With a bit of weather rolling in, Ted and I headed out to the desert to find something hike-able. We settled on Whale Peak, one that Ted still needed to climb, and maybe we would add on Pinyon Mountain after. The clouds covered the mountains as we drove through Julian and down toward the desert. The Subaru handled the off-road section to the trailhead without incident.
We parked at the trailhead, and felt the cold wind as we stepped out. Ted stayed in his puffy and I slipped on my fleece and made sure my wind shell was in my pack before setting off. The trail immediately starts climbing, so if you need to warm up first, I suggest a short hike down the road. We followed the drainage up to the first saddle. I drifted out of the drainage area toward the end, but in hindsight should have just stayed in it. Once at the saddle, a clear trail could be spotted, plus an extensive collection of cairns would line our route. We cruised along, chatting about recent college visits or other upcoming trips. This would be my third time doing this peak, so much of the route was familiar.
The route would climb over several small ridges before making the final climb to the summit. We had some dramatic views of the surrounding mountains and the swirling clouds. Along the way, we found an iPhone lying on the trail. It didn’t power up as the cold probably drained its battery. I slipped it into my pack to hopefully be able to return it to its owner. Note: We were able to locate the owner and return the phone to him.
Soon, we were on the summit plateau and we strolled over to the proper summit. We took in the views, found the benchmark and a reference mark, and of course the metal sign. We ducked behind a rock wall to hide from the wind and have a snack. That wind shell came in handy, despite the sun starting to poke out.
After our break, we began our descent. This time, I made sure to head in the right direction. As we worked our way down the steep section, I noted that we were a little off track, so we made a course correction and were soon back on track. We cruised along, and after about half a mile, we shed our layers and continued. As we cruised along one of the small flat areas, we encountered a trail runner making his way up the summit.
Our route down the drainage went smoothly and we were back at the car. Beyond the mystery of the found iPhone, Ted’s recorded mileage and my recorded mileage varied by 3/10 of a mile. Quite a difference! I asked Ted if he wanted to try for Pinyon Mountain next. The issue was this hike would be along a ridgeline and subject to the cold winds. We decided to pass and return another day. As we drove back to the highway, our adventure was not over. Since we had time, we drove down to explore the trailhead for the southern route for Granite Mountain. This road certainly was tougher than the one we drove to the trailhead for Whale, but not as tricky as the road to Jacumba. We stopped short of exiting the wash, as we had a nice spot to turn around. We did walk the next section of the route and I felt it was drivable. This was a good sign as I want to climb Granite via the southern route. We drove back to Julian and had some food and beers at Julian Beer Company before continuing on home. Our ascent of Whale took us 3:03 and on my tracker, 4.3 miles.
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.