Combs Peak

The goal for today’s hike was Comb’s Peak, the fifth highest peak in San Diego County and also one of the most remote. As I punched in the route to the trailhead, it actually routed me up through Temecula, then back into San Diego County. I was looking for a shorter hike, as my left foot was a tad sore from last weekend’s hike to Wilson Benchmark.

As I drove on the dirt road toward the trailhead, I actually entered Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I began hiking north along the PCT, gently leaving Long Valley Road behind.

Comb’s Peak soon came into view to the northwest as I continued to make my way toward a saddle near the eastern shoulder of the peak.

The trail then works its way up through the thick chaparral to the summit. In just about .5 miles, I gained some 600′ of elevation.

There were a few rocky sections that took a touch of care (mostly on the descent).

Atop the summit, I could see snow-capped San Gorgonio and San Jacinto to the north. To the east, I spied the Salton Sea. The wind was blowing, so I did not linger. The benchmark and register were both found.

While descending, I thought I heard voices. Something I was not expecting for such a remote hike. Upon reaching the saddle, I encounter three other hikers. One of the gentlemen was actually beginning his PCT thru-hike. Since the winter had been so mild, he figured he would get a head-start. We chatted some, while they rested. So, they continued on their trek north, and I returned south back to the car.

My left foot began to ache more as I descended. I later learned that I had developed a case of plantar fasciitis, and it would sideline me for the next several months.

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.

Ant Benchmark

Well finally had the chance to summit Ant Benchmark after running out of time during my last time out near Julian. Ted was able to join me on this adventure. We drove down Boulder Creek Road to the trailhead. There is no parking at the proper trailhead, but there is a spot about a quarter-mile before, just past the cattle guard. At the bend in the road, the trail begins. We continued down the trail until we reached the meadow and our first real view of our peak. Upon crossing the meadow, the real fun began as we started our scramble up.

The brush was not too bad, and the boulders were manageable. The summit surprised us with her views.

We scrambled back down and called it a day as we had an event in the early afternoon.

Peak 4159

So, Peak 4159…

This was the third peak that I was hitting that day. It was another short off-trail summit. The peak was not too far from the turn out that I used for Oak Benchmark. I reached the summit without incident. The views were meh, not that different from Oak Benchmark’s views toward Julian. A few months later when I hiking with Derek, he asked me what my least favorite hike was so far, and Peak 4159 was it.

But that is not the rest of the story. If you look at the official list, you will no longer see this peak listed, this is due to a dangerous property dispute. I catalog it here only for completeness.

I had planned to try to squeeze in one more summit but did not want to be late for The Last Jedi so Ant Benchmark would have to wait…

Oak Benchmark

The second summit of the day was Oak Benchmark. The light rain that started at the end of my hike to Peak 1549, had ended. I had originally planned to summit this peak back when I did Cemetery Hill but thought better since it was hunting season.

Parking in the same trailhead, I headed south along the road to a nice clearing. From my research with Google Earth, I knew that this should provide an easier route to the summit, as there is no formal trail to the top. The main warning I had read about was the amount of poison oak that exists. I was hoping attempting this in the winter would reduce my chances of encountering it.

I picked my way up toward the peak, I meandered through the brush until I reached the summit. I found the benchmark and register with no problem.

The skies continued to look threatening, but the views gave me a nice look back toward Julian.

I headed back down toward the car with no real issues. Just the crush of fallen oak leaves under my boots. With that, it was off the third peak of the day, Peak 4159.

Peak 1546

As I drove out toward Julian in the predawn light, I was hoping to summit at least three of my planned four peaks today: Peak 1546, Oak Benchmark, Peak 4159, and Ant Benchmark. I knew the last one was going to be a stretch as I had tickets to The Last Jedi. But the other three are all along Eagle Peak Road, so I thought they could be bagged together.

First up was Peak 1549. I drove down the dirt road until it ended. I parked the car and under mostly cloudy skies continued down the now overgrown road. This was another inverted hike, so I knew the hard part was the second half…

As I strolled down, the sun would illuminate the hills and the dry Mildred Falls to my north.

After about a mile or so, I came to the portion of the hike that requires a permit. This is one of two trails that lead to Cedar Creek Falls. This is a popular destination when the falls are running, but alas there was no water flowing. I can certainly see how the unprepared get themselves into trouble. I opted to be a rebel and continue on, in part, since I was not actually going to the falls themselves. The trail rose again, and soon my destination was in view, a solitary bump just to the west of the trail.

I followed the steep use trail to the summit. There I was rewarded with some incredible views of the San Diego River drainage.

I did not stay long as I had more peaks to summit. I began the climb back up the road to my car, enjoying the cool air. I can imagine what it must feel like in the summer climbing back up…

Just as I reached my car, a light rain began to fall. On the Oak Benchmark!

