Today’s adventure was to summit Blue Angels Peak. With the forests closed due to fire danger, we were looking for something that we could do. I had suggested doing San Ysidro and The Thimble, but Susie wanted to explore something new, so Blue Angels Peak was selected. I headed out early to try and catch the sunrise and squeeze in a quick summit of Jade Benchmark. About 7:3, Susie and Gail pulled up and transferred into my Subaru. Rather than make the steep climb up from the trailhead we opted to drive to a turnout to avoid this section.
The views were spectacular as we worked our way along the roads. Finally we came to the point where we left the road and began to follow a use trail toward the summit.
With a bit of scrambling at the very end, the summit was reached. Susie found the register and we signed ourselves in. The Valley of the Moon spread out before us to the east, and Mexico was just to our south. A nice breeze kept us cool. A Border Patrol jeep cruised the road below us.
I scrambled around the summit locating the various reference marks. Plastic bottles could be found scattered about. Our next goal was the boundary marker to our south. This obelisk denotes the border between the United States and Mexico.
We took our photos and then headed back. I had located several other peaks also on the Borrego Benchmark Club list, but the day was warming up a bit and I needed to get home since Yom Kippur starts at sundown. This is a place I need to return to and explore this region further!
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.