Rick and Andrea decided to hike up to Kay Benchmark, and I decided to tag along and continue toward The Sirens and/or San Ysidro East Peak. At least that was the original plan. I got to the Anza-Borrego Visitor Center and waited for the rangers to open the gate. While waiting, I got a text from Rick that they were running late and I should go ahead and start. The rangers finally arrived at 7:20 to unlock the gate. I quickly paid my day-use fee and parked, then grabbed my gear and set off for the ridgeline. I cruised up the ridge toward Ode Benchmark. Once there, I quickly signed the register and snapped a few photos. From there, I began the steep climb up to Kay Benchmark. From time to time, I would glance back to see if I could spy Rick and Andrea. I could see their car parked next to mine. I got through the bouldery section near Kay without any real issues. Once at Kay, I took a short break and scanned my next section. I was going to follow Greg’s descent route to reach the saddle between The Sirens and San Ysidro East.
The route-finding went fairly smoothly, and soon I was closing in on the saddle. While my route was a bit higher than Greg’s, it was still 1000x better than the route I took down back in 2020. Now at the saddle, I had to decide which peak to attempt first. I decided to go for The Sirens because it was “easier” and I was mindful of the time. With that in mind, I opted to head for The Sirens. I turned southward and roughly followed the contour line to its base. Once there, I recalled that the best way up its very steep and rocky slope was to approach it from the western side. I found the slab section I scaled that last time, and followed it up. At the summit, I got a message from Rick that they had just reached Kay, almost due east of me. In fact, we did shout at each other from our respective summits, but nothing intelligible. As I ate my PB&J and drank some electrolytes, I learned that part of the reason I did not see them on the ridge was that they ascended from the small saddle just west of Ode. While we were texting, they offered to pick me up in Ranchita if I wanted. I debated this for a bit and decided to go that way. I knew I wouldn’t have time to climb San Ysidro East, so this would at least give me some insight into my options for my return.
After signing the register, I found an alternate path down from the peak and headed back to the saddle to drop down into Hellhole Flats. Once down, mostly following a small drainage path, I cruised along, aiming for the north of Lookout Knob. As I drew near the western edge of the flats, I again worked my way down through some rockier sections until I reached another drainage. I followed it to where it met with the drainage from the west, as that was the one we used when we recently climbed Goat Benchmark. But here, where they met, the brush was too dense, so I headed back north along that drainage for a short bit, then exited and continued westward.
Now, I began the climb out of Hellhole Flats. For the most part, I stayed hiking westward, skipping the detour to Goat Benchmark. I snacked a few times to keep my energy up, as this is still a modest climb. Soon, very familiar terrain came into view, including some recent footprints. The water was still flowing in that one section of the drainage, and there was even a thin sheet of ice next to it. Once I turned southward and was more exposed, I donned my wind shell, as a cool wind was blowing! One of the sections that I disliked last time was the section passing White Benchmark. This time, I decided to see if it was easier to just try to stay along the fence line as best as possible. While I might have drifted off the state park land, I never crossed the fence itself; this was the right choice for this section. I continued along the fence line until I reached the road, and Rick and Andrea were waiting for me. We had been texting back and forth, and they had only arrived about 15 minutes earlier. They then kindly shuttled me back to my car. Now for the big question: which route is better?
Since I need to return to climb San Ysidro East, I have to decide which route to take. Both routes have pros and cons. Honestly, I don’t know which way I will take. It probably depends on whether I am hiking it solo or with some friends, and whether they need a peak along the way. The upside is that I am now familiar with both options.
I am an avid peak bagger, sometimes backpacker, and former sea kayaker living in San Diego. I am the co-author of Urban Trails: San Diego, coming in Spring 2026!
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 both the Arizona-Winter and Arizona-Summer).
I am looking forward to exploring new summits and new adventures across the southwest.