Hot Springs Mountain

I decided to tackle the tallest peak in San Diego, Hot Springs Mountain. Ted was able to tag along as we drove out past Warner Springs to the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation. We drove toward the road that would lead us to the summit. As we pull up, the chain was down, some other hikers were gearing up to begin their trek up to the peak. We decided to continue up the road, bypassing some of the steeper sections. We found a nice turnout and parked. From here we simply followed the road to the abandoned fire lookout tower.

We had a fantastic view from the base of the tower. You can no longer access the tower, and it is only a matter of time until it needs to be fully torn down.

We opted not to work our way to the formal summit block, as I was feeling the effects of my increased hiking cadence. We returned back down the road, enjoying the shade from the trees.

As we drove out, we once again looked for someplace to pay our entrance fee, but no luck. I had to chuckle to myself, the highest point in San Diego was still lower than my starting point for my recent summit of San Jacinto.

Chariot Mountain

Chariot Mountain is an interesting summit as it is an inverted peak, meaning that you start at a higher elevation than the summit. I got to the trailhead right off Sunrise Highway.

The trail headed through a nice wide meadow until it intersected the Pacific Crest Trail. However, you are only the PCT for a very short section. I initially missed the trail down to the summit, but I found the slightly over-grown trail.

Granite Mountain in the distance, and Chariot Mountain before it

The trail to the summit quickly dropped down a steep ridge to the Anza-Borrego desert. I picked my way down the path, thinking I much this ascent is going to hurt.

The peak was visible across a small valley. The quiet gave me time to reflect on some things weighing on me.

Soon I was at the foot of the mountain. There was a faint use trail that I followed to the summit. There is no benchmark, but there is a register. The views were quite spectacular from the summit.

As I made it back toward the base of the ridge for the ascent up the ridge, I did consider following the Mason Truck Trail instead of the PCT. This would have been a longer route, certainly less steep, but I opted to take the ridge.

I debated my discussion as my legs felt the climb and the road gently climbed to the south. Finally, I reached the PCT and strolled back across the meadow toward the car.

Long Valley Peak

Just south of the 8, near Pine Valley, stands Long Valley Peak. The trailhead is shared with the Bear Valley Off-Road Trail, so expect to see folks prepping their motorcycles. Fortunately, the trail to the summit does not follow the same route, but you will hear them in the distance. The trail initially follows a road that serves the nearby power lines. After a few rolling hills, you approach the turnoff to the actual summit.

The route takes you through some single-track trails that seem to criss-cross the lower portion of the summit. As you work your way up the slope of the peak, the route begins to fade away and you are left to your own route finding. Quickly you will find yourself scrambling over the rocks to reach the summit.

As I rested upon the summit, I could hear the distance, and the din of the traffic of the highway. I signed the register that was tucked away in a rocky nook. I could also spy many of my previously summited peaks around me.

Since I had plans, I headed back down. I considered taking an alternate route back but opted to simply retrace my route back to the car.

Los Pinos Lookout

When we were hiking out to Corte Madera, we considered also summiting the nearby Los Pinos Lookout Tower. But the route from the Espinosa trail followed a dirt road that had off-roaders using. Although there was a more direct route, it was a steep ascent, and we opted not to tackle it.

I debated how I wanted to return to summit this peak, as I am not a big fan of hiking on active roads. Instead, after summiting Long Valley Peak, I drove down to the Corral Canyon OHV area, passing the parking spot for the Espinosa trail. Continuing along the road, I kept driving until I approached the Four Corners trailhead. From there I made a right and continued up Los Pinos.

Near the summit, I found a nice place to park and hiked the .25 miles to the lookout tower and the summit. The tower is closed, so I wandered around the summit enjoying the views.

Corte Madera’s sheer face is clearly visible in the distance.

I returned to my car and drove back down, passing several other off-roaders along the way.

Manza Benchmark

Looking to summit another peak in the Lagunas before any weather hit, so I opted to hike out to Manza Benchmark. This time I was joined by my good friend James. We parked just off Sunrise Highway, right near the Sunset trailhead. We followed the main trail for a bit before locating a use trail heading across the meadow.

The trees were still showing some bit of fall on them. We knew that the trail was going to descend into a drainage area, before climbing another ridge to the actual summit. Carefully checking our maps and route, we navigated down through the brush. Bits of poison oak were spotted along the sides of the trail, so some extra care was taken as we began ascending.

Once we reached the ridge, we began passing through thickets of manzanita and over several false summits, until at the end of the ridge our goal was sighted.

With some minor rock scrambling, we found the benchmark and signed the register. As we rested, the views were surprisingly nice. After soaking up some sun and the quiet, we began our trek back to the trailhead. We again were careful as we worked our way down the drainage ravine, as it was a steep descent. Soon we found ourselves back at the car and off for a cold beer at Alpine Brewery and a tasty burrito.

A few months later, I was hiking with Derek up to Whale Peak, and our conversation turned to what my favorite peak had been so far. Although I had some really enjoyable summits out in Anza-Borrego, the summit was my answer. It was a nice blend of scenery, a bit of challenge, and adventure.