Agua Benchmark

With Susie and Ted unavailable to tackle any of the San Diego Sierra Club 100 peaks, I decided to knock off some peaks on the Borrego Benchmark Club list. This is a collection of benchmarks scattered on various peaks across the Anza-Borrego desert. There was a cluster of three near Agua Caliente County Park that seemed likely candidates, and I thought this would be a nice way to end 2021. Just north of Agua Caliente was a small turnout where I parked to begin my adventures. These three peaks were going to be done in a spoke-like fashion, meaning I would summit one, return to the car, then set off for the next one. After summiting Guard Benchmark, I set off for my next peak, Agua Benchmark, which was clearly visible a short distance across the desert floor.

I weaved my way around the cactus toward the peak. As I drew nearer, I examined which route might be the easiest. The elevation gain to get to the summit was not the issue, but rather the cactus density was the real concern. I spotted a nice route and was atop the summit in no time. I spotted the benchmark and next to it, the register. I signed in and stared at Store Benchmark off to my west. That peak was going to be the hardest of the three.

As I cruised back to the car, I could see the clouds slipping over the Lagunas to the west. I had hoped I might have some snow-capped mountains to look at from the desert. I decided to move the car to another turnout about a 1/4 mile closer to the start of the route up to Store Benchmark.

Agua Benchmark: 1.08 miles in 31 minutes with 95 feet of gain

I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. In 2019, I became the third person to complete the San Diego 100 Peak Challenge. Not stopping with that accomplishment, I set my sights on the harder San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list, which I completed in 2021. In addition, I have conquered several Six-Pack of Peaks challenges (SoCal, San Diego, Central Coast, and Arizona-Winter). Beyond attempting the San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list a second time, I am looking forward to exploring new summits and new adventures across the southwest.

Guard Benchmark

With Susie and Ted unavailable to tackle any of the San Diego Sierra Club 100 peaks, I decided to knock off some peaks on the Borrego Benchmark Club list. This is a collection of benchmarks scattered on various peaks across the Anza-Borrego desert. There was a cluster of three near Agua Caliente County park that seemed likely candidates, and I thought this would be a nice way to end 2021. Just north of Agua Caliente was a small turnout where I parked to begin my adventures. These three peaks were going to be done in a spoke-like fashion, meaning I would summit one, return to the car, then set off for the next one.

First up was Guard Benchmark. I had Keith Winston’s track loaded, but it was just a straightforward ridgeline hike. Just a short distance from the trailhead, I scrambled up the slope and began working my way toward the summit. Soon I found myself at the top, but I could not locate the benchmark. Finally, I found it behind a small bush. The funny thing is the benchmark is misnamed. There is no register here, so I took my photos and headed back down. The next peak was off to my east, Agua Benchmark.

Stage Benchmark

After car camping in Agua Caliente County Park, I met Greg Gerlach for another ascent up Stage Benchmark. We met at 8 and after grabbing our gear we headed out. We had over 4 miles of easy hiking to the base of the peak, so we saved our catching up for then. We both had been busy hiking all sorts of places. In fact, Greg had just returned from hiking Guadalupe Mountain in Texas. The wash was a familiar section to both of us. This would be Greg’s fourth ascent of Stage. In addition, this is also a common route for those wanting to conquer Red Top or Sawtooth.

Just at the boundary fence, a cache of water, food, and some clothes had been left for migrants. We continued along the road southward toward the base of the peak. Surveying a route up toward the ridge that would take us to the summit, we left the desert floor and started up. Cactus dotted the rocky slopes as we worked our way up. We took a short break partway up, and Red Top stood before us to the west. After the brief rest, we continued upward. Our route seemed easier than what I remembered from last time, but we still had to reach the summit and navigate back down.

We reached the summit and took a well-earned break. I snapped some photos of the views. I must admit there are some nicer views of Anza Borrego. We signed the register and I found the benchmark and two reference marks. Then, it was time to head back down. We retraced most of our route, but this time we opted to head down an alternate path. Again, the route seemed fairly easy for us. Although I had a couple of chollas to pick off at times.

Once back on the Inner Pasture floor, we cruised back along the dirt road and into the canyon. Again, the miles passed quickly. We chatted about our next hikes, but we needed the weather to sort itself out before picking out our next peak. All told we covered 9.9 miles in 5:48 with an elevation gain of 1,716 feet.

Agua Caliente

One of the drawbacks of spending so much time out hiking in Anza-Borrego is the long drive to get there. Recently I purchased a Luno Air Mattress for my Subaru Outback. This kit comes with two inflatable cushions that fill the rear footwells and a mattress specifically designed to fit the rear of the car. This seemed like a great solution to make overnighting a bit more comfortable. My test run was out at Agua Caliente County Park. I was meeting Greg Gerlach the next morning to go climb Stage Benchmark and rather than waking up early like I normally would, I would just camp out instead. The mattress inflated quickly and once I figured out the custom sheet I was set up in under 10 minutes. This will be nice over the summer when I hope to explore more of the eastern Sierras and points beyond.

