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.

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Today’s adventures were about moving forward to finishing the San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peak list again. Both Susie Kara and I are embarking on this effort. While most peaks are still unclimbable due to the desert temps, we do have a few that we can tackle. Our first summit of the day was The Thimble out near Ranchita. 

Ted Markus tagged along for the adventure as well. The two of us had done it back in October of 2020. Since I had multiple summits of this peak, I took the lead once we reached the saddle. I guided us up its steep slopes with no real issues. I checked my previous track only near the top and was happy to find I was spot on.

We slipped through the brush tunnel and made our final scramble to the summit. Susie could not believe the difference between this approach and her first one back in 2017. We signed the register and took in the views. The skies were hazy, so it was a bit disappointing. To our north loomed San Ysidro. We had hoped to also summit it today as well. We began our descent, mostly following our earlier route, but we kept looking to see if we would find a path that would allow us not to lose more elevation. Try as we might, nothing opened up. Finally, we threw in the towel and descended to the wash at the base of the peak. We took a nice break and discussed our options. The day had warmed up some, so we became a bit less motivated to make the San Ysidro climb. Plus, our friend Gina Norte had wanted to climb San Ysidro but could not come on this attempt. So we decided to come back when she could join us.

For those who are curious about this hike’s profile, here is our track displayed in CalTopo. Note the average slope on The Thimble is between 40% and 50% for most of the climb.

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When I was hiking with Gina Norte on Hot Springs Mountain last weekend, she mentioned that she was taking some fellow peakbaggers out for their attempt at Palm Mesa High Point, and possibly Cody & Pike. Since Gina was one of my hiking buddies when I summited Palm Mesa High Point, I knew she was not planning on doing that peak again. She said she might try for Phil and Norte Benchmarks instead. So, I asked if she would enjoy some company, to which she joyfully said yes. We chatted about what other peaks we might explore and how. In the end, we left it a bit flexible as to our plans and were just going to see how the day unfolded.

I arrived at the guard station for Los Coyotes Indian Reservation around 6:15. It was in the high 30s, but the forecast for the region that Gina and I would be hiking was in the low 70s. Alberto and Dale pulled up around 6:30. Initially, another peakbagger, Phil Y. had planned to come but he just did a long hike up in the San Gabriels and was not up for this adventure. Gina arrived soon after and we headed back to the campground. Dale and Alberto transferred into Gina’s car and I stayed in mine. Since I did not know how long Gina and I were going to spend hiking, having my car allowed me to leave if we finished before Dale and Alberto did (which is what we expected).

We drove to the familiar parking spot near the cemetery and quickly gathered our gear. Gina and I weren’t in a rush, but Dale and Alberto had a long, hard day ahead of them, so we got underway fairly quickly. This was the first time I had a chance to meet Dale in real life. We chatted about various topics as we made our way down to the wash and then up the saddle. The biggest question I had was “what order/route they were going to take?” Alberto had been with the group that was with me when I did Palm Mesa High Point. Per our recommendation, he had climbed Cody and Pike Benchmarks, but he was unable to make it down to Palm Mesa High Point. So for him, this was his first priority.

The hike up the wash went quickly. This time I did not miss the junction to the right, but did leave the wash a bit too early to reach the saddle. Nothing too problematic, but that is what happens when you are too busy talking and not double-checking your route that closely. Gina took a quick break just below the saddle and I escorted Dale and Alberto on up to it. Once there I pointed out Pike off to the left and Cody off to the right. I pointed at the wash below us and said “just follow that to Palm Mesa High Point”. 

I returned back to Gina, and we set off for our primary peaks, Phil and Norte Benchmarks. I had spotted what appeared to be a descent route up earlier, so took it up the slope. In hardly any time at all, we found ourselves next to the summit of Phil. I spotted the register in a glass jar sitting high up on the summit block. Below it was some of the guidewires for the survey post. Gina carefully scrambled up the rocks and signed us in. Meanwhile, I poked around and found a passage under the summit block that gave us a nice route toward our next peak, Norte. We relaxed and chatted for a while, and also surveyed the surrounding terrain for how we might visit the other nearby peaks. We were in no hurry, so we just sauntered toward Norte.

