Peak 3442 and South Palen.

View back at the descent from Peak 3442.

Class 2 up to South Palen.

Shot down at our progress up the ridge to South Palen.

South Palen ahead.

Wide shot back from South Palen toward Peak 3442.

South Palen summit, view north. We took the ridge on the left, then descended to the saddle with Middle Palen (seen right).

Close-up toward Middle Palen (right) and Palen Mountains High Point (left).

View back along the ridgeline, which had some fun Class 2/3.

Descending the ridgeline toward the saddle. There's a drainage separating our ridge from the main ridge. We dipped down into it and popped back out on the ridge.

View back as we escape the drainage. The ridge we came down on seen top left.

Onward using an animal trail to the base of Middle Palen.

South Palen seen top left, the ridge we came down seen center.

Class 2 ascent to Middle Palen, pretty steep, but also quite nice.

False summit ahead.

Middle Palen seen left. The ridge leads to the sub-peak seen right, first.

Interesting rock and some fun Class 2+ to be had as we near the sub-peak of Middle Palen.

Short down-climb (Class 2/3) as we near the sub-peak, seen ahead.

Continuing on more Class 2/3 terrain from the sub-peak to Middle Palen, seen center.

Class 2/3 up to Middle Palen.

Middle Palen summit, view back. South Palen seen right of center.

Middle Palen summit, view toward Palen Mountains High Point (center) and Little Maria Mountains High Point (right).

Back across the sub-peak and continuing along the crest toward our final summit, Peak 3009, seen far ahead.

Descending along a mellow slope. An animal trail often made it easier to just bypass the little ridge humps and keep to their left.

Final descent to the saddle shared by Middle Palen and Peak 3009.

Trickier terrain coming up along the crest.

Class 3 headwall, very fun and on extremely solid rock.

View back down the Class 3 scramble.

Onward to the summit of Peak 3009.

View back toward Middle Palen as we near Peak 3009.

Peak 3009 ahead.

Peak 3009 summit, view toward Peak 3442 (our first peak) top right, and our chosen descent gully (center).

Class 2 at first down the descent gully.

Avoiding a major dryfall using Class 2/2+ bad rock and slopes.

An impassable dryfall. There was a bypass on the left, Class 3 if you find a good option, loose Class 4 if not.

Looking back up the descent gully we'd just come down.

We emerged out of gully and into a wash below.

We followed the wash for a time, but it was rockier than we thought it might be. Our main goal was to take this until the desert became less lumpy on the right and we could begin the long traverse back to the car.

As we leave the wash, a view back toward Peak 3442 (left) and Peak 3009 (right).

Hiking against the desert grain, on far rockier terrain than we thought it would be.

View back.

There were a bunch of small drainages to hop in and out of.

As well as a few larger ones like this. Eventually, we made it back to the car, near the lump seen right of center.
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