Since I wanted to make I got everything set up while there was still light, I had some time to kill before I cooked dinner. I headed down to the trails near the ranger station and set off. The first trail I took was up to the Desert Overlook. A nice little climb for a good view of the campground. Store Benchmark stood above me, but that is for another day. Returning to a junction I wandered down to the Marsh Trail. A mortero was near the marsh, reminding us that there were those before us.

Retracing my path up from the marsh, I turned on to the Ocotillo Ridge trail. This followed a ridge to the south and back down to a trail that could take you to the store, which was closed today.

As I made my way back to the ranger station, I spotted a bobcat dart off the trail. I circled around where it fled and spotted it sitting on a rock. Nice! I left it alone and returned to my camp to prep my dinner. Sadly, the skies are overcast so no star gazing for me.

Diablo Benchmark

We had hoped to do Diablo Benchmark last week, but the stars were aligned against us. Since Susie did not need this peak, just Ted and I headed back out to Anza-Borrego to climb it. As we drove eastward, we kept an eye on the temperature as it kept getting lower and lower. While we did not expect to have any issues, it was mildly interesting. The shocker was it read 20° as we passed through Shelter Valley. Yikes! We turned on June Wash and began the 3+ mile drive up the slight sandy road to our starting point. I had my sand boards and shovel in the back just in case, but the road was in great shape. We found a spot to park next to the fence that now blocked driving further up the wash. When I did this hike back in 2020, we were able to go a bit further back. We gathered our gear, and our concerns about the temperatures were unfounded as we both decided to shed a layer before even starting. The route to the summit is broken into two main parts; following a wash for about half of the way, then climbing out of the wash and taking a ridgeline to the summit.

The wash started off nice and easy, as it weaved its way northward. But as we continued, the wash slowly became rockier in nature. We kept working our way up the wash, avoiding the cacti that were starting to become more frequent. Finally, about a mile into the hike we reached the spot to leave the wash and obtain the ridge. The slope is a mix of loose small rocks and cactus, so we took extra care on our ascent. I remember coming down this the last time and did not enjoy it. However, once we crested the ridge, the desert view was breathtaking. We followed the ridgeline for about another ¾ mile to the summit. Once there we found the benchmark and the register. We enjoyed a snack, took in the views, and signed the register. As we headed back down from the summit, I asked Ted if he was up for a bit of an adventure. While the route we followed is the most direct route to the summit, some folks have taken a different route approaching from the west after using a different wash. He said sure, so off we went.

Instead of following the ridgeline that would take us south, we instead stayed on a different ridge that took us westward. The terrain was easy as we worked our way down. After a bit, the terrain became a bit rockier, but nothing worse than what we had on our ascent. We reached the start of another gully and worked our way past it. We could see the wash that we would take southward below us. However, this section was a bit steep and took some care. It was about the same as the section we would have taken on the other route, just with the uncertainty if we would have an issue at the end getting onto the wash itself. Ted and I split up our descent, with Ted staying in the gully and me on a ridge. Our thinking was if we ran into an obstacle we would assist each other. Turns out neither route had any issues and found ourselves on the wash next to a nice large cairn.

From there we simply followed the nice wide sandy wash south. We knew we would need to backtrack to return to our car. As we cruised along, we debated the pros and cons of this section. On one hand, this wash was very easy but does add some distance to the trip. In the end, we concluded it was a hiker’s choice as to which route.

Ghost Mountain

The original plan was to drive out to Ghost Mountain and join Erika, Tara, and Kali as they complete the 100 Peak Challenge! Then afterward we had planned to head down to Diablo Benchmark, but my car had a battery issue, so we had to switch into Susie’s car which would not be capable of the drive up June Wash. Oh well…

Kali drove out to the entrance to Blair Valley and shuttled us back to the Marshall South trailhead. Once we were all assembled we trekked up to the Marshall South homestead. After some exploring of the ruins, we Kali drove out to the entrance to Blair Valley and shuttled us back to the Marshall South trailhead. Once we were all assembled we trekked up to the Marshall South homestead. After some exploring of the ruins, we headed on to the summit. Unfortunately, just before the summit, I got stabbed by an agave! While our finishers scrambled up the summit block, I took care of my wound. Once I was patched up, all the finishers posed together!

We then cruised back to the homestead and rejoined those who chose not to continue. Once back at the trailhead we shuttled back to Susie’s car. Since my daughter was coming home from college (and I now had to deal with my car trouble), we skipped the pizza back in Wynola.

Big Congrats to all the finishers!

Borrego Mountain East Butte

The plan was to climb the ridgeline from Hellhole Canyon and summit Ted and Webo Benchmarks, but as we drove out toward Borrego Springs, neither Susie nor I had that much enthusiasm for this hike. I had already done it twice, so this hike was solely to help Susie along toward her finishing the San Diego Sierra Club 100 list a second time. We pulled into the parking area, looked at the ridge and the 3,000+ feet of gain that stood before us, and said “Let’s hike something else”. Since she did need Borrego Mountain East Butte, we picked that as our first replacement of the day. After a quick pit stop at the bathrooms at the off-road area, we drove the dirt road up toward the land bridge that I used last time.