Jim Wick had done Phil and Norte a number of years back, and in his trip report, he mentioned that the approach to Norte was almost a walk up from the south side. So we looped around and his report was spot on. This was a special summit for Gina, as this peak was named in honor of her husband’s family. In fact, the benchmark is different from the regular USGS ones. We proudly signed the register and again took in the views. Since we both were feeling great, we decided to keep on exploring. Almost directly to our south stood Cody Benchmark. Gina had also wanted to climb it, so off we went. I had summited it with Susie Kara back in June of 2020, but we tackled it from the north up a steep and rocky route. This time, Gina and I worked our way along the ridgeline, staying on its northern side. Soon, we found ourselves at the saddle just below the summit and the short climb up.

We relaxed on the summit for a good while, soaking in the view, having a snack, and enjoying a little bit of cell coverage. I showed Gina the route Susie had taken down from Pike and up to Cody. Then looking back west toward Phil and Norte, we could see the difference between the south and north sides of the ridge. While Phil Benchmark was just a mere .7 miles to our north, I had no desire to take the direct route, especially having done the reverse. So, we roughly retraced our route to the saddle.

Along the way, I spied a string running from plant to plant. I suspected it was probably a weather balloon of some kind. We located the beacon, then followed the string to see if any remains of the balloon could be found. We only found the plastic hook, so we gathered up the items and stowed them in our pack. 

Still feeling good, we set off for our fourth peak of the day, Army Benchmark. This provisional peak sits just north of the saddle. We followed the main ridgeline up toward it. There were two possible bumps that it could be. Once we reached the first one, we did not see any signs that this was it, so we moved on to the next bump, a mere 300 feet away. Here, we did find some remnants of the surveying post. We found a nice spot for our lunch. From my spot, I could see Collins and Knob off to our north. We once again had some cell coverage and got a message that Dale and Alberto had reached Palm Mesa High Point. This let us begin to estimate when they might return. We debated if we should head west and summit Dry Benchmark, or push on and try for the Pikes. Still feeling adventurous, we set off for Pike Benchmark Summit and Pike Benchmark. Since we were on the ridge, we opted to stay on it as we worked our way over. Just to the west of Pike Benchmark Summit is a nice saddle. We walked over to its northern edge and had a sweeping view. Cougar Canyon was below us, SquareTop, Collins, Knob, Palm, and Elder were spread out before us. The final push up to Pike Benchmark Summit was a bit bouldery, so I continued my route finding and weaved our way up it without issue. 

Once on the summit, we could see Pike Benchmark just a stone’s throw away to the east. We again took in the views and signed the register. Rather than taking the direct approach to Pike Benchmark, we went north a bit, then across the minor saddle and up to the summit. If memory serves, Susie and I just charged straight across. 

As I stood atop my sixth summit of the day, I had to chuckle to myself. Initially, I thought I might just do two peaks, but here I was on #6 of the day. As an added bonus, I was a little closer to finishing the San Diego Sierra Club 100 Peaks list again. We scanned the wash below us to see if we might spot Dale or Alberto, but no luck. Gina and I discussed our route back, one option was to drop down from Pike all the way to the wash and climb back to the saddle, which was probably about 500 feet of gain once we dropped down. Or, we could follow the contour lines and sidehill it back to the saddle. That was the option we decided on, as it was getting a bit warmer in the mid-afternoon sun. I picked various landmarks to work our way toward, adjusting as the terrain revealed itself to us. After about 45 minutes or so, we found ourselves back at the saddle. When I was at the saddle in the morning, there was a cactus that was in full bloom, so I had to find it again since that is something that Gina loves to find.

Although we had not seen nor heard Dale and Alberto, we felt that we should probably head back, just in case they had slipped past us. We cruised back down the wash and back to our cars. We arrived about 4:30 and neither of them was there. We did some calculations of when they might arrive, and we loosely estimated they had at least another hour or more of hiking, depending on if they tried for eighth Cody or Pike on their return. I followed Gina back to the locked gate, and she let me through. I said my goodbyes and headed home. Gina returned to wait for them. She told me they arrived around 6:15 or so. I will let them tell their own adventures. But for us, it was an absolutely fantastic day; six peaks, 6.9 miles, and 1,715 feet of gain! 

