"Went out to my beloved Muddies & camped for a night. I climbed the Star Wars Trilogy in Gale Hills for the second time. This time I chose a different route & did an out & back. Wonderful weather & hike. The neatest part is finding a route up through the cliffs. I went over two new lumps as well, that I dubbed Han Solo & Chewy. I won't add those to the database as they have little prominence. Once up top, the hiking on a network of sheep trails is pleasant & easy. The views are excellent. I camped near Birthday Cake II & made a large plein-air painting while there. Wonderful weekend! West End Wash Road is in pretty good shape. Gravel isn't super deep. **Note - One (of many) reasons I haven't uploaded many GPS files for my hikes is that I wander. I take convoluted routes, detours & side-trips to get good views or investigate things I see. If you upload my files, be aware of this." — StudioHoodoo • Oct 29, 2022

"This turned in to a great day! I went out to the west Gale Hills to wander around, with no real goal in mind. I drove out West End Wash, which has very deep sand & gravel right now. I headed toward some beautiful formations directly north first, hoping to gain the ridge from there. Near the top I encountered a short class 3 wall with many foot & hand holds. Unfortunately, I really messed up my rotator cuff & scrambling is not an option right now. Turned & dropped into a stunningly gorgeous canyon, not sure if I'd be able to find a way to the top of the ridge. A pair of eagles flew not too far over me in the canyon. Happily, there was a really nice route up through the cliffs & pinnacles. I first headed across the ridge to Skywalker (so named because it is a narrow catwalk of sorts & it feels like walking on the sky). From there, I could see The Mandalorian & headed across the ridge next. Saw a ram up there & sat for awhile & had a snack. From The Mandalorian, I could see Baby Yoda & it seemed like I could drop off its ridges into the washes below. Went out there next. There are two little peaklets there & I couldn't tell which was higher. I went to both & marked the one which seeme..." — StudioHoodoo • Nov 11, 2020