Susie’s other time summiting East Butte was via the rocky gully. That was the same route I had used for my first time as well. But my second time up I used the land bridge to climb it from the west side.

After parking and snapping some photos with the Santa Rosa mountain range behind us, we climbed the steep slope toward the summit. We quickly found ourselves approaching the summit. Once there we signed the register and took in the views. Since this was such a quick jaunt, we debated what else we might try to tackle. Most of our other Sierra Club peaks weren’t an option, so instead, we turned to the San Diego Peak Club List and found Perpendicular Bluff Benchmark as a strong candidate.

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Perpendicular Bluff Benchmark

Since hiking Borrego Butte East was such a quick jaunt, we debated what else we might try to tackle. Most of our other Sierra Club peaks weren’t an option, so instead, we turned to the San Diego Peak Club List and found Perpendicular Bluff Benchmark as a strong candidate. We drove back along the 78, amazed at the string of cars and RVs heading the other way. Found a safe place to park near the start of Keith Winston’s track.

After scampering across the road, we then cruised across the desert floor, passing through a nice grove of agave. In reviewing Keith’s track, we had a general sense of what he did to reach the summit. We saw a nice spot to hop on the ridge that he eventually got onto later. The ridge had no real obstacles or navigational challenges, and soon we were atop Perpendicular Bluff Benchmark.

We found the benchmark and the register and after a short break, we headed back down, following the same ridge. Once back at the car, we both agreed this was a fun little desert peak and we’re glad about opting to do something else. The stats for East Butte were 1.27 miles in 1:19 with an elevation gain of 440 feet. The stats for Perpendicular Bluff were 2.6 miles in 1:50, with an elevation gain of 590 feet.

North Pinyon Mountain (Peak 3640)

Today’s adventure was to have us hike to the summit of P3640, informally known as North Pinyon. All three of us, Susie, Ted and myself, all had time constraints, so this peak was perfect. Just past the Scissors Crossing we turned off at Plum Canyon and headed south along the dirt road. After about 1.3 miles the road splits, and the right fork heads to the trailhead for Sentenac, while the left fork would take us to the trailhead for North Pinyon. Initially, we had hoped to squeeze in Sentanac since it almost shares the same trailhead, but we just did not have the time. After another 1/2 mile of driving we reached the turnaround. I parked the Outback and we began getting ready to head off.

The route begins with a short scramble over some rocks before spending some time weaving through the canyon in a nice sandy wash. Some interesting geological features revealed themselves along the sides of the wash. A standard collection of desert plants also dotted the route. Eventually, the wash turned rocky and our stroll became less gradual and more stair-like. We had a few dry falls to contend with, with only one truly needing to be bypassed. As the drainage began to end, I located the exit point I had used the last time and climbed up.

With a commanding view of Granite Mountain to our west, we did have our first views of North Pinyon to our east. We worked our way toward a small saddle between the minor peak we were on and the final climb up. The last 4/10 of a mile would climb about 400 feet, but the terrain was easy to navigate. Once over the minor false summit, it was a simple walk over to the true summit just to the east.

There is no benchmark here, but it does have a register that we gladly signed. The skies were pretty clear, so we had some nice views of Whale Peak to our south, Grapevine and Sentenac to the northwest, and the Salton Sea to the east. After a quick snack, it was time to head back down. The only real challenge in this hike is to make sure you drop down into the correct wash to lead you out. Once we did this, we chatted about our plans to complete the San Diego Sierra Club 100 list again. It is going to be a fun desert season for us! We made a quick stop again at Calico Cidery before dropping Susie off at one of the wineries in Ramona to meet her parents. All told the hike was about 4.25 miles in 3:30 with an elevation gain of 1,498 feet.

San Ysidro Mountain

With my peak-bagging friends busy, I set off to climb San Ysidro solo. I had planned to grab breakfast from the Jack In The Box in Ramona, but they were closed. Crud. Thankfully, Don’s Market in Santa Ysabel was open and I was able to grab some food. Just past where the Montezuma Valley Market is, I turned on to the dirt road that would take me to the start of the hike. I parked, grabbed my gear, and set off down the old jeep road. A tree had fallen since the last time had been here, so I had to drop into the stream bed to bypass it.

At the saddle, I opted to stay high and work my way toward the gully that I would follow to the base of the mountain. While it was not terrible, it was not great either. Once at the gully, the going became easy for a bit. At the base, I checked my previous track and started the climb. Some cairns were erected along the way, but the route mostly showed itself to me.

Once at the summit I took in the views. The previous time I was here they were obscured by clouds. I scrambled to the summit block and signed the register. I peered up to locate the two reference marks. I did not feel comfortable scrambling up their respective boulders solo.

My return route went smoothly, letting the mountain guide me back down. I did stay in the gully longer and it seemed to be slightly easier going back to the road. All told the hike was 4.01 miles in 3:38 and an elevation gain of 1,583 feet.