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It is hard to imagine that this journey to complete all 100 peaks on the San Diego Sierra Club list is almost done. I have two more peaks to summit; Palm Mesa High Point and Roost Benchmark. I knew my window to climb them was coming to an end, as the desert was warming up, so I needed to try to get them in as soon as possible. The more challenging of the two was going to be Palm Mesa High Point. This peak can be summited in a number of ways; you can climb up from Sheep Canyon, approach it from Henderson Canyon, or use the Borrego Palm Canyon North Fork route. The first two options are difficult routes, while the last one is easier but has access issues. Thankfully, Gina Norte was able to grant a small group of us permission to start from within the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation. 

Our group met at 6 am at the guard shack at Los Coyotes and waited for Gina to arrive and then escort us in. Once we were all there, we followed Gina up the road to the campground. Once there, we parked and got into two cars before continuing further back into the reservation. We parked near the cemetery and began our adventure. The hike is not extreme, but it is a canyon hike, so we have most of our elevation gain on our return from the summit. The seven of us (Susie Kara, Matt Bennett, Matt Hanan, Alberto Martinez, Laura Neuman, Gina, and myself) continued down the road toward the wash that would take us up over the ridge. 

Passing under the tall oaks, we dropped down into a wide sandy wash and began working our way up toward a small saddle. Susie and I had hiked this portion last summer when we climbed Cody & Pike, so we knew the route (Gina also was very familiar with the region as well). The small fork that Susie and I missed last time got us again, but this time it was for just a brief moment. Once at the saddle our group split up. There are three Sierra Club peaks that can be accessed via this route; Cody, Pike, and Palm Mesa High Point. Since I had climbed Cody & Pike already, I was only focused on Palm Mesa High Point. But Matt H. and Alberto were more interested in Cody & Pike since it was much easier to get them via this route. Depending on their speed, they might try to catch us and also summit Palm Mesa High Point. Matt B. offered to go with them, so we said our goodbyes and down the North Fork, we went. We knew from Greg Gerlach’s trip report that we should not have any major issues, sans a few dry waterfalls that we would need to bypass.

I realized that when we transferred cars, I forgot to grab my Gatorade and oranges from my cooler. Crud. I even told myself “Don’t forget to grab the stuff from the cooler”. I would just need to be a little cautious. I had 3 liters, plus my other food, so I should be ok. 

We passed Pike to our north and Cody to the south. There were some wildflowers scattered along the side of the wash, giving us some nice visuals. Finally, we started to encounter the first of our dry waterfalls. Susie had done some of this section when she, Matt B, and Greg Gerlach had done this hike back in 2019 as a backpacking trip. Some we were able to scale down, and a couple we bypassed. We took a short break and discovered we had several hitchhikers who had decided to attach themselves to our clothes. We picked off the ticks and checked each other, and would do so several more times during the hike.

Finally, after about 4 miles, we reached the base of Palm Mesa High Point. Thankfully, the route up to the summit did not have any terrain challenges, other than gaining about 900 feet of elevation in about 0.6 miles. I took the climb at a steady and measured pace, taking a couple of mini-breaks along the way. Soon I had reached the summit! The four of us sat around soaking in the views. Familiar peaks surrounded us. To our north, we could see Collin, Palms, and Elder. To our south was the San Ysidro ridge. Off to the east, Anza-Borrego was spread out before us. We tried not looking to the west and our climb back up. I happily signed the register and took my photos. I enjoyed my PB&J and the Mandarin that Susie gave me. After a nice break, we set off back down. As we almost reached the base of the ridge, Matt B. was making his way up. He filled us in on the status of the rest of the group before heading up toward this summit. The four of us then began our climb back up toward the saddle. 

Over the next 2.5 miles, we would gain about 1,400 feet before reaching that small saddle. I continued my steady and measured pace, being careful with my water intake. We would stop for a short break here and there (also for some quick tick checks). Matt B. did catch us, as expected and we continued on up to the saddle where Matt H. and Alberto should be waiting.

As the saddle came into view, we could spot Matt H. in his traditional Celtic Football jersey, waving down to us. Once we reached the saddle, we took a short break while we waited for Alberto to return from his quick jaunt up Phil Benchmark. Upon his return, we cruised the 1.75 miles back to our cars and then drove back to the campground. With that, my 99th peak was in the books. All told, this hike covered 9.7 miles in 7:53 with 2,974 feet of total gain. Next up, Roost Benchmark!

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Wanted to do something low-key, as I hope to get several Arizona peaks in later this week, and Windy Benchmark came to mind. This benchmark sits atop a small bump above one of the tunnels on the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway. The hike out to it is pretty mild, so it was a perfect adventure to invite a non-peakbagger along on. While I had done some peaks with Mark back in 2019, a knee injury meant he needed to stay mostly flat, so this hike would be perfect. We made the long drive out toward Dos Cabezas, but it went quickly as we had not seen each other for some time. After making our way past the windmills, we drove toward our starting point along the east side of the tracks. Just before the old water tower sits Cabez Benchmark. I pulled off and hopped out of the car, scouring the desert floor to see if I could locate it. Sure enough, there it was, affixed to the ground. It is not on any list, but it was still fun to find.

We parked at the usual spot for those hiking out to Indian Hill or taking the northern approach to the Goat Canyon Trestle. In addition to wanting to summit Windy Benchmark, I had hoped to locate the Blue Sun Cave. This is an incredible pictograph site, but its location is carefully guarded to preserve it. I was able to deduce its approximate location, so off we went. I knew it was around Indian Hill, so it was not going to be too far out of our way. We cruised across the open desert until we came to where it should be located. I scanned the rocky hillside, looking for a possible cave entrance. Spotting what appeared to be something, I went ahead to survey it. Another clue to its location is a rock covered in morteros, so I knew I was probably on the right track. I scrambled up and over some boulders, and there it was! Mark followed me up and we stood before some incredible images. I took a moment to reflect on the legacy of these drawings, wondering what they truly meant to the people that drew them. 

Leaving with our photos and memories, we set off back toward Windy Benchmark. I spotted the rocky draw that I had erroneously attempted to climb thinking that was the route to Indian Hill. Once back on the old jeep road, we soon found ourselves at the ruins of one of the work camps. We poked around a bit before starting down the tracks. Now technically, walking on the tracks is trespassing, but I was not worried about it. After about 1/2 mile we came to the base of Windy Benchmark.

Mark decided he would try to climb it with me. We left the tracks and started up a sandy slope. After a short while, Mark turned back, as it was too much on his knee. He was going to explore the tunnel and the views on the other side. So I continued on alone. The sand gave way to more rocky terrain. I spotted what appeared to be the old bypass road, and followed it up to the ridge. I saw four hikers making their way along the track, heading down to the trestle. I continued up the gentle ridge, dodging the various cacti. Once on the summit, I found the benchmark and the register can. I marveled at the original register, before adding my name to the newer one. I took in the views from the peak for a bit before retracing my route. 

Once down, I headed into the tunnel and found Mark walking back through. He had chatted with those hikers, and some mountain bikers as well. He loved the vistas on the other side. We returned to the junction with the old jeep road but first decided to explore the other tunnel for a bit. This tunnel had an actual gate inside, but it was half-open. We met two more hikers who were just out exploring the area. We chatted some before heading our separate ways. We stayed on the old road all the way back to the car. Sitting under the tracks, three more hikers were getting ready to head off. I gave the standard “Technically, it is trespassing” warning, then gave them some guidance on their route.

We drove back to the water tower and had our lunch. We explored the area for a bit afterward. Our next stop was Piedras Grande. While I had summited this peak twice before, I never explored the trail leading up to the turn-off. The closed road has a variety of signage explaining the significance of the area. I was able to locate a Yoni, or female fertility symbol, and showed it to Mark. Our real hope was to locate the “Horse and Rider” pictograph. I knew it had a small sign in front of the cave, so I kept my eyes open for it. Usually, I am focused on the peak and not fully looking for other things. About 3/4 mile from the trailhead, I spotted what I thought might be it and sure enough, there was a small sign. Unfortunately, this pictograph has suffered some damage. This “Horse and Rider” pictograph would have been made after the first European contact with the local Kumeyaay Indians. Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza led an expedition through the area in 1774. 

We returned back down the road and headed home. It was nice to squeeze in a peak, but seeing these pictographs was clearly the highlight of the adventure.

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The day started way too early, as we had planned to meet up at the Hellhole Canyon Parking Lot at 6:15 am. Normally, we might have split a room at one of the nearby motels, but Covid nixed that option. Since we also had a Zoom birthday party for a good friend’s 50th, camping was also out of the question. We arrived a bit early, so Ted wandered around snapping some sunrise photos. Two of our planned hiking buddies had to bail after an extremely long previous day’s hike of Mile High. Greg had arranged with Laura Newman to shuttle us up to Ranchita and the start of the hike. Initially, she was going to join us, as she needed to summit Webo Benchmark, but could not afford the time. She opted to hike some smaller peaks, but still graciously offered to drive us. Greg showed up a bit behind schedule, as he ran into some friends who were also out in Anza Borrego hiking. This was fine with me as it gave me a chance to get to know Laura, whom I had only heard about from various folks.

We drove back up toward Ranchita to the start of the hike. Initially, Alberto was supposed to meet us here to join us, as he had begun working on Sierra Club 100 list as well. Since he was not there, and I knew he had done Mile High the day before with Susie and Matt, we figured he bailed as well. It was a little chilly as we set up the usual route. Once at the turn-off from the road, we warmed up and shed a layer before heading toward the ridge to the south of the Thimble. We found a good spot to cross the barbed wire fence and began our short climb. Once on the ridge, we could see San Ysidro East Peak in the distance. We all had done this portion of the hike before, so we happily set off. 

Since none of us needed to summit Goat Benchmark, we bypassed the side trip to it. We did stick to the south side of the gully to avoid the tough terrain Ted and I encountered during our trip in November. As we entered Hellhole Flat, we spotted 5 or 6 deer in the distance, Soon we found ourselves at the other edge of Hellhole Flat, and the start of the ascent to the peak. We took a nice break here before the 1,200 feet of climbing that stood before us. We worked our way up, taking a couple of small breaks to allow me to catch my breath. But soon, the summit came into view and a sense of happiness washed over me.

We had a nice break at the summit, signing the register, snapping our photos, and marveling at the views. We still had a lot of miles to cover and some serious elevation to descend to return to our waiting cars, though. While coming down from the peak, my right knee started to hurt, so I decided to not attempt The Sirens and rendezvous atop Webo. So I bid Greg and Ted good luck and scrambled back down onto Hellhole flat and headed south. My route was going to take me past Tuck Benchmark. This benchmark apparently is hard to locate, so I took up the challenge to see if I might have some luck. I knew from some reports that its location was slightly incorrect on Peakbagger and that it was located a bit to the east. Keeping my eye on my position, I knew I was close, so headed over to the nearby rocks, and climbed up a bit to see if I could spot it. Just 15 feet east of me, there it was! I snapped my photos, before continuing southward to Webo. 

I could see Webo in the distance, but first I had a small ridge to cross. From the north, the slope was nice and grassy, but once at the top, I stared down at a steep rocky descent. Crud.  I had to decide which way to deal with this ridge. I think either going all the way around it or the other gap to the west would be a better choice for future hikers. 

Once over this obstacle, I debated my route up toward Webo. Initially, we discussed taking the ridge that came from the west, as it looked fairly gentle. As I drew nearer, just going up the side and then turning east once at the ridge seemed ok. Since Greg and Ted were somewhere behind me, I could climb this at my own pace, and I found it not too bad of a climb. As I got closer to the summit, it became more bouldery, but I found a route up without issue. I knew the benchmark was on a boulder on the north side of the peak, so I aimed for that. I climbed up the boulder and found the register and the mark. I kept scanning to the north to see if I might spot Greg and Ted, but no luck. I found a nice spot to wait for them. After about 40 minutes, I heard my name and greeted Ted and Greg. Greg climbed up the boulder and added their names. Ted respectfully declined. We still had about 3.5 miles to go and about 3,200 feet to descend. 

My knee was starting to become more painful as we worked our way down the ridge. It was steep but manageable. Ted kept an eye on our altitude, as Susie and I missed Ted Benchmark during our descent (we did find it on our ascent). As we neared the elevation for the benchmark, Greg began scouring ahead to locate it. He found it without issue. I took a quick photo, and let them sign me in. I knew my knee was only going to slow my descent, and the evening was drawing close. I kept pushing down the ridge, hoping that once we reached the desert floor, the pain would not be an issue, as we would still have over a mile back to the car. We literally stepped off the ridge just as the last light of day faded away. We weren’t worried about the dark as we had a very well-defined and traveled trail to guide us back. Once back at the car, we tossed in our gear and said our goodbyes. Greg was camping out to hike Blue Angel Peak the next day and Ted and I began the long drive home.

The final stats for my hike were 11.6 miles, with a mere 2,595 feet of gain and about 6,275 feet of loss. Here is a profile of my traverse.

This was my 98th peak. Since it looks like we might have some weather this week, I have a nice excuse to let my knee recover. 

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